Best Resume Format

For this blog, I include an example of a good resume. The best resume format to use is one that is simple and easy to skim down the page. Your name goes at the top and should be bolded and font size 18 pt. Bold your skills driven headline and have the font size set to 16 pt. Under your headline, you will have your skill set, bold this and use font size 12 pt. After this you will use the bold feature judicially. Your degree titles should be bolded. The type of font you should use is any simple clean fonts such as Aerial, Calibri or Open Sans. Use all caps for your section headers which include WORK HISTORY and ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE. Bold your job title positions and the year you worked there. Font size should be 11-12 pt. Do not use a font size smaller than size 11. 

Under the additional experience section, you will bold and use all caps for major sections. Bold each major title and the year. The titles and descriptions should be shifted all to the left and the years should be shifted all to the right. This makes the resume very easy to read and organized. The additional experience can include published works, speaking engagements, certifications, leadership positions, scholarships and awards, associations or professional memberships, a full skills list, volunteering, or unrelated work experience. Choose which ones are relevant to you and use as many as necessary. 

If you are applying online, then make sure your resume has no icon symbols or fancy graphics. They are unnecessary and the applicant tracking system may flag your resume and throw it out automatically. Be careful when using special symbols on your resume. The | is okay to use to separate your contact info and to use judicially throughout your resume. 

Read our next blog: Sample Resumes: Mistakes to Avoid.