How to Make Your Resume Easily Readable

We know from research that hiring managers and recruiters skim resumes in about 6-10 seconds. To ensure that your resume is highly readable, consider the following suggestions:

Fonts & Organization:

• Use a common sans serif font like Arial or Calibri.
• Do not use more than 2 fonts. Prefer one color (black), using dark grey or another color for testimonials or company descriptions.
• Use boldfacing or underlining sparingly.
• Add white space throughout the document (line and paragraph spacing).
• Avoid half-pages. Your resume should have 1-3 full pages, depending on your career length.
• Use consistent formatting for headers and intervals between sections.
• Align the resume style with the style of your cover letter.

Bullet Points:

• Do not use more than 2 types of bullet points.
• Avoid bullet points that are longer than 2 lines.
• If describing a longer project in one bullet, break it up into sub-points and use a different visual market for the bullet point.
• If you have more than 4-5 bullets per role, break them down into sub-sections like “Team Leadership”, “Process Improvement”, or “Budgeting.”

Content:

• Trim general role descriptions and focus on measurable results, highlighting improvements in quality or quantity.
• Condense outdated roles (older than 10 years) and remove certifications and memberships that are not current or relevant.
• Draft the top part of the resume (career summary and areas of expertise) with the target role in mind.

 

About the author:

Tanya Mykhaylychenko is a professional resume writer with a background in content writing, university teaching, and IT staffing. She is a member of Editors Canada and Career Professionals of Canada. For more information, please visit https://tm-editorial.com/about/ and contact her to schedule a free introductory consultation.