Everything you need to know about the optimized resume format

Your resume is an important document that allows you to showcase your skills, experience, and goals. With a professional resume, you can help a recruiter or hiring manager understand why you would be a great fit for a specific position.

However, the professionalism of your resume isn’t just about the information you include within the it. It is also about how you lay out that information and your formatting of the document. When you apply for a job, you want your resume to stand out from others. To ensure that your resume is easy to read and follows best practices, check out the following guide with everything you need to know about the optimized resume format.

The importance of your resume format

While a large part of your focus when writing a resume will be on ensuring that you have carefully proofread your copy and included important skill-related information, it is also imperative that you spend time formatting the information properly.

Why is it important to stick to a specific resume format? The following are all reasons why you should pay attention to your formatting:

For ease of reading: If you were to simply type out all of the information you want to include in your resume, and you did not format it in any way, it would be impossible to read. When you use the right formatting, it is easier for a hiring manager or even a computer to decipher information from your resume quickly. For example, headings help break apart your resume, allowing a reader to scan the document for a piece of information they want.
To highlight your skills: Your resume is one of the first chances you have to make a positive impression on a potential hiring manager. For this reason, you want to take the time to format it in a way that showcases your ability to communicate professionally. This indicates that if your job requires it, you’ll be capable of creating a professional, simple document.
To prevent issues: When you don’t format your resume and save it as the right file type, it can be difficult to upload it into various systems. This can cause the information to be lost or can turn your impressive summary into a mess of information.

A Simple Resume Format to Follow

The best resume format is a simple resume format. As you transform your previous work experience, education, and skills into a readable document, put the following key formatting tips to work.

Set your margins and choose your font

When designing your resume, you need to have ample margin space on both sides of the document to make it easier to read. Without margins, your document will look busy and crowded. One-inch margins on all sides are ideal. Try to avoid shrinking your margins to fit more information on the page. It is better to simplify your copy than to try to jam a page full of information.

Additionally, you’ll want to choose a font size between 11 and 12 points. Choose a simple, clean font. Fonts in the Sans Serifs family are good choices, as they are crisp, clean, and easy to scan. Avoid special or script fonts with swooping lines and handwriting style designs. These can be difficult to read for both humans and computers.

Include information in an orderly fashion

Your resume needs to contain a series of important information that will help tell a story about your work experience and educational background. However, just as important as the information is, the order you place it also matters. Include your information in the following format:

Contact information: Name on the first line, address, phone number, and email address on the second line.
A summary: This should include your job title as a heading, followed by position tiles you are interested in and skills relating to these titles.
Work experience: In reverse chronological order, list your work experience with accomplishments as bullet points beneath each job heading.
Education: After your work experience, create a section dedicated to your completed education.
Technologies: At the end of your resume, include a small section listing the technologies, software, or other relevant proficiencies you have.

Use headers to break apart the content

To further format your resume, make sure to use bold headings to break apart each section of your resume. This will create a sleek resume that is easy to scan and will prevent confusion.

Save your file

Once you have written and formatted your resume, it is time to save the document. What file type should your resume be? Most employers prefer a .doc/.docx file, which is a Microsoft Word document. You can also download a Google document as a .doc/.docx file. Another option is to save your resume as an Adobe PDF. Keep in mind that not all application systems will accept a .pdf file. It can be helpful to save your resume in a few different file formats. This will ensure that you have the right file type on hand regardless of a job application requirement.

What to avoid when formatting your resume

Now that you know the important components of a properly formatted resume, take a minute to ensure that you don’t make any of the following resume format mistakes:

Emojis or photos: When you design your resume, avoid using emojis, photos, or diagrams. These items will not always show up for your resume reader and can misalign your formatting. A professional resume should include text only.
Decorative templates: You might enjoy creating stylized flyers, brochures, and handouts, but your resume isn’t the right document to let your design creativity shine. While a decorative template might look good on your computer screen, they are often difficult to upload into job systems and might not render well on another reader’s screen. Additionally, stylized templates can confuse computer systems responsible for scanning resumes for important keywords.
Image files: When you save your resume, never save it as a .jpg or .png. Application systems will usually not accept files formatted as images. Even if you plan to send your resume via email as an attachment, it is best to stick to document file types, such as .doc/.docx.

Learn more about writing a professional resume

If you want to learn more about how to write a professional resume, along with examples of resumes for your specific career path, visit our Resumes Resource Center. Here, you’ll find helpful tools and guides that will assist you in creating a quality resume, including access to a free resume rewrite.