How important is the presentation of your resume?
According to the readers of this website, the answer is ‘very important’
Every participant in the poll below expressed unanimous agreement on the significance of the resume’s visual appeal. Notably, 60% of respondents asserted that content and presentation carry equal weight!
The presentation of your resume is important; however, this does not mean you need to be too clever or creative with formatting. The ideal approach is clean, contemporary, and cohesive.
The power of your resume’s appearance is in the way it supports the content of your resume. An effective design enhances the readability of your resume, making it easier for hiring managers to quickly scan and identify key information. Proper use of fonts, spacing, and layout contributes to a more user-friendly document.
Many companies use Applicant Tracking Systems to manage and filter resumes. A well-formatted resume is more likely to be parsed correctly by these systems, increasing the chances that your application will make it to the next stage of the hiring process.
The resume template you use should be formatted for persuasion, visual appeal, and compatibility with Applicant Tracking Software (ATS).
Related: The First Page of Your Resume
Contents
The Best Resume Font
The best font for your resume is Calibri. Calibri is familiar, modern, easy to read and scanable.
Other options are: Cambria, Garamond, Helvetica, Arial
The Best Resume Colour
The best colour for your resume is Blue. Blue is the most universally accepted colour. Non-controversial and reassuring, blue signals loyalty, success and confidence.
Research supports that a correlation exists between colours and our emotional responses. If you choose to add an alternative colour, select carefully.
Related: The Case Against a Red Resume
What do you think?
Resume Headings
Use standard resume section headings. ‘Professional Experience’, ‘Education’, ‘Professional Development.
This will help the ATS to identify essential information. Using clever headings like ‘What I Have Learnt’ or ‘Where I Have Worked’ will cause issues with the ATS.
The ATS will also expect to see your experience listed in the below format (with months along with years)
COMPANY
Position Title | Mth Year – Mth Year
Additional Tips
- Use bold text and shading to draw attention to your most persuasive content
- Avoid big slabs of text. Instead, use bulleted lists
- Load the left of your document and always start with your most important information to overcome F-pattern scanning
- Include white space. Your resume doesn’t need to fit one page.
- Keep in mind that there is also a visual element to your personal branding. Keep the font, colour and formatting consistent across all your documents
Example Resume
