A modern resume with a narrow sidebar and a wider main area is usually built with a borderless table, not Word newspaper-style columns. A table keeps the sidebar and main resume content independent so one side does not flow into the other.
Does this affect you?
Use this for Word for Microsoft 365, Word 2021, and Word 2019 on Windows or Mac when you want contact details, skills, or a profile area beside experience and education.
Build the layout with a borderless table
This is the same basic structure many resume templates use.
- Open Insert > Table > Insert Table.
- Set the table to 2 columns and 1 row, then click OK.
- Drag the divider between columns so the left sidebar is narrower and the right column has room for experience details.
- Type contact details, skills, languages, or links in the sidebar cell.
- Type experience, education, projects, and other main content in the wider cell.
- Select the whole table using the table handle at the top-left.
- Open Table Design > Borders and choose No Border.
The table borders disappear from printing and PDF export, but the two areas stay aligned and editable.
Use Word Columns only for flowing text
Word also has Layout > Columns > Two, but that feature flows one continuous body of text from the first column into the second. That is useful for newsletters or brochures, but it is usually awkward for resumes because the sidebar should stay separate from the main career history.
More control
Convert an existing resume
Insert the two-column table first, then cut and paste contact details and skills into the sidebar while moving experience and education into the main column. This is faster than rebuilding the resume from a blank page.
Use gridlines while editing
Even after turning borders off, use Table Design > Borders > View Gridlines so you can see the invisible table structure while adjusting spacing and balance.
Add a shaded sidebar
Select only the sidebar cell, open Table Design > Shading, and choose a restrained color. This affects the sidebar without changing the main column background.
Keep an ATS-friendly version
Some applicant tracking systems read multi-column documents poorly and may interpret content out of order. Keep a plain single-column version for strict online applications, and use the two-column version when a human will review the PDF.
Sources
- Microsoft Support – Insert a table (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Add columns to a Word document (2025)
- Microsoft Support – Show or hide table gridlines (2025)