Did you know that something as small as the font you use on your resume can have as big of an impact as you not getting an interview?

Recruiters and hiring managers only spend about 6 seconds looking at a resume before they make a decision to move forward with that candidate or not. You want to make sure the font and size are easily legible and show professionalism. 

The wrong font choice can also prevent your resume from passing through an ATS system the employer is using. 

Ready to make a great first impression with your resume?

Top 7 Resume Fonts 

• Times New Roman 
• Arial 
• Calibri
• Helvetica 
• Cambria
• Georgia 
• Didot

Font Size Matters

The goal of your resume should be that a recruiter or hiring manager can quickly get a sense for your experience, professionalism and organization in 6 seconds to want to continue reading. Stick to a font size between 10 and 12 so that no one will have to squint to read it but you will also be able to fit the majority if not all of your information on one page. 

You can make headers and section titles slightly bigger to create some separation and clear sections, for example your skills, education, and work experience headers. 

Consistency is key

Write out your entire resume in one font size, and afterwards go back and format everything as you wish. Make sure to be consistent throughout. If you decide to bold a header, all headers need to be bolded. If you choose to italicize dates, then all dates get that treatment. 

Another small detail that can easily be overlooked is punctuation. If you decide to include punctuation in lists, make sure you are consistent throughout. 

Font Mistakes to Avoid 

• Don’t use multiple font faces, only use one to keep your resume clean and professional 
• Don’t overuse formatting like bold, italics, underlines, only use them when appropriate 
• Don’t increase or decrease margin sizes, that could prevent your resume from passing through an ATS 

You can find free resume design resources here.