Imagine you’re an employer and you have two resumes in front of you. One is filled wall-to-wall with text and uses a range of different fonts. It’s also covered with dozens of bolded, italicised and underlined words and phrases.
The second resume is much more pleasing to the eye. It, too, offers a lot of information, but this time you can easily and quickly scan the document.
Why? Because it makes good use of white space, features clear and consistent section headings and uses bullets to make important items stand out.
If you were the employer which resume would you look at first?
If you’re like most employers who may have to read and understand hundreds of resumes each week, you’ll proceed directly to the second resume. Why? Because it’s easy on your eyes and your attention span, while the first resume is just the opposite.
If you want your resume to stand out and not be put in the bin and have a good chance of being read by prospective employers, you must spend time and effort not only in its content, but also in how it looks. If you’re creating your resume for the first time or in the process of revising it, keep the following design tips in mind:
Use White Space.
Create at least one-inch margins on your resume. Also, leave some blank space between various sections of the resume’s text, so several distinct chunks of information can be seen.
Two Fonts at Most
It’s easy to use all of the typefaces at your disposal, but having more than two fonts in any document only makes it more difficult to read. One font is all you really need. If you use two, make sure they complement each other. For example, use one font for the headings and the second font for the body text.
Use Bold and Italic Sparingly, Never use Underlining.
Use some bolding and italicising in your resume text. Many resume writers may bold their previous job titles and italicise subheadings within each section of the document. As for underlining — don’t. Studies have shown that most readers find underlined text difficult to read.
Emphasize Skills and Accomplishments By Using Bullet Points.
Bullets make it easier for employers to scan your resume quickly, since they’re intended to grab the reader’s eye and lead it to key points you want to make. Use them when you can, especially when you’re highlighting skills or accomplishments. For example:
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Increased sales in the quarter by 35 percent.
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Trained five new field executives to generate new business and client management.
Be Consistent
If you use all caps to present the name of your most recent workplace, for example, use all caps to present the names of your previous workplaces as well. Or if you use bold, centered text to present the first section title of your resume, use bold, centered text to present the remaining section titles too. If you’re consistent throughout your document, you’ll subtly establish a reading pattern for potential employers that will help them follow your resume easily.
In the end, you’ll still need solid resume content to really sell yourself to employers. Even the well-designed resume won’t pass if the information it presents isn’t first-rate. Just make sure the content you feature is visually appealing and quickly scannable so that instead of passing it by entirely, employers will give it the attention it deserves.
