There are no rules about what a resume ought to look like, or what it should or shouldn’t include. It all depends on the job you’re applying for, the kind of employer, and the image of yourself that you want to project. But, there are some general formatting rules you should always remember.
- For a recent college undergrad applying for an entry-level position, stick to one page. (Exceptions are for federal or education resumes, which tend to be longer because of additional material required.)
- One-inch margins (all the way around) are standard for resumes.
- Be consistent with your format throughout the document. Use the same line spacing, font, font size, etc.
- Avoid italics and underlining, since they can be misread by optical scanners that are used by many employers for scanning resumes into electronic database systems. Use ALL CAPS & bold to make your important words and phrases stand out.
- Choose a font that is easy to read. Good fonts include Arial, Times New Roman, Palatino, Tahoma, and Verdana. Use no less than 11 points for smaller fonts; larger fonts can be easily read at 10 points.
- Make headers & contact information larger than body text.
- Do not use templates or resume programs to create your resume. Anyone who spends time looking at a lot of resumes can spot them a mile away.
- Use action verbs to begin bullet points whenever possible. This way, an employer will easily see your skills (analyzed, organized, wrote, solved . . . ) just by
skimming over the first part of each line. Check out the action verbs list (page 34) for more ideas on what kinds of language to use in your resume.
SOURCE: The Career Passport – MSU Career Services Network
