Resume Presentation: The Important Facts

There's a saying that goes like this: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." While this is true in many areas in your life, it's a completely inaccurate statement to apply to resume presentation.

In resume presentation, beauty is NOT in the eye of the beholder. There is a standard set of presentation guidelines every resume writer should keep in mind when getting your resume ready for hiring managers to read.

• Use a 10 to 12 point font size for the body copy of your resume, and 11 to 14 point font for the headers. Use an 11- point (not 14 point) header font with a 10-point body copy. Use a 14-point header copy with 12-point body copy.
• Keep font type consistent. Don't switch font styles halfway through your resume. A good font to use is Times New Roman for print resumes. It's easy to read and popular in newspapers and magazines for that very reason. Electronic resumes can look polished and professional with Times New Roman, Courier, Monaco, Arial and Verdana fonts.
• Bold your headers, but never bold the body copy of your resume.
• Make sure your printed resume copy is dark and clear. Companies often copy resumes to distribute to other management professionals. If they can't copy your resume, it probably won't be read.
• Avoid underlining and italics. Both don't work well if a company likes to scan resumes to keep them in electronic databases.
• Keep paragraphs short for ease of reading.
• Make your margins 1 to 1.25 inches all around.
• Mix up short and long sentences in your resume for ease of reading.
• Headers can be aligned to the left or the center. This aspect of resume presentation is one of the few that's completely up to you!
• Keep your resume paper clean and crisp. No smudged fingerprints. No water stains. No wrinkles, unnecessary folds or creases.
• Match your paper to the envelope if you send your resume by surface mail.
• Use white or ivory, high-quality paper. That nifty fluorescent orange construction won't make your resume stand out and it definitely won't make it more likely to be read.

Following basic resume presentation tips isn't difficult. It takes just a few minutes to make sure your resume looks as polished as possible. Plus doing so really increases your chances of your resume being read.

 

 

 

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