Time to stick a bow on it!

              The last few blogs geared you up to build the required sections for your resume. In this edition, we will add crucial visual and formatting best practices that will help you add that finishing touch.

Think of content sections as Christmas goodies for your loved one & think of your page as the gifting box. You have skillfully chosen & ordered the special goodies in the box, and it is now time to add the final touches and have the box all wrapped up! While it's the thought that counts, presentation matters, especially for a recruiter :) The good news? Simpler the better ;)

Consider the following to polish up your resume:

Length: Please keep the content to a single page A4 portrait form. If you find it difficult, please refer to our previous blogs for guidance on placing summarized, relevant content. In the few seconds they get, a recruiter flipping pages for you is highly unlikely.

Fonts: The main objective here is to keep it easy on the eye and avoid obnoxious styles that make your resume stand out for all the wrong reasons. The font you choose can tell a lot about your personality.

Based on Weemss infographic on the psychology of fonts:

• Serif (Bell MT, Cambria, etc.) typefaces are associated with being reliable, impressive, respectable, authoritative and traditional
• Sans-serif fonts (Arial, Calibri, etc.) are seen as universal, clean, modern, objective and stable

While there are several fonts to choose from, pick your font family based on either:

• What you want to convey about yourself (or)
• How traditional/modern the company you are applying to is.

Font Sizes, Colors and Typographical emphasis:

Let’s start with the 5 kinds of text formats that make up your resume:

1. Title (Your name)
2. Aids to Title (Contact/Link)
3. Headings (Section headers)
4. Sub Section Headers
5. Content (Text inside the section headers)

The rule of thumb is to distinguish between these texts by creating a beautiful symmetry of font sizes, colors and typographical emphasis. The right font size along with the right use of bold/italics/underline and color will do wonders to the existing flow of your resume.

Title:

• Ideally your Title i.e. your name is to be at a bold font size, right around 16
• It can be in bold or not, depending on the strength of your font
• Using a darker color than black for the title is my personal preference. I prefer a deep navy blue to keep this section distinguished.

For content coming in right behind your Title and aids such as your contact information/links to profiles etc.:

• The font can be stepped down a size to 14 (or 12 if you have a lot to contribute & would like to save some precious space)
• I prefer using the same font colors as my title, but the choice is a matter of your personal preference.

The Headings i.e. your section headers like Work Experience, Education etc.:

• A common set size 12 would suffice.
• As with the above, It can be in bold or not, depending on the strength of your font and your personal preference.

Sub Section Headers: These act as mini-titles for each sub-detail. Example: With you work experience, start with the name of your company, your position and the dates you were employed there.

• Here, take it a notch down to size 11 (or size 10 if you really need the space)
• You can distinguish this section by either using the same font color as your title/header or by using a typographical emphasis (bold, italics or underline). I personally prefer making it bold. Using more than one form can over-emphasize it, not what you are looking for.

Contents:

• I use the sub section header text size here as well (11 or 10),
• Use a standard color for the contents such as black.
• I would use typographical emphasis very sparingly here if at all, only for crucial highlights i.e. achievement numbers etc.

Be warned:

1. Avoid the overuse bold/italics/underline/CAPS, it comes across more as a directive, less polite.
2. Keep the sizing (and coloring) consistent

Coloring Combinations: While it’s okay to use more than one color- usually a monochrome black is the primary choice, keeping it to two colors will give your resume a subtle, smart look. My favorite combination is Black and + shade of Navy Blue. Other combinations I’ve seen work well are dark grey + black, dark grey + slightly dark grey, black alone etc. I’d warn against venturing into colors like red as it’s associated with danger and light shades that might make it hard to read. The objective here is to help distinguish rather than capture attention obnoxiously.

