Resume Formatting: Margins, Spacing, & Fonts

Good formatting can make your resume easier to read and more professional, while simple mistakes in layout or file formatting could keep your application from making it past the first screening.

Resume formatting guidelines

Show your attention to detail and professionalism by following these basic resume formatting guidelines:

Use 1″ margins

In most cases, you should use 1” margins on your resume. However, anywhere between ½”–1″ is acceptable. You may prefer to use narrower margins if you have years of work experience and need to fit more information on the page.

Select a professional, easy-to-read font

The font used on your resume should be professional and easy to read. Generally, this means sticking to commonly used fonts.The most important thing is that your font choice doesn’t distract from your qualifications.

Here are some of the best fonts to use on your resume:

• Times New Roman
• Cambria
• Georgia
• Garamond
• Helvetica
• Calibri
• Didot
• Arial Narrow
• Trebuchet MS
• Lato

Use consistent font sizes

The font size used for the body content of your resume should be 10–12pt, depending on the font you’re using and your space requirements. Your name and section headers should be larger to help visually break up your resume into sections.

Divide your information into clear sections

All the information on your resume should be divided into clear sections with standard names like “Summary” and “Work Experience.” This makes it easier for both employers and ATS software to scan through and find the information they’re looking for.

At a minimum, here are the sections you need to include:

• Header
• Introduction
• Work experience
• Skills
• Education

If you want to highlight more information on your resume, you can add additional sections for things like:

• Volunteer work
• Projects
• Certifications
• Awards
• Languages

Use bullet points for your work experience

Under each work experience entry, include 3–5 bullet points that highlight some of your key professional accomplishments. Bullet points make your resume easier to scan and help recruiters quickly identify your most relevant skills and achievements.

Try our AI bullet point generator to speed up your writing process:

Remember to left-align the content

For a clean, easy-to-scan layout, keep your main resume content left aligned. This includes section headings, job titles, company names, education details, and bullet points.

However, you can right-align minor details like employment dates, locations, or other supporting information to help organize your resume and make better use of the available space. Just make sure these elements don’t make the overall layout feel uneven or difficult to follow.

Keep your resume an appropriate length

Aim to keep your resume concise and focused on your most relevant experience. For most job seekers, the ideal resume length is 1–2 pages. One page is fine if you’re a student, recent graduate, or have only a few years of experience. Two pages may be necessary if you have a lot of relevant experience.

Don’t leave out important information just to squeeze your resume into less space, but avoid adding filler to make it longer. If your resume runs over one page, make sure every section and bullet point adds value and is relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Keep your spacing consistent

Use consistent spacing throughout your resume to create a clean, organized layout. Keep similar amounts of space between sections, headings, job entries, and bullet points so your resume is easy to scan.

Avoid adding extra space in some areas while cramming others together. Consistent spacing helps separate different sections without making your resume look cluttered or unnecessarily spread out.

Stick to a consistent date format

Use the same date format throughout your resume to keep your formatting clean and professional. For example, if you write “January 2024” for one position, use the same format for all your other jobs, rather than switching between “Jan. 2024,” “01/2024,” and “January 2024.”

Choose a format that’s easy to read and stick with it across your work experience, education, and other dated sections. Consistent dates make your resume easier to scan and give the whole document a more polished appearance.

Resume formatting mistakes to avoid

Poor resume formatting can distract from your experience and skills. Avoid these common errors to ensure your resume gets attention for the right reasons (like your experience and skills):

• Inconsistent formatting: Switching between font styles, sizes, date formats, or spacing makes your resume look messy and unprofessional.
• Complicated designs: Graphics, borders, and multiple columns can distract and take attention away from your content, and make your resume harder for ATS software to scan.
• No clear section hierarchy: If your headings aren’t clear, recruiters can’t quickly assess your qualifications and may lose interest in your application.
• Overcrowding the page: Filling every inch with text leaves no white space, making your resume overwhelming and hard to scan.
• Inappropriate font or font size: Fonts that are too small, too large, or hard to read can make your resume difficult to navigate and appear less professional.

Proper resume formatting template

Here’s a resume template with proper formatting that you can copy and paste into Google Docs or Microsoft Word and fill out with your own information. This template is designed to help you stick to the basic resume formatting guidelines mentioned above.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Should I use a template or format my resume from scratch?

It depends on what you need. Using a resume template can be a great shortcut to creating a well-organized, professional resume. Resume templates offer a clear structure with consistent formatting, which helps highlight your experience, education, and skills effectively.

On the other hand, formatting your resume from scratch allows for complete customization. This can be useful if you want to create a unique layout that better reflects your background or target industry. If you choose to format your resume from scratch, take extra care to make sure everything looks consistent.

How do I format a resume in Google Docs?

To format your resume in Google Docs:

1. Open Google Docs and select Template gallery.
2. Choose a resume template from Google Docs’ available options, or open one of our Google Docs resume templates for a more professionally designed layout.
3. Replace the placeholder text with your contact information, work experience, education, skills, and other relevant sections.
4. Customize the formatting by adjusting the font, margins, spacing, and headings to create a clean, consistent layout.
5. Download your finished resume as a PDF unless the employer specifically requests another file format.

How do I format a resume in Word?

To format your resume in Word:

1. Open Microsoft Word and select New to browse the available templates.
2. Choose a resume template from Word’s options, or use one of our free Word resume templates.
3. Replace the placeholder text with your contact information, work experience, education, skills, and other relevant sections.
4. Adjust the formatting as needed, including your font, margins, section headings, and spacing.
5. Save your resume as a PDF unless the employer specifically requests a Word document or another file format.

How do I format a resume for ATS?

Follow these steps to make sure your resume is ATS-friendly:

1. Use a simple layout. Choose an ATS-optimized resume template design and avoid excessive graphics, text boxes, tables, or other complicated formatting.
2. Use standard section headings. Label sections with familiar headings like “Work Experience,” “Education,” and “Skills.”
3. Choose a readable font. Use a professional, easy-to-read font such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman.
4. Include relevant keywords. Review the job description and naturally incorporate relevant skills, qualifications, and job-specific terms into your resume.
5. Use standard bullet points. Keep your work experience easy to scan and avoid decorative symbols that may not parse correctly.

What file format should my resume be in?

PDF is generally the best file format for your resume unless the job posting or employer specifically asks for a different format. Saving your resume as a PDF preserves your fonts, spacing, and layout, so it should look the same when the recruiter opens it.

Final resume formatting checklist

Before you send off your application, here’s a final checklist to make sure your resume formatting is correct:

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