Creating a Great Resume

A resume is a reflection of the owner's professional personality. If it's messy and unorganized, it can suggest an owner who possesses those same qualities. A clean, well-structured resume, on the other hand, is an immediate signal that the writer is capable of completing organized, coherent projects. No matter how impressive your credentials are, a resume may be tossed if it's hard to read or printed on bright, colored paper, especially when an employer has hundreds of resumes to scan. So what can you do to clean up your resume and help it attract the positive attention it deserves?

Simple Lines

Keep all of your text in clean, straight lines. Be sure all of the dates on the left hand side of the page, for example, are aligned in one vertical column. Also check that the rest of the text begins every line at the same tab mark on the page. Clean lines make a resume flow more smoothly, and allow the reader to easily differentiate between sections of the document. If a resume is full of jagged left text edges and uneven columns, it makes the writing hard to follow down the page.

Uncomplicated Font

Choose a font that is common and easy-to-read, such as Times New Roman or Garamond. The main font should always be a serif font, which means the text is a style with some type of decorative line to finish the ends of a letter (other examples include Bookman Old Style, Times and Century Schoolbook.) Studies have shown that serif fonts are easier to read on a printed page. A second font may be used for subject headings and your name at the top of the page, such as Copperplate Gothic. It is okay to use a sans serif font in this case (a text without the decorative line finishing the letters, such as Arial or Helvetica.) A second font makes the resume more attractive to the eye and distinguishes sections and headings from the basic text. These guidelines are just a suggestion, many people choose to use other fonts on their resumes which also work. The goal is to make your resume flow easily, and not distract the reader from the content.

Choose the Right Paper

You don't have to spend a lot of money on premium resume paper. Choose a clean white stock, and don't use other colors such as pink and blue - they distract from the professionalism of a resume. Off-white or very light gray papers are fine, but nothing that takes away from the importance of your application. If you were submitting a report or project at work, it wouldn't be on colored paper, and your resume should be treated with the same professional style.

A Final Review

It's common knowledge in the employment world that the content of your resume should be held to the highest standards, but it's also important to remember that the look and feel of the document is equally important. A clean and attractive resume is key to bringing positive attention to your credentials. The goal is to convince the employer to read the excellent content on your resume, and organized design is crucial for accomplishing this. So use that left-hand alignment, change that crazy font to something a bit more classic and throw out that baby blue paper. You want your resume to draw attention to the content, not distract from it, and a refined resume is the way to do it.