When you write in paragraphs, your turn those achievements into a narrative that the reader will have to spend extra time scanning through so as not to confuse the details.

If you are using paragraphs to describe your achievements, you are doing it wrong. But most definitely don’t turn your resume into one big table! Use a Word document to create the resume and make sure that, outside of the sections we mentioned above, your resume is formatted just straight down the page. It’s okay to use tables for small sections like skills and core competencies. Why, you ask? Because it’s valuable resume real estate that those images are eating up, and they are also going to just confuse the applicant tracking systems that are trying to scan your resume. While we are at it, you don’t need to include the logos of the companies you’ve worked for next to each date range. Keep your own and your company’s name in a font size 2 points larger than the rest of your text, and use smaller fonts for each position title accompanied by their own individual set of date ranges. This will confuse the tracking systems, and sometimes the reader. If you were promoted through multiple positions or took some lateral shifts at one company, don’t put 2000-2010 next to the company name, followed by 2000-2003, 2003-2007, and 2007-2010 next to each of the positions. Make the dates easy to understandįor starters, dates belong all lined up on the right-hand side of the page-this is where recruiters’ eyes automatically veer in search of your chronology. Stick to Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri. You shouldn’t even use colored text, or bold certain sections to draw attention to them. This just looks unprofessional. When it comes to resume format, here is what you should and shouldn’t do: Let’s just get this out of the way.

But if it is hard to read, well, nobody will want to read it – robot ATSs included. Your resume might show a stellar career history, track record of success, crushed sales targets, and beyond. Your resume has two obstacles to hurdle if you want to get the interview – the applicant tracking system, then the reader.īut if your resume has formatting issues, you will be lucky to make it through the first.

Setting tabs in word for resumes