When assembling your resume, you want to think carefully about the format. This includes the following:
- Font type and size
- Use of bold, italics, and underlining
- Use of bullets
- Inclusion of white space
- Left, center, or right alignment on the page
- Order of information
Typically, job applicants use a simple font (only 1) such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Helvetica. These fonts are preferred because they are plain and do not distract a reader from the words on the page. It is also possible to read anything written in these fonts very quickly, which is how hiring managers scan every resume they see – they do it very quickly.
Fonts should be in 10 pt, 12 pt, or 14 pt. Do not use an overly small font so that you fit all of the information on one page; it will be hard to read. Also, do not use an overly large font to try and fill an entire page if you don’t have a lot to write. Hiring managers will notice. The safest approach is to include your name in a font size slightly larger than the rest of the information, while the body of the resume is in 12 pt font.
Usually section headings are in bold, italics, all caps, or they are underlined to make them stand out. These include headings such as Objective, Education, Experience, Skills, and Activities. Do not overuse bold, italics, or other font modifiers in the body text (i.e. do not bold every one of your skills).
Most applicants use bullet points to list their skills. These skills are written in short, brief sentences that are easy to scan.
The best resume writers make use of their white space as well as their words. Having blank space on the page makes the words easier to read because it indicates that they are spread out rather than crammed together. It’s much easier to scan lists that are brief and spread out, and thus include that white space.
There is no hard and fast rule about whether or not to use left, center, or right justification. However, the important thing to do is to be consistent with your alignment. If you center your Education section, center the rest of your sections also.
The final format decision is the order in which you present information. This depends on the type of resume you have, your experience, and your own personal preference. Students typically list Education first and use a chronological resume. Experienced workers may use a chronological resume and list Experience first, or they may use a functional resume. Research all of the options and choose the approach that bests suits your qualifications and the type of job you are applying for.
For examples of good and bad resume formats see the following:
Note: the good resumes are all uniform, whereas the bad resume is not. Also, if you list your GPA for one school/degree, you should list them for all of the schools you attended. If one of your GPA’s is less than stellar, then don’t list any GPA’s. Be consistent in both the format and the type of information you provide.
