Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Format Your Resume for the Manager

I once received a resume from an individual that looked like this.

2017-03-21 13_13_34-crowded resume - Google Search

It was even worse than this, with smaller type, designed to fit the most characters on a page possible and still have paragraphs. There were lines and boxes all over, ostensibly to separate sections.

Perhaps that doesn’t look to bad to some of you, but for me it’s too crowded. Especially as I age, I struggle to read small, crowded type.

The Reviewer

Who will glance at your resume, and give you the 30-60 seconds to decide if they should learn more. They may be young or old, but if they struggle with reading your resume, they may not decide to keep looking.

Even as a 30 year old, I disliked crowded resumes with small fonts. I look at enough computer screens. I’ve seen plenty of websites full of content with lots of ads and small boxes. I am less enamored with small type every day, as are others.

For the 25 year olds that might look, perhaps size isn’t an issue, but why take the chance. These days there’s a trend towards uncluttered, spread out displays, not the newspaper view of days past where white space was considered wasteful.

Use larger fonts, spread your information out, and most importantly, choose those items that make the most impactful statement about your career, or your goals. You pick one or the other.

You can always include links to other places, your website, LinkedIn or some other digital profile. These days, most people have access to learn more about you if they choose to.

Give them a reason to want more by limiting your resume to the best of you.

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