How to format your Resume

How to effectively present your Resume.

The content of your Resume is extremely important, but it is also vital that your Resume is well presented. The reader needs to be able to easily navigate around your Resume, so it is crucial that the key information stands out and is easy on the eye.

Here are our top tips to demonstrate your skills and experience while ensuring your Resume is presentable:

Font Size

A font size of 10 or 11 is perfect. Any smaller it becomes hard to read and any bigger you may have to sacrifice key information. Make sure to use the same font throughout your Resume too.

Contact Details 

Many people fall into the trap of wasting a lot of space here. All you need is to centre or right adjust your name, address (just your town or city is fine now due to the increase in hybrid working), phone number (just your mobile is fine), and email address. Keep the margin very small from the top here which allows you more room for the rest of your Resume.

Set Out Clear Sections: 

Ensure you are not repeating information throughout your Resume. Your Resume should have a Professional Profile, Career Summary, Education and an Additional Information section (this is optional so if you are short on space you can lose this). Remember first impressions count so make your Resume is as easy to read as possible.  See our previous blog on what to include in a Resume  

Avoid the use of paragraphs particularly in your Career Summary/Work History. This allows the recruiters to quickly see if you match their criteria. Bullet points are easier on the eye and also saves space.

Be Consistent with your Spacing 

Make sure the spacing is the same between each section and each job. This is nicer to look at it and shows your attention to detail. If one of your jobs separates over two pages ensure the bullet point is not spilt over the two pages as this is messy and looks unprofessional and harder to read continuously.

Document Type

You should ideally be writing and sending this as a Word document. This is the most popular file type in the world and recruiters will definitely be able to open this. ATS also finds this easier to process.  Sending your Resume as a PDF or in Google Docs are usually not compatible.

File Name

This should be kept to your name and Resume, nothing else is required so no dates etc. This will enable the recruiter to easily save this and recognise it quickly.

We hope this provides the guidance you need to effectively present your Resume and utilise the space. If you would prefer to leave all this to a professional, you can order your Resume here.