I thought there is too much of a time gap between Telling Your Story and Formatting Your Resume, so here goes
Formatting
8. Keep it Simple
We’ll talk about getting creative in order to stand out in a minute. But the most basic principle of good resume formatting and design? Keep it simple. Use a basic but modern font, like Helvetica, Arial, or Century Gothic. Make your resume easy on hiring managers’ eyes by using a font size between 10 and 12 and leaving a healthy amount of white space on the page. You can use a different font or typeface for your name, your resume headers, and the companies for which you’ve worked, but keep it simple and keep it consistent. Your main focus here should be on readability for the hiring manager. That being said, you should feel free to…
9. Carefully Stand Out
Really want your resume to stand out from the sea of Times New Roman? Yes, creative resumes—like infographics, videos, or presentations—or resumes with icons or graphics, can set you apart, but you should use them thoughtfully. If you’re applying through an ATS, keep to the standard formatting without any bells and whistles so the computer can read it effectively. If you’re applying to a more traditional company, don’t get too crazy, but feel free to add some tasteful design elements or a little color to make it pop. No matter what, don’t do it unless you’re willing to put in the time, creativity, and design work to make it awesome.
10. Make Your Contact Info Prominent
You don’t need to include your address on your resume anymore (really!), but you do need to make sure to include a phone number and professional email address (not your work address!) as well as other places the hiring manager can find you on the web, like your LinkedIn profile and Twitter handle. (Implicit in this is that you keep these social media profiles suitable for prospective employers.)
11. Design for Skimmability
You’ve heard before that hiring managers don’t spend a lot of time on each individual resume. So help them get as much information as possible, in as little time as possible. The below 12 formatting changes will make a huge difference.
Don’t Center Any of Your Text
Align Your Dates and Locations to the Right
Don’t Justify Your Resume
Keep Everything the Same Size Font
Pick Either Your Roles or Your Companies to Bold
Use ALL-CAPS Very Sparingly
Maximize the First 5 Words of Your Bullets
Keep Bullets Under 2 Lines
Use Digits When Writing About Numbers
Have a Separate “Skills” Section
Keep Your Resume Formatting Consistent
Try to Have Some White Space Left Over
12. Get Help From a Professional
Know that design skills aren’t your strong suit but want your resume to look stunning? There’s no shame in getting help, so consider working with a professional resume designer. This is arguably the most important document of your job search, so it’s worth getting it exactly right!
Next: Work Experience