When a recruiter sees your resume, even before they see what is written they see the resume formatting. Having a good format creates a good flow of information and makes the resume more pleasant to the eye. Here are some tips that will help you to format your resume to make it much more impressive.
1.Keep it short –
The resume length is a basic for any resume formatting. Never make a long resume, keep it to just one page or a maximum of two. A long resume feels like a chore to read and that’s the last thing you want your recruiter to feel. If you have 10 + years of experience, you might need to make a two-page resume but there’s a chance that the second page might not get much attention so try putting all the priority information on the first page.
2.Set font size and margin-
The font size is very important as the text needs to be legible and easy to read. The recommended size is between 10 and 14 pts. Too small makes it hard to read and too large looks like you’re trying to overcompensate for not having anything to write in your resume. Also, make sure to have a margin so that it looks organized. A standard is to have an inch of margin from all sides but if you really need a lot of space, you can decrease it a little.
3.Do not use color for emphasis –
Using color for emphasis is considered a wee bit childish for recruitments. If you want to highlight something, write in bold, italics or try underlining it i.e. use basic formatting rather than colors. Another way is to write it in UPPERCASE. Did it catch your attention? In creative industries color might be welcome but take this risk only if you know a little about the recruiter’s work and profile, this will help you judge their reaction to the vibrancy of your resume.
4.Use bullet points-
Writing in bullet points can be used to your advantage in many ways. Bullet points make your thoughts look organized and give the impression that you know what you are doing. Bullet points can be used to attract attention to multiple things where paragraphs look like they hide everything within them. Make it smart, write in bullet points.
5.Use legible font types-
Do not use too fancy of a font. Ariel and Newman might seem too regular but use them as they look formal and can be read comfortably. If you want to stand out, try going for Calibri or Gill Sans but no matter what, do not use cursive or designer fonts. You might be told off for this in the interview which will make for a very bad experience.
6.Alignment –
If your resume design is minimalistic then, make sure all your data is in left alignment as that is the industry standard. If you are in the design industry and have some of your work in your resume, feel free to adjust according to your work’s aesthetic but do follow some standard rules and do not make your resume too weird to read.
7.Spacing is important –
Every resume should have some whitespace. Whitespace is essentially space where there is no content. This should be included to ensure the readers focus so that they go through everything that you have written. If every area of the page is packed, it makes the reading difficult. Whitespace can be included by having a margin. Space between heading and the body and space between the multiple sections. This way you can make the resume look neat even if you wrote down a lot.
Bottom line
The point of formatting is to make the resume easy on the eye and make it pleasant for the interviewer to read. Having a neat resume earns little brownie points and sets the interviewer in a good mood so use the above points to make a good resume! All the best!
