Moreover your content material, utilizing among the finest fonts for resumes could assist you 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 show your {qualifications} for a place, each element counts — together with the font you utilize. The query is, what are the perfect resume fonts to move the six to thirty-seconds scan?
I requested HubSpot recruiters to disclose the seven greatest fonts to your resume and what they contemplate 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 greatest font for a resume?
Right here’s a scorching take — I don’t assume there’s one greatest font for a resume.
I feel most people would lean towards Instances New Roman or Calibri, however there are such a lot of elements that go into selecting a font that works greatest for you.
- What business are you in? Sure industries, like legislation, have font requirements, so it’s not a foul concept 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? Instances New Roman may be an incredible match for attorneys, nevertheless it won’t be the only option for those who’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 decide my favourite, I’m going with Helvetica as a result of it’s clear, easy, and straightforward to learn (even in smaller sizes). Plus, it’s out there on most, if not all, gadgets.
However don’t take my phrase for it. Let’s hear what the specialists need to say.
Skilled Recommendation on Selecting the Proper Font
To evoke a way of fashion, professionalism, and uniqueness, it’s essential to put effort and consideration into your font selection. When talking with recruiters, it rapidly turned obvious that traditional fonts are nonetheless the perfect choices.
“I’m a giant fan of the ‘classics’ for resumes — Instances New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and Cambria. I’m a little bit old-fashioned, however I feel they’re the cleanest and exude professionalism,” mentioned Johanna Fleming, a former senior recruiter at HubSpot.
Riley Kundtz, the previous senior MBA campus recruiter at HubSpot, agreed.
“I discover the traditional formatting and Instances font useful when studying a dense resume from an skilled MBA candidate.”
Instances New Roman has grow to be a bit controversial currently. It was the go-to font for a few years as a result of it’s conventional and recognizable, however currently, some are opting in opposition to it.
“For me, it’s all about legibility and cleanliness. I want sans-serif fonts like Helvetica, which is trendy and chic, over serif fonts like Instances New Roman,” says Glory Montes, a technical recruiter at HubSpot.
“Total, I’d simply avoid a font like Instances 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 Instances makes use of and is just like Instances 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 for those who’re searching for a clear and traditional look, and Georgia, in order for you a extra trendy and enjoyable look,” she mentioned. “The latter can be designed to learn nicely on screens.”
Helvetica is extensively utilized in promoting and works equally nicely for text-heavy pages and paperwork.
A lesser-known font that’s an incredible possibility to your resume is Garamond, advisable by our former staff lead of engineering recruiting at HubSpot, Rich Lapham.
“Recruiters have an concept of the talents they’re searching for on a resume, so for those who attempt a brand new model or format, it may be harder for recruiters to seek out the data they’re searching for,” he mentioned. “Hold it clear and easy.”
Franco added that Arial and Calibri are nice decisions 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 Instances New Roman and Calibri,” she mentioned.
“Avenir Subsequent and Muna are two glorious font choices in case you are seeking to break the established order.”
Finally, you‘ll need to contemplate the place you’re making use of for when selecting a font. To Glory Montes’ level, sure extra artistic roles would possibly profit from a novel font than Instances New Roman.
The Finest Resume Fonts
- Instances New Roman
- Arial
- Avenir Subsequent
- Helvetica
- Calibri
- Cambria
- Georgia
Finest Fonts for Resume
1. Instances New Roman
Instances New Roman font has been in style for resumes for many years.
This serif possibility is easy-to-read and communicates formality. On-line, the font is uniform and accessible throughout numerous platforms and working techniques.
Finest for: Phrase paperwork. PDFs can host distinctive fonts. Nonetheless, an ordinary font can be useful in case your resume is uploaded as a Phrase doc.
Benefits
- It has a traditional {and professional} look, making it a wonderful selection for candidates focusing on company positions.
- It’s an ordinary font utilized in most phrase processors, making it an accessible possibility for any system.
- It’s simply readable in print and on-screen.
