Resumes

Have you heard that your resume is the reflection of your image? Whether you believe it or not, your resume is the first thing employers will get an impression about you. With hundreds of applicants applying for the same job as you, one of your goals is to make sure that your resume stands out than others with a nice and eye-catchy design. Of course, your content is more important than the design, but you can use the design to attract their attention. While different countries and industries may have different standards on certain design rules, here are the basic design rules you can follow to improve your resume.

Font

There are two ways on how your font affect the design of your resume. First, you have to make sure that your font is readable. Do you know that your font can also reflect your personality? Before you decide whether the font you are using is going to be cool enough or not, make sure to check that your font is easy to read. If employers find your resume is hard to read, they would most likely think the same way as your personality. Second, make sure your font size is the same throughout each section. For example, the font size for all of your header or title section is 14, and the content is 12.

Header and Sections

The next rule to make your resume stand out is to ‘Pop Out’ the Header and each section boldly. If there is no sort of sectioning different parts on your design, your resume will most likely look like a novel and is too boring to read. Making the header and each section separated makes your resume easier to read. It provides the guidelines that employers can skim through quickly while getting the content out of your resume at the same time. This rule also proves the point why using a bullet point is better in describing your experiences than writing it as a paragraph.

Go Clean and Unique

Before you pour out all of your creativity in designing your resume, make sure to do some research on the countries or industries of the job you are applying to. Some countries expect you to include a photo on your resume, and some don’t. Some industries may expect your resume to be colorful or creative, while others prefer your resume to have professional design more. Once you have enough information on what design you should do for your resume, add your personal touch, and make use of the white space to make your resume looks clean and unique.

For more examples and guidelines on how to design your resume, check out these resources below:

• Tips plus three common resume examples.
• Tips for resume formatting.
• Seven principles for resume design that will get you hired.
• Resume design templates: 15+ ideas and how-to.