A clean and professional resume is a must in today’s job market. This document will be the employer’s first impression of you, and if presented with a well-formatted resume, you will surely get an interview. The following are some tips to make your resume look great, polished, and professional.
- Select the Right Font and Size This is very important for making the text easily legible. The choice of the font should remain professional, such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman. Over-stylized fonts are a big no; they give a poor impression of professionalism. The font size for the body should be between 10 to 12 points, and for heading, it should be slightly bigger—between 14 and 16 points. That allows your resume to be legible and easy on the eyes.
- Maintain Consistent Levels of Formatting When you maintain formatting, your resume will look polished and professional. Make sure that all your headings are the same, your bullet points are the same, and that your spacing is the same. Make sure that dates, job titles, and company names are formatted at the same level. So, for example, if a job title is bolded, all job titles should be bolded.
- Clear Section Headings Organize your resume into sections clearly marked by headings, for example, “Professional Summary,” “Work Experience,” “Education,” and “Skills.” Make the headings slightly bigger or in bold but without making them conspicuous to capture the reader’s attention before the content. This enables employers to easily locate what they are looking for quickly.
- Use White Space White space—or the empty spaces around text and sections—is crucial in adding air to your resume. Never try to overload information into one page; rather, let margins and spacing between sections do the work of making your resume easier on the eyes. The rule is to strive for a balanced layout with enough white space to make the document not look overwhelmed.
- Bullets Data should be well organized and scannable. Make use of bullets to state your job responsibilities, achievements, and skills. Begin each bullet point with an action verb to make the description concise and powerful. This format will make it easy for employers to quickly understand how you are qualified.
- Justify Text Justify your text. Left-align your text: It looks cleaner and more professional. Centered or justified text always comes off as messy, less readable. Correct alignment contributes to the visual structure and organization of your resume.
- Add a Professional Summary Having a professional summary at the beginning of your resume will provide the reader with a preview of what you bring to the table. Keep it quite brief—roughly three to four sentences in length, where you list your most relevant skills and experiences. This profile summary will be the beginning of your résumé and may cause a hiring manager to continue—or stop—reading.
- Keep Margins Appropriate One-inch margins on all sides are standard for most documents. If you need more room, you can shrink your margins a bit, but don’t make them smaller than 0.5 inches. The proper margins help keep your document from appearing too crowded and make it appear balanced on the page.
- Highlight Important Information Bold, italicize or underline important information such as the title of your job descriptions, the name of the company and major achievements – but use it in moderation so that you maintain a clean document without appearing cluttered. The purpose is to highlight, not bombard with emphasis.
- Proofread to Perfection A well-prepared, professional resume contains no mistakes. Therefore, proofread your document as many times as necessary to ensure that there are zero spelling and grammar errors. Be sure to have it reviewed by a second or third pair of eyes as well. A well formatted resume tells employers that you are detail-oriented and professional.
Conclusion
The first impression is the best impression. A resume that is well laid out will make a good impression on the employer. Follow the above guidelines and come up with a neat, professional, and visually appealing resume that showcases your qualifications very well. Remember: the goal is to be able to present your information in a scannable format, to enable hiring managers to see very quickly why you would be the best candidate for the job. Time spent on formatting of the resume can significantly boost your job search success and make you stand out in a competitive job market.