Resume Presentation

You can learn all you want about the best way to write content for your resume, but if it is not presented well, you may still not be on the interview list.

Paper: forget all the pretty pastels, shun any fancy or brightly coloured paper. A simple white or off white is best. If you want to go upmarket, try linen textured paper. It looks just like "regular" paper, but it has a lovely soft feel to it.

But, really, just regular 20lb copy paper is fine.

Make sure it is clean, uncrumpled and unsmudged.

Do not staple your resume. Busy employers often want to make a copy of incoming resumes, and a staple then becomes a nuisance as it has to be removed before automatic feed copying.

Do not fold your resume. Buy 9"x12" brown envelopes (very cheap in the dollar store)and use these for resumes and cover letters.

Use only one, or at the most two, fonts for the resume. You may use one for heading and another for the body. Or you can just use the same font, bolding, enlarging, or perhaps capitilization for the headings.

Your name should be the largest item on the page. Headings should all be the same size, and all body text should be the same size.

Only use italics or capitals for headings. They are more difficult to read than regular text, so should be used sparingly.

Leave lots of white space. An over crowded sheet of paper is not enticing to read. Give the employer the basic information of your skills and experience. If s/he wants to know more, s/he can invite you to an interview and ask you in person!

Remember that employers are people too, and when faced with a mountain of resumes in application for one job, they are not going to wade through anything that appears ill prepared or distasteful.

Make your resume and paper representation of yourself: professional, efficient and easy to deal with!

Need more help writing your resume?

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