Don’t judge a book by it’s cover… except when reading a resume. A resume should always be judged by its cover because it should only be that long. Anything longer than a page is going to get lost amongst the hundreds of other resumes on a recruiter’s desk. Your resume has to pop, sizzle, educate and get to the point in the most colorful and simplistic way possible.
Colors
Highlighter pinks, yellows, greens are a no-go. Building on a basic color pallet gives the impression that you’re confident in the words on your resume and that you don’t need a flashy color to get attention. The best bet is to choose three basic colors: make a dark color dominate, a light color the secondary, and use the third color to draw attention.
Choose the right font
There are a number of fonts out there that are visually appealing, but that doesn’t mean they’re suited for a resume. Look for a balance between contemporary and traditional.
- Calibri – It is a smart-looking, traditional font for the whole family. It’s the default for Microsoft Office which means it won’t have formatting issues when sending across different platforms, especially now that it has been added to Google Docs.
- Cambria – It’s very similar to Calibri because it is a commonly used font, a lot of recruiting company’s systems will accept and upload resumes without formatting issues.
- Noto – Noto is incredible because it is the main font family that is consistent in a number of different languages. It is a great choice if showcasing that you are bilingual.
Experience, experience, experience
Experience needs to be the main attraction of your resume. It is going to be one of the first things an interviewer looks at. Make sure the experience on your resume supports the position you’re applying for, and that it tells the story of growth in preparation for this new role.
Get to the point
Visualize confidence, choose the best font, emphasize your experience and then…get to the point. You’ll have many skills but choose the top five. You’ll have certificates, degrees, awards but choose the top three. You’ll have experience, choose the right experience for the job.
Now that you have created your one-page magnum opus, be aware that it is meant to be fluid, always changing and adapting. Every job that you apply for is not going to be the same. Learn to make quick changes to your resume that will catapult you at the top of the pile for every job.
Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash
