Layout, Paper & Print Quality

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Layout

A resume needs to be easy to read in form as well as content. Keep plenty of white space on the page and make sure that different sections are clearly indicated. Use bolding, italicizing or underlining to differentiate subject headings. Cluster different sections into separate paragraphs. Your Work Experience should be kept distinct from your Education and so forth.

Be careful of the fonts you employ. Think conservative. You may have over 5000 fonts on your computer system but you are better off using an elegant standard like Times Roman or Arial rather than Algerian or Beeknees. I think people use these fonts on their resume partly out of the novelty value, and partly because they think it will help get their resumes noticed. While it certainly does that, it’s a distinction that should not be courted, like going to an interview naked. You may be remembered but you’ll never get the job.


Online Layout

More and more people are sending their resumes via e-mail and we encourage that. Standard formatting still applies. The best way to ensure that your resume looks the same way the employer’s end as it did starting out from your computer is to save it as a Rich Text Document or Word document (most companies now use MS Word, except law firms who remain devoted to WordPerfect).

Some people like to save their resumes as a text document within their e-mail. This sometimes creates bad formatting and encoding errors. Most employers do not mind if you simply copy your resume into the body of your e-mail. We realize that the formatting won’t always keep its integrity and when we want a perfect resume we will get it from you personally at the time of the interview.


Paper

Use a good quality paper, preferably bonded. Off-whites are often recommended because they stand out from the majority white. This still holds true because a lot of faxed resumes will reside on any recruiter’s desk and your nice, thick off-white paper will stand out. However, to overestimate the value of a good paper is foolish. Make sure the paper is decent quality but don’t break the bank getting paper that could double as card because it’s so thick.

A word of warning about paper. Some candidates have started to use paper with watermarks printed on the page. Sometimes these come in the shape of pretty borders or cover the entire page with the image of a lighthouse or some such inspiring thing. Don’t do it. If you fax your resume on this kind of paper it will make all your hard work illegible. Even if you mail your resume on this kind of paper, it’s unlikely to receive the kind of reception you would have hoped. Resumes are business materials, and serious business people do not print their resumes on party fliers.


Print Quality

With the explosion of home printers many people are using inkjets to create their resumes. If possible, use a laser printer. Either find a friend who can print out your resume at work or make a visit to Kinko’s or Copymat. Laser printing is the standard. Resumes printed on laser printers probably won’t stand out, but inkjets will – in a way you don’t want.

Finally, make sure that before you print your resume you’ve gone over it thoroughly with a spell checker, dictionary or thesaurus. There seems to be no end to the resumes I’ve received with obvious spelling or grammatical errors. As a resume reviewer you quickly learn to separate the mass of resumes by the finest of measures. Spelling and grammar are one of the easiest ways to get your resume discounted. This may be one of the only occasions in your life where a little paranoia and obsessive-compulsiveness can be healthy.

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