Apart from your content material, utilizing top-of-the-line fonts for resumes could show you how to get a recruiter’s consideration. Research have proven recruiters sometimes scan a resume for six to thirty seconds earlier than deciding if an applicant is match for a job.
With only some seconds to display your {qualifications} for a place, each element counts — together with the font you employ. The query is, what are one of the best resume fonts to go the six to thirty-seconds scan?
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I requested HubSpot recruiters to disclose the seven finest fonts on your resume and what they think about by way of design so your resume can stand out in a pile.
Desk of Contents
Featured Useful resource: 12 Free Resume Templates
What’s the finest font for a resume?
Right here’s a scorching take — I don’t assume there may be one finest font for a resume.
I feel most people would lean towards Occasions New Roman or Calibri, however there are such a lot of components that go into selecting a font that works finest for you.
- What trade are you in? Sure industries, like legislation, have font requirements, so it’s not a foul thought to align your resume accordingly.
- Is your resume text-heavy? Some fonts work higher in smaller sizes and in tighter codecs than others.
- What’s the corporate tradition like? Occasions New Roman is likely to be an excellent match for legal professionals, nevertheless it may not be your best option should you’re becoming a member of an organization with extra of a relaxed vibe.
So, my non-answer is … it relies upon.
If I completely needed to choose my favourite, I’m going with Helvetica as a result of it’s clear, easy, and simple to learn (even in smaller sizes). Plus, it’s obtainable on most, if not all, gadgets.
However don’t take my phrase for it. Let’s hear what the consultants must say.
Skilled Recommendation on Selecting the Proper Font
To evoke a way of favor, professionalism, and uniqueness, you should put effort and consideration into your font selection. When talking with recruiters, it rapidly turned obvious that basic fonts are nonetheless one of the best choices.
“I’m an enormous fan of the ‘classics’ for resumes — Occasions New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and Cambria. I’m a little bit old skool, however I feel they’re the cleanest and exude professionalism,” stated Johanna Fleming, a former senior recruiter at HubSpot.
Riley Kundtz, the previous senior MBA campus recruiter at HubSpot, agreed.
“I discover the basic formatting and Occasions font useful when studying a dense resume from an skilled MBA candidate.”
Occasions New Roman has change into a bit controversial these days. It was the go-to font for a few years as a result of it’s conventional and recognizable, however these days, some are opting in opposition to it.
“For me, it’s all about legibility and cleanliness. I favor sans-serif fonts like Helvetica, which is fashionable and chic, over serif fonts like Occasions New Roman,” says Glory Montes, a technical recruiter at HubSpot.
“Total, I’d simply steer clear of a font like Occasions New Roman; it’s overused and jogs my memory of lengthy nights writing course papers in school,” provides Glory.
Georgia is one font The New York Occasions makes use of and is just like Occasions New Roman. It’s a bit wider, making it simpler to learn.
Paulina Valdez Franco, former govt recruiter at HubSpot, agrees with this take.
“My two favourite fonts are Helvetica should you’re on the lookout for a clear and basic look, and Georgia, in order for you a extra fashionable and enjoyable look,” she stated. “The latter can be designed to learn effectively on screens.”
Helvetica is extensively utilized in promoting and works equally effectively for text-heavy pages and paperwork.
A lesser-known font that’s an excellent choice on your resume is Garamond, really useful by our former staff lead of engineering recruiting at HubSpot, Wealthy Lapham.
“Recruiters have an thought of the abilities they’re on the lookout for on a resume, so should you strive a brand new fashion or format, it may be more durable for recruiters to search out the knowledge they’re on the lookout for,” he stated. “Maintain it clear and easy.”
Franco added that Arial and Calibri are nice selections to play it secure.
Bridget LeMon, HubSpot’s international rising expertise and college recruiting senior supervisor, echoes this.
“It’s very acceptable – and turning into extra widespread – for candidates to stray away from the resume norms of Occasions New Roman and Calibri,” she stated.