Spacing and Partitions: It’s all about balance. While too much white space can and will backfire, subtle yet sufficient amounts of white space keeps your resume breathable, and easier to ingest. Use the spacing options on Microsoft Word and ensure the line spacing is a comfortable 1.15 or 1.2, making blocks of text less intimidating. For the additional touch, add an extra spacing line between  sequence/paragraphs inside a section

To provide better distinction between sections, similar to using a line of space to within a section, distinguish the different sections using section partitions in the form of a full line (can be black or same as the title color). This better compartmentalizes the resume to give an organized look. You can refer to the images in the previous blogs to see what is looks like visually.

Alignment: Stick to the traditional left alignment or justify your test as a best practice. At times, justifying can leave noticeable gaps in your sentences, if this occurs you can opt for the traditional left align. Centre or right alignment is best left out of a resume.

Aligning dates to the right, on the first line of the section, helps create a visible column for timelines and provides the required white space. Either use a tab or use the space bar repeatedly until your dates are at the far right corner of your sentence :)

Digits vs. long form: When you add in numbers, use digits (25% vs. twenty five percent) to optimize space and for an easier read. IF the numbers are low (four partners, two teams), feel free to spell them out.

Margins: For page margins, maintain a breathable 0.75 to 1 inch space on all four sides to form a white border. If you really need more space, you can drop your top and bottom border further to 0.6 inches at the most, but no less.

Spelling and Grammar: Imagine this. You have professionally gift wrapped your present to your loved one. All’s right with the world, you are excited to give it, they are extremely excited to receive it. But… you accidently spelt his/her name wrong. Yikes! Not an ideal situation.

In this case, your recruiters are the receivers. Spelling and grammar errors are an absolute No-No on your resume. Not only does it reflect badly on you, the recruiters may not have time to decipher what you mean to convey.

Follow these pointers to avoid the cardinal mistake, and thank me later ;)

• Read and re-read the resume yourself a few times
• Use free online tools such as Grammarly, I use it myself and am not paid to say this! (It can be used as an integration on word and it helps with both spelling and grammar. The best part? Their free version is pretty good!) https://www.grammarly.com/
• Make your professor/TPO/HOD/Senior read it for you. Sometimes a set of fresh eyes help catch something you’ve been missing without meaning to.
• Before you convert your resume into a pdf, check for those ever-trusty red underlines on MS Word/Google Docs.

Bullets: Bullets are a great way to organize a block of text and help the reader follow along. Use them especially for:

• Skills (list them in multiple columns using spaces, if you have many)
• Situation, Action and Results (as 3 bullets)
• Numerical accomplishments.

One more thing, a simple dot or a squared dot bullet (as used above) spells classy. Your resume is not where you experiment with pyramids, 3D or other elaborate bullets.

Formatting Don’ts: You know why not:

• Fancy Tables and Layouts. Straight lines segments in a shorter, classier way. 
• Any kind of borders, designed borders are a death-knell!
• Pictures, including yours!
• Icons, emoji's and Logos
• Graphs

Final, Final Touches:

• Fit your resume in an A4 page, so it’s easily printable.
• Keep hyperlinked URL's short and customized so it can be remembered by the recruiter to check it out later if needed.
• Convert your resume into a PDF format if you are emailing it out. PDF works well with any version on the receiver’s device, even on mobile and showcases professionalism.
• To convert the doc into a PDF, simply Save as > PDF (Word) or File > Download as PDF (Google Docs).
• Make sure you name the file in an efficient format: Name_Resume_Date (to easily identify the latest one)

Aannddd…..You’re done!! You have your wrapping paper, and additionally- ribbons, bows and a gift card so you are all set :)

Stay tuned for our next blog. As promised, we delve into professional references and their inclusion.

In the meanwhile, it's time for a quick EXERCISE!

Now that your content is ready to go, leverage the blog referred to above to wrap up your resume! Share the completed resume with us at team@corpversity.xyz to have it evaluated with additional suggestions. Take a breather, because you’re indeed ready with an impactful resume! For further services, please visit www.corporatereadytest.com/resume and get your complete resume scanned, all for a nominal price!

Stay Tuned!

“Those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” - George Bernard Shaw

Manish N Gaba

(Pic Courtesy – Unsplash)

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