Rhoda Nyce., PHR, SHRM-CP*

Employment Readiness for Individuals and Talent Acquisition for Small Business

Resume Formatting Tips

Most companies have you apply for jobs online and your resume is then uploaded to an Applicant Tracking System (ATS) to be read and shared.

Since the ATS is electronic, it is best to keep your resume formatting simple – no tables, no fancy fonts, no images. The ATS reads your resume top to bottom, left to right and if it encounters a table, it can skip it and move on.

Black font is best. Black font is the easiest to read and creates the best contrast on the white screen or paper.

Header – Name, email address, cell number, city/state and LinkedIn profile (if you desire) should be the only things in the header. No need for your mailing address as companies use email not the US Postal Service anymore.

Use bullet points more than paragraphs. Recruiters review hundreds of resumes and if a resume is too wordy, they may choose not to read it. Be succinct and provide only relevant information.

Put your start and end dates for each role. Recruiters look for longevity in your roles. If you have a spot of job hopping (working in a few jobs less than two years), be sure to capture your reasons for leaving the organization. If you don’t have that, recruiters may move to another candidate because they’re afraid you’ll be a flight risk.

Be consistent in your font type and sizes and margins.

Your resume can be one to three pages depending on your experience. If you are right out of school, one page should suffice.

Education should be listed near the end of the resume for experienced folks, and at the top for recent grads.

If you have specific questions for your resume or would like help writing/updating your resume, please reach out so we can connect.