“Avenir Subsequent and Muna are two glorious font choices if you’re seeking to break the established order.”
Finally, you‘ll need to think about the place you’re making use of for when selecting a font. To Glory Montes’ level, sure extra artistic roles may profit from a novel font than Occasions New Roman.
The Greatest Resume Fonts
- Occasions New Roman
- Arial
- Avenir Subsequent
- Helvetica
- Calibri
- Cambria
- Georgia
Greatest Fonts for Resume
1. Occasions New Roman
Occasions New Roman font has been well-liked for resumes for many years.
This serif choice is easy-to-read and communicates formality. On-line, the font is uniform and accessible throughout numerous platforms and working techniques.
Greatest for: Phrase paperwork. PDFs can host distinctive fonts. Nevertheless, a normal font can be useful in case your resume is uploaded as a Phrase doc.
Benefits
- It has a basic {and professional} look, making it a wonderful selection for candidates focusing on company positions.
- It’s a normal font utilized in most phrase processors, making it an accessible choice for any machine.
- It’s simply readable in print and on-screen.
Disadvantages
- Occasions New Roman’s outdated look could not attraction to all industries, and a few could think about it bland or generic.
- This font could make your resume mix in with the remainder because of its ubiquity.
- It’s a heavy serif font, taking on more room than different choices.
2. Arial
Arial is a sans-serif font that has change into well-liked for its clear and fashionable look.
Arial’s easy and minimalist design has made it a preferred selection for candidates focusing on artistic positions.
Greatest for: Resumes submitted on-line, the place readability is crucial for Applicant Monitoring Techniques (ATS) utilized in recruitment.
Benefits
- Arial gives simplicity, which permits your content material to face out.
- It has sturdy legibility in small font sizes, even in print.
- It’s supreme for candidates making an attempt to suit all the required info of their resume on a single web page.
Disadvantages
- The font’s overuse in branding and design has led to its affiliation with a non-innovative fashion.
- Arial’s uniformity could not swimsuit industries reminiscent of graphic design or artistic writing looking for to showcase creativity and aptitude.
- It could make the textual content seem much less formal and inappropriate for particular job functions.
3. Avenir Subsequent
Avenir Subsequent is a contemporary typeface gaining recognition amongst designers and recruiters. Avenir Subsequent’s look is characterised by its geometric shapes, open contours, and powerful strains.
Its clear, modern look has change into a preferred font selection for resumes.
What I really like: Avenir Subsequent is a scalable font. It maintains its readability even at small sizes, and its geometric shapes make it an ideal selection for digital resumes.
Benefits
- Avenir Subsequent’s glossy and fashionable design makes it a wonderful selection for candidates focusing on artistic industries.
- Its clear, easy strains provide a way of magnificence, whereas its legibility provides recruiters a way of professionalism.
Disadvantages
- Avenir Subsequent might not be as widely known.
- It might be tough to learn on some pc techniques with out the font put in.
- It’s a premium font with the next price ticket.
4. Helvetica
Helvetica is a widely known and well-liked font used on resumes, notably within the design trade.
It’s clear, basic, and timeless. This font is well-liked with professionals, design lovers, typographers, and Wes Anderson.
What I really like: The font is offered in a number of weights, making it simpler to distinguish headings and sections within the resume.
Benefits
- Helvetica is simple to learn and has an expert, easy look.
- The font‘s recognition signifies that job recruiters and hiring managers are acquainted with it.
- Helvetica’s clear strains give the resume a structured and well-organized look, making it supreme for these in finance, legislation, and enterprise administration.
Disadvantages
- The font’s ubiquity in resumes could make it really feel overdone and uninspired.
- With so many candidates utilizing the font, your resume could wrestle to face out.
- Helvetica‘s minimalist design may also work in opposition to you in case your resume has restricted content material.
