Art of the Application
Résumés are all about promoting your experience and knowledge, but it is worthwhile to put some attention into its visual design. Your content’s formatting can make it easy to read and leave an impression on the reader. You should grab potential employers’ attention as fast as possible while maintaining professionalism. So, here are some suggestions for your résumé’s layout.
The Most Important Part
Prioritize readability. The standard font size for body text is 11-12 pt. Use a bigger font size for your name, contact information, and headings, so employers can easily navigate the sections in your résumé. As for font styles, Times New Roman, Calibri, and Arial are safe choices. You can use other fonts for titles and headings, but make sure it still looks professional, and do not add more than two fonts. If any text is against a color that makes it hard to read, change the text or background color or add an effect, like a shadow, to contrast your text to the background.
Design with a Budget
Substance always takes precedence over style. If you want to put a little pizzazz into your substance, be sure to budget your pizzazz. Add only one or two colors and avoid anything too bright. Blue or green are generally safe, but any color works with the right tint or shade. I suggest reserving color for your name (or a colored box to put your name in), headings, boarders, and/or sidebars. Though, in the case of sidebars, a light grey also works.
The reason why I said to limit the number of colors, fonts, etc., is because consistency speaks professionalism. Variation helps elements stand out, but too much is distracting. Your content should be simple and straight to the point, and so should your design.
Organized Breathing Space
Information needs room to breathe so it is easy to find, easy to read, and nice-looking. Make sure to put a little space between bullet points. Give your text a proper margin. Keep a good amount of white space, so your résumé is not too busy.
Also, consider different ways to arrange your résumé. Is your content best displayed in one, two, or three columns? Do you want a sidebar for additional information? Could your résumé benefit from having line breaks to frame the information? Does your formatting technique allow for enough white space? Any option can work as long as it keeps your résumé clean and pleasing to the eye.
Plenty of résumé examples are available online for reference. However, if you are looking for guidance on what to put into your résumé, Huntington University provides career services to help students prepare for the workforce. You can find this information at huntington.edu/Career-Services.
