If you’ve ever attended my presentations about resumes or talked directly with me about your resume, you’ve probably heard me say something about how you can ask 50 people about your resume and get 150 opinions on how it should look. I say that because I know there are many ways to present information about yourself in your resume. Many formats, many “rules,” and many personal preferences that you’ll find out there by those who read and write resumes for a living, as well as by those who just have an opinion.
However, there are fundamental principles to follow in developing your resume, such as having a good summary section with your key strengths, including your relevant experience, including education and training, and providing evidence of your value proposition with accomplishment or impact statements. Otherwise, there’s a lot of flexibility – and because of that, you’ll find many contradicting opinions.
Ultimately, how you arrange the major elements is dependent on your target audience (who’s going to read it) and what they prefer. How you format your resume is also equally dependent on what YOU prefer. Your resume needs to stand out, yes, but it also needs to do it in such a way that you are comfortable with it representing you. This goes for the content, as well as the format.
Since there are so many differing opinions, I’m just going to tell you what I prefer. The list below contains the usual standard “rules” that I follow… and sometimes break.
- Two pages is the recommended length for most resumes, especially for individual contributor roles through mid-level management. Executives might choose to use three pages, though many still use two pages. (Read The Executive Resume) You might think one page is the way to go, but if you have more than ten years of experience, a page and a half to two pages is still the norm.
- Whenever possible, present your resume in .pdf format. This will preserve your format no matter what software version or operating system someone uses to open and read your resume.
- Unless you present your resume as a .pdf, do not place your name and contact information in a header on the first page. When it is removed from the header, it’s easier (and hassle-free) for the person to click on your email address and email you.
- Ideally, it’s best to alternate paragraph style with bulleted style. Avoid using too much of one or the other. Also, use concise wording rather than long sections of text (and that includes long bullets). Recruiters generally dislike having to read paragraphs that are longer than 3 or 4 lines of text.
- Be sure to frame elements with white space.
- If you prefer a serif font, go with something other than Times New Roman (which can make your resume look dated), such as Garamond or Cambria. Sans serif fonts like Calibri, Arial, Corbel, etc. tend to be more popular and are usually a safe choice for most candidates. Whichever you choose, avoid going smaller than 10 pt font size.
- Use .75” to 1” margins on the right and left. Some interviewers still prefer to print resumes and write notes in the margins during interviews, and they appreciate having that space to do so. Plus, it makes your resume look better visually. For the top and bottom, use no less than .5” margins.
- Arrange your work history section in reverse chronological order with your most recent employer first.
- Whether you’re an individual contributor or a mid-level manager, it’s perfectly acceptable to provide your employment history for only the past 10-15 years. It’s a matter of what is relevant. The most notable exception to this rule is for VP or C-level executives, who usually need to show a more complete history.
- Even if you decide to arrange the work history section in a way other than reverse chronological order, be sure you show employment dates, as well as explain any significant gaps.
- In your work history section, it is recommended that you place your employer or your job title first, then the city and state, and lastly the employment dates (YYYY−YYYY is an acceptable format in the modern resume). Moving employment dates flush to the right margin will create eye-pleasing white space and make it easier to read. See example below…
- Unless an educational credential, such as a degree, has been earned recently (in the past 2-3 years), it is usually placed last on the resume. A person’s body of relevant work history usually overrides educational credentials after a time, whereas if a person has no relevant professional work experience, then educational credentials might be the most important feature and would need to be listed first.
- If you’ve recently earned a second degree after being in the workforce for awhile, then you can mention it in the summary section without having to move the education section to the top of the resume. This is especially advisable when the previous and most recent degrees are unrelated to each other or when the previous degree is unrelated to your current career path and would be a distraction if highlighted at the top with the more recent, relevant degree.
- Listing special interests, hobbies, and volunteer/community service can show that you’re a well-rounded person, but as with all content on your resume, be aware of what you’re trying to say about yourself and always ask yourself if it’s relevant. Note that this is usually placed at the end as the last section on your resume. To get more tips about this read: Resumes: Special Interests, Hobbies, and Volunteer Experience.