5. Calibri
Calibri is a recent design, making it a preferred selection for making a visually interesting and easy-to-read resume.
What I like: Calibri gives a way of uniformity throughout completely different platforms, making it an accessible and dependable choice for candidates.
Benefits
- The font has been designed with legibility in thoughts, making it a wonderful choice for resumes.
- Calibri’s fashionable look creates a glossy look, making it supreme for job seekers seeking to spotlight their modern expertise.
- Calibri can be lighter than different font choices, making it a really perfect selection for single-page resumes.
Disadvantages
- Calibri is likely one of the default fonts obtainable in most word-processing packages, so it’s not distinctive or private.
- The font might be perceived as casual, making it lower than supreme for formal industries, like legislation or finance.
6. Cambria
Cambria’s basic design options elegant serifs, making it an ideal selection for job seekers. You may simply create a standard, professional-looking resume that stands out.
What I like: Cambria’s beneficiant spacing between characters and features makes the resume a lot simpler to learn and stands out from different fonts.
Benefits
- Cambria has a basic but fashionable look.
- The font‘s serifs give it a timeless look that’s good for job seekers in additional conventional industries reminiscent of finance or legislation.
- It’s extremely readable, even in smaller font sizes, which makes it a wonderful selection for information-heavy resumes.
Disadvantages
- Some recruiters and hiring managers may view the font as old school or generic.
- Cambria’s heavy serifs could also be problematic for these making an attempt to maintain their resume to a single web page.
7. Georgia
Georgia is a standard serif font that has been a preferred selection for resumes because of its elegant and basic look.
Georgia’s distinctive design options distinguishable serifs that give it an expert look.
What I like: The font’s design combines conventional and fashionable aesthetics, making it a flexible choice for job seekers making use of for a variety of positions.
Benefits
- Georgia’s design is simple to learn even in smaller font sizes, making it an ideal selection for resumes with restricted house.
- It may be personalized, which makes it a wonderful choice for candidates trying so as to add their private contact.
Disadvantages
- The font’s conventional look might not be appropriate for candidates focusing on artistic or non-traditional fields.
- It’s a serif, making it tough to learn in small sizes on a digital display or in on-line functions.
Does utilizing one of the best resume fonts even matter?
Most recruiters I spoke with have been hesitant to supply a font. As an alternative, they give attention to the content material.
“I not often pay an excessive amount of consideration to fonts,” stated Heta Patel, a former HubSpot recruiter. “I am extra involved to see a resume that’s formatted neatly – submitting a PDF is useful with this, so your formatting does not shift.”
Gross sales Recruiting Supervisor Kelsey Freedman agreed.
“Actually, I care little in regards to the font of a resume, so long as it is clear and in PDF format,” Freedman stated. “I sometimes assessment a resume for 20 to 30 seconds, so a standard font is nice.”
Freedman continued, “I’d advise avoiding script font or bubble font, or related fonts which can be distracting.”
Finally, and as anticipated, your content material nonetheless issues most. Nevertheless, a transparent font will assist keep away from any irritability you may trigger a recruiter with a distracting, messy design.
“What I get most enthusiastic about is the content material. Relying on the function, I look to see that candidates are sharing direct and compelling snapshots of their work,” stated Ashley Hodder, a world recruiting supervisor at HubSpot.
“I search for indicators that present knowledge orientation, autonomy, and thoughtfulness about enterprise affect,” she stated.
Worst Resume Fonts
Whereas some recruiters could not have strategies for one of the best fonts, many can agree on among the worst ones.
“Something that’s cursive or too bubbly is just too arduous to learn. As an illustration, I might keep away from Comedian Sans,” says Holly Peterson, staff lead for administration and analysis recruiting HubSpot.
One other resume font kind to keep away from is Script.
With text-heavy paperwork, Scripts, and any of their derivatives make textual content arduous to learn as a result of they appear to be they’re written by hand.
