You already know the big parts that go into a resume – your name, contact info, work experience and education. Perhaps you have a skills section and a summary as well. To write a resume like a pro, you’ll want to pay attention to details you might not have thought of. Here’s a list of the top 3 resume writing secrets the pros know and now you know too!
One. Font
Font choice and font size are details you’ll want to consider. For whatever reason, the pros who teach resume pros how to write eschew Times New Roman. Overdone they say. Easy enough to avoid Times New Roman as a font choice. The font you do choose should be easy to read in the font sizes you choose. Calibri is nice and safe, but you can look to Verdana, Cambria Math, Garamond, or Century Gothic. Each has its own feel, so pick one you feel comfortable with.
You can vary the font size in your resume. Typically, your name is the largest. Headings such as “Professional Experience” are also large. The size font you use for organization names, job titles, location, and dates can vary. Overall make sure the font sizes are consistent. That is, make sure all the headings are a consistent size, the job titles are a consistent size, and the company names are a consistent size – even if each of those is a different size font.
Two. Spacing
The spacing between lines should be consistent. Sometimes you want no space between lines, such as between your name and your contact information. When you start a new section with a header, however, you likely want a little space before and a little space after to make it stand out.
How do you do this? In Microsoft Word go to the Layout tab. The “Spacing” area in the “Paragraph” section lets you control how much spacing there is before and after a paragraph. The spacing can be different for different parts of your resume, but it’s a good idea to make sure the spacing is consistent. Again, if your “Professional Experience” heading has 12pts of space before and after, then the same should apply to your “Education” heading.
Three. Word Variation
It is very easy (very easy) to repeat words and phrases in your resume. If your job evolved or you did similar work in two different roles, it is natural to describe the work the same way using the same words. However, your resume will be more interesting if you can vary the words you use, even if they describe similar things. For example, you might be up against a “strict timeframe” in one role and a “tight deadline” in another. Same or similar schedule-driven work but described differently to make it interesting.
The same goes for verbs. Try not to repeat verbs, especially in the same paragraph or set of bullets. It’s not engaging to see each bullet start with “Managed”, or “Led”, or “Developed.” You might need to break out the thesaurus, but you can do it!
An easy way to spot duplicate words is to read the page aloud. You can do this yourself, or you can use the “Read Aloud” feature in the Review tab in Microsoft Word. You’ll catch repeats of words easily!
There are times when you may want to repeat a word for emphasis, or there simply isn’t another word to substitute. That’s OK – not every word needs to be unique, but when there are repeats make sure it’s intentional.
Summary
Once you have your resume written, take a proofreading pass and look at:
- Font choice and font size.
- Spacing between lines – make sure it is consistent.
- Word variation – change up the wording, when possible, to make your resume more interesting.
Keep pressing on. You’ve got this!