Discussion on:

What is the best font to use in a resume?

Most organizations of any size will have standardized on a look and feel for their marketing materials, including what fonts should be used. Take a look at some of the company's materials and use the font that they use, if practical: naturally, if this use a font like "Chilller" or "Old English" you may want to think twice. But that subconsciously sends the message that you fit in with the firm's norms.

I will remember to look at the company web site for other clues of how to "fit in".

You can use justified text if you use a good typesetting program like LaTeX. I agree that lower-quality word processors (even if famous and with lots of bells and whistles) can do very bad a job.

Through the years, of the few recommendations I can give is to use a Sans Serif font for screen-readable stuff and a Serif font on anything else. Times New Roman is a Serif font and should be used for prints only. I prefer reading Bodoni or Garamond instead of TNR (this is very personal) and like Verdana or Tahoma if reading on screen, instead of Arial. I do not at all like blurry fonts like Segoe or Calibri which really give me a headache reading. Apart from that, what matters most is the general layout and cure put in assembling a resume, which gives me a much clearer picture about the writer.

.....to read resumes in typefaces such as Arial, Calibri, Corbel, Estrangelo, Latha, Tahoma, or Raavi. Older style typefaces such as Times New Roman, Bookman Old, Century or Lucida bright were also good to read but I always preferred the more modern text.

Anyone who used 'quirky' but clear typefaces to stand out certainly didn't get a positive reception. I'd recommend avoiding typefaces such as Comic Sans, Papyrus, Tempus sans ITC or Harrington (or anything similar). Using a 'narrow' font to get extra space or a handwriting or script style font would make a CV pretty much unreadable. Luckily I only ever had one like that and it was from a college leaver.

Clear and readable is the key. If the spacing looks stretched (such as with Console or wide style typefaces) or squashed (such as with narrow style typefaces) it's going to look off. In the IT field we're used to seeing endless screens full of text every day so when something looks a little different from a typical typeface, we notice it. The key for me is making it just a little different whilst still retaining the clarity, normal sizing and spacing.

I am wondering if the HR guy is more interested in the skill set or word processing prowess!
This is as bad as one expert saying "Always include a reference section and put available upon request" and another saying never put a reference section!

Although i wouldn't turn to TR for my typographic needs. (There are specialised sites on this topic)

Use a nonserif font like Frutiger for the titles and subtitles. (semibold and roman for example)

For the "mass" text, us a classic serif font like Garamond or Times.
Times is a time(s)proven font for readability.

Don't make too long lines, it decreases readability.

Formatting also helps tremendously.

I work with fonts on the technical side for the last 25 years. (I started with vinyl cutters with the pricetag of a nice house)
During this time, i also came in contact with the artsy side of fonts.
This doesn't make me expert in typography, but it helps to weed out the most common mistakes.

Do you mean I shouldn't use a different font for every other letter? (I like the ransom note look. It makes it more interesting...

A font with true descenders is easier to read than one without.
Just use your favourite search engine and search on terms such as "font readability".
You are trying to make it easier for the recruiters. Impressing them with fancy fonts and layouts will not actually impress them.

Your CV reflects your ability to write business documents. Its extrremely important that you apply the norms in this area else you may have your CV being part of the bigger pile (as opposed to the shortlisted pile).

The best way is to request a specialist in the area (such as recruitment agencies) or use common CV templates. The internet at large has a number of these templates.

Remember, the CV sells you as a candidate but the employers buy your skills

... whether in a resume or when posting to a forum.

Justified text looks a lot better than left aligned text as long as you use a good typesetting system which hyphens words and balances spaces globally. That what word *processors* should do. Such algorithms are used since 80's in TeX, InDesig, etc. but unfortunately not in Microsoft Word.

So you want us all to go back to using vi and learn basically another programming language to format the file?
I love UNIX and Linux but using vi for a formatted document is ridiculous. To create a quick and dirty html page, maybe, but for a resume? No Thanks

While vi or Notepad are working, and I agree they're cumbersome for this purpose, you could use Scientific Word or Scientific Workplace, which takes a lot of the burden, although not all, from you. A resume would be an easy document to compose in it. For non-resume work (like documentation writing with lots of figures), it beats Word or WordPerfect by a mile. I've seen colleagues dive into the nitty gritty of explicit tag editing in WordPerfect in order to get a proposal to come out right - it looked actually worse to me than editing a TeX source in vi ...

