How to Format a Resume

Several fonts work well for resumes, including:

Never use a font size smaller than 10 points if you want hiring managers to read your resume, and don’t go above 12 points for any text except section headings. It’s acceptable to make your section headings 1-2 points larger than the rest of your text.

Proper margins for a resume are 1 inch all around. A half inch is acceptable if you need extra space, but any smaller and your text won’t be legible. Margins bigger than 1 inch on all sides look unprofessional and take up valuable space you could otherwise use for content.

A proper resume layout follows either a chronological, functional or combination format. Choosing from these resume formats will guide you in organizing your job titles, work experience and skills.

Always write dates with just the month and the year. You can either:

• Write them out in full, like January 2021.
• Abbreviate them, like Jan. 2021.
• Use numbers, like 01/21.

All three are acceptable. Use whichever format looks best in the template. Most importantly, once you pick a style, stick with it.

Employers look for keywords that match the job description and words that emphasize applicants’ strengths. Hiring managers notice power words that denote action, such as “supervised,” “planned,” “designed” and “produced” along with section headings and highlights that contain the words “awards,” “achievements” and “accomplishments.” And don’t forget to add numbers when you can — they make accomplishments pop!

While the text within each resume section should be left-aligned, headers are different. A header can be center-aligned or left-aligned, depending on the resume template. Both are acceptable. What’s important is, whichever alignment you choose, make sure you stay consistent. If you center-align one header, then all of them should be center-aligned.

If you’re wondering how far back a resume should go, the general rule of thumb is no more than 10 or 15 years. This means that every time you update your resume, you should look for opportunities to shorten each section by cutting older, irrelevant jobs or out-of-date skills.

For resume length, you should keep your resume down to one or two pages. While playing around with the formatting can shorten your resume, be careful. Font size can range from 10-12 pts, while margins should be around 1 inch on all sides.

The best way to format a resume in 2024 is to use a resume maker. Formatting everything yourself from scratch is difficult. Making your resume in Word can lead to formatting frustrations, whether trying to keep your bullet points aligned or adding a new section. Resume builders automate the process from beginning to end, so no matter what changes you make to the resume, your formatting stays perfect.

Employers mostly prefer the reverse-chronological resume. This format puts experience at the forefront. Hiring managers like how easy it is to see a candidate’s work history summarized in bullet points. Chronological resumes have been used for decades and will likely remain popular for years to come.