Disadvantages
- Instances New Roman’s outdated look could not enchantment to all industries, and a few could contemplate it bland or generic.
- This font could make your resume mix in with the remaining resulting from 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 grow to be in style for its clear and trendy look.
Arial’s simple and minimalist design has made it a well-liked selection for candidates focusing on artistic positions.
Finest for: Resumes submitted on-line, the place readability is important for Applicant Monitoring Methods (ATS) utilized in recruitment.
Benefits
- Arial presents simplicity, which permits your content material to face out.
- It has sturdy legibility in small font sizes, even in print.
- It’s splendid 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 model.
- Arial’s uniformity could not go well with industries akin to graphic design or artistic writing looking for to showcase creativity and aptitude.
- It might 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 robust traces.
Its clear, up to date look has grow to be a well-liked font selection for resumes.
What I 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 smooth and trendy design makes it a wonderful selection for candidates focusing on artistic industries.
- Its clear, easy traces supply a way of class, whereas its legibility offers recruiters a way of professionalism.
Disadvantages
- Avenir Subsequent will not be as well known.
- It could possibly be troublesome to learn on some laptop techniques with out the font put in.
- It’s a premium font with the next price ticket.
4. Helvetica
Helvetica is a well known and in style font used on resumes, significantly within the design business.
It’s clear, traditional, and timeless. This font is in style with professionals, design fanatics, typographers, and Wes Anderson.
What I like: The font is offered in a number of weights, making it simpler to distinguish headings and sections within the resume.
Benefits
- Helvetica is straightforward to learn and has knowledgeable, simple look.
- The font‘s recognition signifies that job recruiters and hiring managers are conversant in it.
- Helvetica’s clear traces give the resume a structured and well-organized look, making it splendid 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 battle to face out.
- Helvetica‘s minimalist design also can work in opposition to you in case your resume has restricted content material.
5. Calibri
Calibri is a recent design, making it a well-liked selection for making a visually interesting and easy-to-read resume.
What I like: Calibri presents a way of uniformity throughout totally different platforms, making it an accessible and dependable possibility for candidates.
Benefits
- The font has been designed with legibility in thoughts, making it a wonderful possibility for resumes.
- Calibri’s trendy look creates a smooth look, making it splendid for job seekers seeking to spotlight their up to date 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 out there in most word-processing applications, so it’s not distinctive or private.
- The font will be perceived as casual, making it lower than splendid for formal industries, like legislation or finance.
6. Cambria
Cambria’s traditional design options elegant serifs, making it an ideal selection for job seekers. You possibly can simply create a conventional, 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 traditional but trendy look.
- The font‘s serifs give it a timeless look that’s excellent for job seekers in additional conventional industries akin to 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 would possibly view the font as old style 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 conventional serif font that has been a well-liked selection for resumes resulting from its elegant and traditional look.
Georgia’s distinctive design options distinguishable serifs that give it knowledgeable look.
What I like: The font’s design combines conventional and trendy aesthetics, making it a flexible possibility for job seekers making use of for a variety of positions.
Benefits
- Georgia’s design is straightforward to learn even in smaller font sizes, making it an ideal selection for resumes with restricted house.
- It may be custom-made, which makes it a wonderful possibility for candidates trying so as to add their private contact.
Disadvantages
- The font’s conventional look will not be appropriate for candidates focusing on artistic or non-traditional fields.
- It’s a serif, making it troublesome to learn in small sizes on a digital display screen or in on-line functions.
Does utilizing the perfect 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 hardly ever pay an excessive amount of consideration to fonts,” mentioned 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 concerning the font of a resume, so long as it is clear and in PDF format,” Freedman mentioned. “I sometimes overview a resume for 20 to 30 seconds, so a conventional font is sweet.”
Freedman continued, “I’d advise avoiding script font or bubble font, or related fonts which might be distracting.”
Finally, and as anticipated, your content material nonetheless issues most. Nonetheless, a transparent font will assist keep away from any irritability you would possibly trigger a recruiter with a distracting, messy design.