What about one of those other cardinal rules of keeping your resume in a common format so potential employers can easily read your electronic resume?

I love the idea of having a nicely typeset resume, but would be concerned about using a non-standard word processing tool if I couldn't create a standardized version should the employer request it. And even if it can, all that nice typesetting would be lost I would imagine.

But then again I don't know these tools, so please let me know if this really is a non-issue.

With modern PDF printer drivers (Like CutePDF) avaliable capable of creating a PDF out of anything that that can print it really shouldnt matter what WordProcessor you use to create the document, So long as you remember to print it to your PDF driver.

You find this at www.mackichan.com. You edit similar to, e.g., Word, in it, although it is not true WYSIWYG. The immediate output of the word processor part is a .dvi file, a device independent format. Tools are included, accessible through the GUI, to print to RTF and PDF formats. Scientific Word really is a front-end or wrapper for LaTeX.

The philosophy behind TeX is different from Word or WordPerfect in that the focus in narrower, geared towards technical documents. For me, a resume fits that bill nicely. This implies that the fonts are few and mainstream; you'll have a hard time finding fancy ones. LaTex emphasizes this concept, defining "document classes", which describe the appearance of a document and serve to maintain a standard for multiple users. (This can be done in Word and others as well, of course.) But due to the focus on purpose, you'll recognize a LaTeX document from afar the world over.

If you want to produce a personalized advertising flyer, this is probably not your best choice.

...and keep it simple. Serif fonts are better for body text. They are easier on the eye and are designed exactly for this. Sans Serif fonts stand out for headings but don't look good or read easily in large blocks (except possibly on screen).

Fancy formatting will get in the way. Use formatting and layout to emphasise content and structure but nothing else.

Remember, you want the recipient to read the content and not be distracted by the layout.

While at first glance it might seem like a good idea to use a different font than everyone else... maybe not. Having had the pleasure of weeding through tons of resumes in another life, I found that after looking at 20 or 50 or so resumes and getting used to the same font, a different font proved to be difficult to quickly acclimate to.

It's been my experience that what was really important presentation-wise about the resume was not a different font from all the rest, but the means by which the resume was formatted and how the different packets of information about the applicant were organizationally presented.

You'd be surprised how many professionals present one or two monolithic paragraphs in a resume and expect the interviewer to be able to easily pick through and pull out vital information about the applicant. Not happening.

If I couldn't find the information that I was looking for in a resume within a reasonable amount of time, I had to by necessity move on to the next one.

Of course there are limitless opinions on this topic... mine just being one of them.

The validity of all advice changes with time. A lot of Univsersity careers services are now advising Arial so perhaps Times will become the 'stand out' font again.. As to looking at what the company's marketing department chooses to use. Maybe - but think about what job you are applying for and whether directors or marketing people will see your CV. Finally, some CV layouts look good in one font, others look good in other fonts so it's very much a matter of horses for courses.

I've switched to Olympics2012 font for the summer

http://en.fonts2u.com/london-olympics-2012.font

The London 2012 font is a "display" font, meant for advertisng headlines. Maybe you could use it for headings, but for the text you should use a "book" font, or one of the common general-purpose fonts.

Another point: if sending in electronic format, use PDF and it will print in the layout you intended. Especially important if you use non-standard fonts.

I love the Olympics, however, this is one sore looking font - but thanks for posting that link, love the site! 8)

Wow! Not to my taste, methinks. That's almost as bad as the logo itself. Almost

Given the preponderance of automated resume scanning systems in use today, I suggest creating two versions of your resume: a machine readable version for blind or automated submissions and a human-formatted version for face-to-face meetings, snail mail or situations were you are certain a real person is going to review your resume. Just in case a human should get the machine readable version I would include in a large block font at the top of the document "MACHINE READABLE VERSION" with a note at the end that a human formatted version is available on request.

It would make an interesting study for TR to see what the current breakdown of resume intake review techniques is so folks could get an idea of how there resume is actually handled once it leaves their hands.

Arial is a sans serif font. Usually san serif fonts are harder to read. Doesn't seem like a good bet for a resume.

Because Times New Roman is the default font for all people who don't know how to change font, or don't care about their presentation, it is never a good font to use if you want to impress the reader. It is a very readable font but because it has been the default in Microsoft applications for so long and so many people don't bother to change font, it has been very over used and simply looks old and tired.

