Despite all that is happening in the world, I still must apply for full-time positions that even remotely fit my educational background and skill sets. I need food, shelter, clothing, transportation, and a modicum of employer-sponsored health insurance. Therefore, I must undertake the laborious task of transforming my lengthy academic curriculum vitae into an acceptable, two-page résumé.
While scouting the web for current résumé writing tips, I happened upon a few articles that focused on the types of fonts to include and to avoid. Evidently, Times New Roman and Arial played out long ago, and should be banished from all résumés. The business world now favors easy-to-read sans serif fonts, excluding Arial, so it seems.
Luckily, the résumé I had just emailed before reading these warnings was set in Garamond, which is still an acceptable font. However, I spent at least an hour testing different type faces for professionalism and readability at different sizes.
My efforts resulted in the following list of appropriate sans serif fonts for résumés:
Calibri Light 11 pt.
Candara 10 pt
Ebrima 10.5 pt
Gisha 11 pt
Helvetica 11 pt.
Lato 10.5 pt.
Lato Light 11 pt.
Open Sans 10 pt
Raleway 10.5 pt
Several résumé writers also favor Cambria, Tahoma, Book Antiqua and Franklin Gothic. Ultimately, the primary criterion for font choices in résumés is personal preference. However, sans serif fonts look better on computer screens, not paper. For printed resumes, a professional looking serif font for body text, and a complementary sans serif font for headings work best. Regardless of the fonts you choose, the goal is to eliminate distractions in your résumé by creating a clean, professional design that attracts potential employers.
Ashan R. Hampton has worked as an English instructor in higher education for over 20 years. She is a proud graduate of the Donaghey Scholars Program at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock under the direction of Dr. C. Earl Ramsey, Emeritus. With her doctoral studies on hold, Ashan has found success in online education. She is also a published author of 14 nonfiction books on grammar, writing and inspiration for women. Get ordering information and view samples of her work at: www.arhampton.com.
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