Choose a one-column layout when the CV's content is mostly narrative, reverse-chronological work history that benefits from reading top to bottom without interruption, and choose a two-column layout when there is a genuine second category of content, like a skills list or certifications, that reads better sitting beside the main story rather than breaking it up. The choice comes down to what the content actually is, not which layout looks more modern on a first glance.
What a one-column layout does well
A single column keeps everything in one reading path: the eye moves straight down the page, and there is never a question of what to read next. That matters most when the bulk of the CV is work history, since a reverse-chronological career story reads as a story only when nothing interrupts it. The Classic template is built this way: no side column at all, every section stacked in the same reading order a human would naturally follow.
What a two-column layout does well
A second column earns its place when the CV genuinely has two different kinds of content that do not belong in the same reading flow, most commonly a compact skills or credentials list sitting beside a longer work history. The Compact template puts exactly that kind of content, skills, rated proficiency, credentials, and standalone projects, into a side column, while the narrative sections, summary and experience, stay in the main column where they read uninterrupted. The side content becomes a quick-reference panel rather than something the reader has to read in sequence with everything else.
Illustrative example: the same content in both layouts
Picture a CV with five years of backend engineering experience, a short summary, and a list of a dozen tools and languages. In a single-column layout, that skills list sits as its own block between the summary and the work history, read in the same top-to-bottom order as everything else, adding one more full-width section for a reader to scroll past before reaching the jobs themselves. In a two-column layout, the same list moves into a narrow side panel next to the work history, visible at a glance the whole time a reader is working through the jobs, rather than appearing once near the top and then being scrolled past and forgotten.
Neither version is wrong. The single-column version treats the skills list as content worth a moment of its own attention; the two-column version treats it as reference material meant to sit quietly in view while the main story does the work of persuading.
A rule of thumb for choosing
If cutting the CV down to a single column would mean nothing actually moves, because there was never a natural second category of content to begin with, stay with one column. If a two-column layout would genuinely free up space by moving a compact list out of the main reading flow, and that list is short enough to fit a narrow panel without wrapping awkwardly, it is worth the switch. A CV that is mostly one long job after another rarely benefits from a second column; a CV with a dense, distinct skills or credentials list often does.
What to check after you pick
Whichever layout you choose, check that the reading order still makes sense to a human skimming it and, separately, that it stays easy to parse for a system reading the text rather than the visual layout, which a two-column design can complicate in ways a single column never does. That parsing concern is covered in more detail in writing an ATS-friendly resume, and it is worth a read before committing to a side column for content that genuinely needs to be read in order. It is also worth checking length once the layout is set: a two-column design can fit more onto one page than a single column would, which sometimes tempts a longer skills list or a longer summary than the content actually needs, simply because there is now room for it.
Pick a layout and build
Neither layout is the safer default on its own, it depends on what the content actually is. Compare a single-column and a two-column option side by side in the full set of templates and pick the one that fits the shape of your own CV.