Starting from handwriting, something that rarely is used today, I always stop and admire a readable and beautiful one.
From the time I used a fixed letter type-righter, through the era of daisy-wheel and to todays word-processors, I have read and typed numerous documents.
My stance has always been positive to square type-writing and such a document always caught my eye and time to study it and not just read it and then . . . put it aside.

Coming to resumes in general and to fonts in particular, my suggestion is be you and present yourself, unbiased. Since the dream is about all-the-best, when it comes to work most people seek for a job they would love to do. Given that, I could never suggest the "be what they are looking for", i.e. be something it is not you.

When a resume is not a copy-paste procedure, fonts really matter to the extend they serve best to ease reading. At earlier times my preference was type ARC size 11 or 12. Upgrading MS Office, Century Gothic became my most-of-the-times selection.

May be there are better fonts, but . . . I am old for new things! And from the very old things like the three ancient orders of architecture the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian, I prefer the Doric one, like the Parthenon or the Lincoln Memorial.

People are selling themselves the same way as fake Viagra.

What do you mean? Via unsolicited mail to gormless idiots with more credit cards than sense?

Hmm.....actually, that analogy may just work with some companies......

I can't believe we're even asking this question. You want something that scanners and OCR software can read easily and reliably. Stick with the basics like Arial or TNR to lessen the odds of your resume getting scrambled.

The only non-electronic resumes I've seen in a long, long time were some we picked up at a local job fair, so those are the only ones where I actually got to see the fonts the applicants used. Most stuck with the basics, but many needed serious help in writing their resume. They ranged from terrible to not so hot. There were only a couple that I would classify as "good" resumes. (Listed accomplishments vs. responsibilities.)

No, the purpose is to defeat the blasted evil scanners, OCR interpreters, and parsers, and reach a real, thoughtful, conscientious. competent, active job broker who will actually lift a finger to match you up with the best kind of job for you.

It seems like whom the intended audience is another factor in deciding which font to use. Several people have mentioned using a font that is not machine readable to either force human intervention or avoid unscrupulous brokers altogether.

It would also be interesting to find out how much of an issue this is.

I suspect that organizations which use machines to scan resumes are likely to send any non-machine readable resumes straight to the circular file. There are enough people desperately looking for jobs these days that they can afford to ignore people that don't conform to basic standards.

As well, non-machine readable fonts are also likely to be difficult for humans to read quickly and therefor a waste of time for most HR types or headhunters.

This is a very clear and fine text to read, highly recommend it.

I had friends, in the jobs that I wanted, send me the resumes that landed them their jobs. I had one friend who was making over $250K a year, and she had pretty much used the same font and style between the different contract companies she worked with. I decided to use her idea.

I created tables and arranged the cells so that it would look exactly how I wanted it with the perfect spacing without getting modified based on some company's different application used to read it. For the font, I used Arial 10 pt. I also have over 10 years of experience and a lot of key points to highlight. If you don't, 12 is good. I ran the risk of 10 being a bit small to read, but I found that as long as the critical information was easy to read, the details were arranged well enough to read.

The overall goal in your resume must be readability. There are basic vision experiments demonstrating that simple serif fonts are the easiest to read in paper, e-Book and close-reading media. San serif fonts are best reserved for projection of presentations. Beyond font choice details (like font size of 10-12 pt), layout (including attention to white space and text justification) and header/footer information, the applicant must be quite serious about "information density." Writing articulately, in part, involves choosing the most informative content words for your text-- words that immediately give the resume reviewer an unambiguous sense of what you have experience doing and how well you performed those skills with that conceptual knowledge. In today's market, it still seems to be that the most important job connection considerations are the depth and breadth of your professional network. Then, a well-written resume must be able to back up the recommendation of someone who has vouched for your domain knowledge, associated skills and successful quick-learner experience by giving your resume to a key stakeholder within the hiring organization.

Never be tempted to state knowledge or skills in your resume that you do not have. It is an open invitation to be embarrassed (at the least) during a phone-screen or actual interview. But more fundamentally, it sets you apart from those with professional integrity, placing you at a serious disadvantage in hiring. And more practically, it could lead to you being hired into a position where you will not succeed, making the next job search about much more than font selection.