Once you have all your information written out and feel confident about the quality, it’s time to take care of the smaller details. Formatting can be tricky because you may want to show your creative side but you have to be careful when writing a resume. Formatting shows the amount of time and effort you put into your resume. Keep in mind that resume styles may vary by position, for example, if you’re applying for a position in an art department you’ll have more flexibility with how you present yourself (layouts, color, font, etc.). The typical resume should follow the following guidelines:
Font
The most common resume font is Times New Roman. Other acceptable serif fonts that are easy to read include Georgia, Garamond, and Goudy Old Style. Sans serif fonts don’t have “tails” on the letters. Popular sans serif fonts include Arial, Tahoma, and Century Gothic. No matter what font you decide on, only use one font for your resume. Resumes with more than one font can come off as unprofessional.
Size
The most common size is 12pt. You can change the size of certain headings such as your name and contact information to 14-16pt but the remainder of your resume should be 12.
Color
Black.
Style
You can make your headings and name stand out by bolding, italicizing, or underlining. Remain consistent, if you bold one heading don’t underline the following one.
Page Length
Resumes should fit to one contained page, especially if you’re applying for an entry level position. Don’t try to squeeze too much information onto one page – it’s okay to cut it down. Employers would rather see some white space than a resume that looks too crowded.
Sending your Resume
Always send your resume as a PDF. Sending as a PDF and not a Word Document ensures that your formatting won’t be altered for the viewer.