Formatting Your Resume
A resume that stands a chance of scoring you an interview must be formatted correctly. When a company is hiring they get hundreds if not thousands of resumes for any one job opening. As a result they have to scan through resumes quickly to pull out a few that meet requirements for a first interview. The best way to get noticed is to format your resume in such a way that that it is easy for the person to scan and get an idea of who you are quickly.
Resumes for the most part should be a single page long. A resume that is a half page shows you don’t have much to tell and a resume that is two pages can just seem overwhelming for the person trying to read it. So getting all your information on a single page is really important.
You should not use single spacing if possible. You will have to play with this depending on how much information you need to display. Either way you must make sure your headings are double spaced and that it is easy to skim through the sections because they each have a proper heading.
Always use bullet points instead of heavy paragraphs of text. Bullet points are easier to scan and are more likely to get your resume noticed. A few key bullet points can be much more effective than paragraphs that will never been read. Highlight the positive instead of telling them every single thing possible.
Use normal fonts. Your resume is not a place for your favorite fonts. Stick to fonts that are normal such as times new roman, Arial or Tahoma. These are easy to read and don’t put unnecessary strain on your eyes. You don’t want to be eliminated over something as silly as a font choice.
Your overall resume should be clean, concise and easy to read. You should also double and triple check for spelling or grammatical errors. You don’t want your resume to be discounted because of simple errors you could have avoided by double checking your work.
Once you have finished formatting your resume print out a hard copy to see how it looks. Most resumes these days are sent digitally through email or online systems but that doesn’t mean the employer won’t print out a copy on their end. So make sure the printed version looks as clean and tidy as the digital version.