They’re typically utilized in hand lettering and calligraphy for creative initiatives and shouldn’t be current wherever close to your resume.
Very best Resume Font Dimension
When requested which font dimension is finest, Fleming stated 12 is good. Most recruiters would agree.
Your textual content ought to be giant sufficient to learn comfortably with out straining however sufficiently small that there’s house to incorporate all key components, reminiscent of your goal, contact info, expertise, and expertise.
You should use bigger font sizes for headings containing your title and part titles.
In case your font is in depth, you’ll be able to scale to 10.5 — however by no means go under it.
The crucial takeaway is to make your resume clear and simple to learn, which suggests maintaining the font dimension round 12, sticking to basic fonts with fashionable twists, and forsaking your favourite script font.
Resume Font Ideas
1. Select a font that’s finest suited on your trade.
It’s essential to maintain trade nuances in thoughts as you’re writing.
For instance, a seasoned graphic designer wouldn’t dare use Comedian Sans. And the usual font for many authorized paperwork is Occasions New Roman.
This isn’t to say your resume font will make or break your possibilities of getting the job. However this small step may help display your consideration to element and your expertise within the subject.
Professional tip: Each time I’m refreshing my resume, I prefer to browse examples in my trade for inspiration. It helps me be sure that I’m aligning the general fashion with the place I’m making use of for.
That is particularly helpful after I’ve been out of the job marketplace for some time.
2. Maintain the font constant all through.
Font consistency is simply as essential as font kind and dimension. It may be complicated for recruiters should you’re switching forwards and backwards between fonts.
And as I discussed, you’ve about 30 seconds tops to make an impression. Make your resume scannable and easy-to-read at a look.
Professional tip: In case you’re going to combine fonts, at the very least be sure all textual content ranges are the identical all through. For instance, all titles and headers ought to be the identical, and all paragraph fonts ought to match.
3. Be aware of distinction and colours.
It’s enjoyable to introduce colours into your resume — whether or not it’s background colours or including some flare to your titles and headers.
However a very powerful half is readability. Don’t get carried away with brilliant or busy colours. You’ll find yourself taking away from the content material on the web page.
Professional tip: You should use a shade distinction checker to verify your resume is accessible and legible.
4. Take note of formatting.
Much like font consistency, you’ll need to be sure your resume is well-formatted and arranged.
Use headers to interrupt up your sections, be sure your margins are at the very least half an inch on all sides, and use a font kind with optimum readability.
Recruiters get 1000’s of resumes per job itemizing. Be certain that your resume catches their eye for good purpose — not unhealthy.
Professional tip: Simply because your resume appears good in your pc, doesn’t imply it’ll look good on all computer systems. Save and ship your resume as a PDF to make sure the formatting stays fixed wherever it goes.
Selecting a Resume Font: FAQs
1. Ought to I select a serif or sans-serif font for my resume?
This choice largely is dependent upon the kind of job you’re making use of for and the contents of your resume.
Whereas there’s no proper or incorrect reply, right here’s a useful cheat sheet:
- Serif fonts are basic {and professional}. They work finest for multi-page or light-text resumes and conventional fields (e.g., legislation, finance, enterprise).
- Sans-serif fonts are fashionable and glossy. They work finest for single-page or text-heavy resumes and inventive fields (e.g., advertising and marketing, design).
2. What dimension ought to my resume font be?
Dimension 12 is the best font dimension for a resume.
You may go as little as 10.5 when you have loads of info to incorporate, and I wouldn’t advocate going bigger than font dimension 14.
Nevertheless, you’ll be able to go bigger than 14 for headers and part titles to assist manage your sections (i.e., Schooling, Expertise, and many others.).
Blissful Resume Writing
The crucial takeaway is to make your resume clear and simple to learn, which suggests maintaining the font dimension round 12, sticking to basic fonts with fashionable twists, and forsaking your favourite script font.
Editor’s notice: This put up was initially printed in November 2018 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.
