There are countless resources on the internet about how you should format your resume. Font, font size, margin, page count, layout, expensive paper? The number of decisions you have to make when building your resume is dizzying.
What decisions are right? What kind of layout will help you get the job?
To answer those questions, let’s look at a resume in context of its purpose.
Resumes are designed for one reason: to get you the interview. (The interview is then designed to get you the job. But be clear. A resume should not be designed to get you a job directly! More on this later… ) In order for you to be passed on to an interview, recruiters (or, oftentimes these days, applicant tracking systems) will review the content of your resume. They typically want to look through your school and work history to determine whether or not you meet the minimal requirements for the job (e.g. GPA, years of experience, relevant experience, etc). If you do – and if you also seem promising and accomplished – you are passed on for an interview. That’s the end goal.
Recruiters often look at hundreds of resumes during a selection process. On average, they look at resumes for a mere 6 seconds. With that in mind, if you were a recruiter hunting for specific details in a resume, how would you want a resume to be formatted?
I personally would want my resumes to be easily readable. I would want a resume that can help me find what I’m looking for as fast as possible so I can move onto another resume. If I’m struggling to find someone’s job title, I may even pass over the resume entirely out of selection fatigue.
At the end of the day, recruiters want nothing more from your formatting efforts than a readable resume. Compare this perspective with other pieces of advice:
- “Use colored paper and interesting fonts to grab the recruiter’s attention.”
Reason: “They’ll notice how creative and fun you are!”
Reality? More likely than not, recruiters will find your resume distracting and difficult to view, not to mention extremely unprofessional. (Would you be the kind of person who would wear jeans and flip-flops to a meeting with a client? Your resume says you would!) - “Be artistic! Use whitespace and pretty borders. Or hire a graphic designer.”
Reason: “Capture your style in your resume and show a commitment to quality.”
Reality? If a multi-page (or front-and-back single page) resume lands in a stack of other resumes, a recruiter not only has to scroll through “art” to find what they want, but they may also lose track of your resume’s other pages. - “Include a picture of yourself.”
Reason: “This will give your resume a friendly and personal touch.”
Reality? Including a picture is one of the fastest ways to make recruiters panic, due to the risk they bear of being accused of hiring based off gender or ethnicity. (Some application tracking systems are even deleting names now, so that recruiters have no hints on an applicant’s gender or ethnicity.)
Earlier, I said that a resume should not be designed to get you a job; a resume should be designed to get you an interview. In other words, a resume should not simultaneously serve the purpose of an interview, which may cover details like culture-fit, individual goals, and significant work stories. Remember that a resume is not the time to express your personality; that’s the role of an interview. A resume is designed to capture your relevant experience and achievements.
With that being said, here is a quick checklist of formatting suggestions to make recruiters happy. (And please recognize that this advice applies to almost 100% of readers, but not everyone. C-suite executives and researchers especially may not apply. If you’re uncertain about your case, please reach out using the form below to get my advice for your case. You may have a bit more flexibility than what I’m listing here.)
Page count:
If you can keep your resume to 1 page by cutting out the unnecessary, then do so. This will allow the recruiter to easily scan for what they want to see all at once, and you eliminate the risk of losing a second page. If you have less than 10 years of experience, you almost certainly should have a 1 page resume.
If you have more than 10 years of experience with a history of regular promotions and consistent achievements, you can move into a 2 page resume. But still do your best to see if you can cut down into a 1 page resume without losing value. I often see clients who are completely capable of shrinking to a 1 page resume who still stick with a 2 page resume because they “can.” Keep your recruiter’s happiness in mind! The extra work required to make your resume a bit more concise is worth it.
Font:
Use a font with serifs, or the little strokes at the end point of each letter. Times New Roman is a classic example. Serifs increase readability for the recruiter.
Use size 10 for the body, size 13 for section titles, and size 14 for your name.
Always use black. Again, if your concern is that your resume will get “lost in the stack” for being too normal, you’re misinterpreting the purpose of a resume. The interview shows personality; the resume gets you the interview.
Spacing and alignment:
Use single-line spacing. Left-align the body and center your name. Titles, awards, and degrees should be flushed left, and the corresponding dates should be flushed right on the same line.
Margins:
Use 0.5 inch margins on all sides. The additional space will help you fit more into your resume without requiring an extra page.
Page type:
Always white. Always letter-size.
If you’re able to give your resume in person, I strongly recommend buying affordable resume paper. In-person meetings do allow for some of your personality to show, and the heftier feel of resume paper conveys preparedness, care, and professionalism.
Graphic design:
“Should I hire a graphic designer just in case?”
No, save your money! Exclude boxes, graphs, pictures, and colors.
But do check for balance and visual appeal. If you print your resume and hold it out at arm’s length, do you see awkward patches of white space? Is your resume over-crowded? Is your resume heavy on the left side or heavy on the right side? Make adjustments as needed until you have a resume that is balanced well.
I hope this helps you make your recruiters’ lives easy. If you have any concerns outside of what was mentioned here, feel free to reach out at megan@ryancbailey.com. Always happy to carry on the discussion!
Megan Koh is a Career Development Coach, with over 7 years of experience in helping others find and achieve their dream jobs. She lives south of Atlanta and is engaged to her sweetheart Danny.
