We showed 3 resume designs to recruiters and they ALL picked the same one

• “White space” on a resume is appealing to recruiters.
• The average recruiter spends 7.4 seconds reviewing your resume; an attractive and readable format is key.
• Here are tips on fonts, bolding, and the use of color.

The format of your resume matters just as much as the information you include. A recent study found that recruiters scan your resume for all of 7.4 seconds before deciding whether or not to move you on to the second phase. 

What is white space? This term is popular in the hiring world and refers to the amount of empty space on the page of a resume. When deciding how to format a resume, you’ll want to choose a resume template that surrounds each section of your resume with enough white space so that recruiters don’t have to spend a lot of time hunting down the essential details of what they’re looking for on the page. Because, per the study above, they aren’t spending much time with your resume to begin with.

To prove just how valuable white space is to a hiring decision, we asked recruiters to evaluate three simple resume examples that contain the same information — but have varying amounts of white space. Here’s what they chose and why.

Template 1

While this template makes the most of the page’s real estate, our recruiters passed over this option due to the small font, which makes it hard to read. From an organizational standpoint, Kris Tonas, talent director at Preeminent Recruitment, appreciates seeing the experience and objective separated from the skills, education and accolades in this version.

“Template 1 quickly shows what would be expected to be required for a position, certifications, skills, and what I love is the ‘awards’ section,” he said. “Love that the former companies and job titles are quick and easy to access, certifications are clearly listed, education highlighted [and] bullet points leave space for good data.”

Template 2

Template 2 has more white space around the borders than template 1. While the information break-out was appealing to some recruiters, Ian Sells, CEO and hiring manager of Rebate Key, disliked this format. “Since the font size for the body and the headings were too near, the resume looks like one whole block of text, which can be overwhelming,” he said. Advice: Make some of the headers (like contact, education, skills, and certifications) slightly larger.

Template 3

Template 3 was the clear winner among the three resume templates. “Humans gravitate to symmetry and colors, so I would pause for a moment when I saw this,” said Jamie Hickey, HR Manager at Coffee Semantics. “Right away, I would know the name of the applicant and the pertinent information I need to decide if they are a worthy candidate. It also is grouped in a manner which is easy for me to take in the information, and most importantly, it looks like she took some time to design it and put it together.”

Patti Naiser, hiring manager and CEO at Senior Home Transitions, agrees. “Not only does it portray professionalism, but the pop of color is quite soothing to the eye as well,” she explained. “The layout of the template is appreciated as the lack of monotony will make it easier to read. Employers will only spend a few minutes reading your resume, so it is important to make it as easy and interesting to read as possible.”

How to choose the best resume template  

With so many options on the market, it can be tough to decide which resume template is suitable for you. To help guide you in the right direction, Tonas shared a few key tips to keep in mind based on his experience as a recruiter:

• Opt for clean, concise formatting. Lead by addressing the requirements for any job you’re applying for. For example, if the job requires a master’s degree, lead with education. If there are specific certifications needed, place those high on your resume.

• Aim for 5-8 bullet points per job listed. Make sure you spell out the value each role brought to the company – data pertaining to sales, money saved or made, time saved and projects run are all strong points to incorporate. 

• Sell your soft skills. Choose a resume template that allows you room to play up your soft skills – these are more important to recruiters than you might think! Think: leadership, teambuilding, communication, problem-solving skills, work ethic, and flexibility.

See more resume tips and articles.