“What I get most enthusiastic about is the content material. Relying on the position, I look to see that candidates are sharing direct and compelling snapshots of their work,” mentioned Ashley Hodder, a worldwide recruiting supervisor at HubSpot.
“I search for indicators that present information orientation, autonomy, and thoughtfulness about enterprise impression,” she mentioned.
Worst Resume Fonts
Whereas some recruiters could not have strategies for the perfect fonts, many can agree on a few of the worst ones.
“Something that’s cursive or too bubbly is just too exhausting to learn. For example, I would keep away from Comedian Sans,” says Holly Peterson, staff lead for administration and analysis recruiting HubSpot.
One other resume font sort to keep away from is Script.
With text-heavy paperwork, Scripts, and any of their derivatives make textual content exhausting to learn as a result of they appear like they’re written by hand.
They’re typically utilized in hand lettering and calligraphy for inventive tasks and shouldn’t be current anyplace close to your resume.
Splendid Resume Font Measurement
When requested which font measurement is greatest, Fleming mentioned 12 is right. 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, akin to your goal, contact info, expertise, and expertise.
You need to use bigger font sizes for headings containing your identify and part titles.
In case your font is in depth, you’ll be able to scale to 10.5 — however by no means go beneath it.
The essential takeaway is to make your resume clear and straightforward to learn, which implies holding the font measurement round 12, sticking to traditional fonts with trendy twists, and forsaking your favourite script font.
Resume Font Suggestions
1. Select a font that’s greatest suited to your business.
It’s necessary to maintain business 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 Instances New Roman.
This isn’t to say your resume font will make or break your probabilities of getting the job. However this small step may also help show your consideration to element and your expertise within the subject.
Professional tip: Every time I’m refreshing my resume, I wish to browse examples in my industry for inspiration. It helps me guarantee that I’m aligning the general model 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. Hold the font constant all through.
Font consistency is simply as necessary as font sort and measurement. It may be complicated for recruiters for those who’re switching forwards and backwards between fonts.
And as I discussed, you’ve gotten about 30 seconds tops to make an impression. Make your resume scannable and easy-to-read at a look.
Professional tip: For those who’re going to combine fonts, not less than be certain that 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 shiny or busy colours. You’ll find yourself taking away from the content material on the web page.
Professional tip: You need to use a color contrast checker to verify your resume is accessible and legible.
4. Take note of formatting.
Much like font consistency, you’ll need to be certain that your resume is well-formatted and arranged.
Use headers to interrupt up your sections, be certain that your margins are not less than half an inch on all sides, and use a font sort with optimum readability.
Recruiters get hundreds of resumes per job itemizing. Make certain your resume catches their eye for good cause — not unhealthy.
Professional tip: Simply because your resume seems good in your laptop, 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 determination largely relies on the kind of job you’re making use of for and the contents of your resume.
Whereas there’s no proper or improper reply, right here’s a useful cheat sheet:
- Serif fonts are traditional {and professional}. They work greatest for multi-page or light-text resumes and conventional fields (e.g., legislation, finance, enterprise).
- Sans-serif fonts are trendy and smooth. They work greatest for single-page or text-heavy resumes and artistic fields (e.g., advertising, design).
2. What measurement ought to my resume font be?
Measurement 12 is the perfect font measurement for a resume.
You possibly can go as little as 10.5 when you’ve got numerous info to incorporate, and I wouldn’t advocate going bigger than font measurement 14.
Nonetheless, you’ll be able to go bigger than 14 for headers and part titles to assist manage your sections (i.e., Schooling, Expertise, and so forth.).
Blissful Resume Writing
The essential takeaway is to make your resume clear and straightforward to learn, which implies holding the font measurement round 12, sticking to traditional fonts with trendy twists, and forsaking your favourite script font.
Editor’s observe: This submit was initially printed in November 2018 and has been up to date for comprehensiveness.