By visiting this site, you are accepting the practices described in this Cookie Policy.

General principles of resume writing

Absolutely every candidate who has ever been looking for a job knows that this process is accompanied by considerable stress. Often it occurs because of a completely explainable uncertainty. One needs to summarize professional activities as accurately as possible within one page. Besides, the future employer must understand what potential one has.

That’s why the way how a candidate draws up a resume becomes as important as all the information that it contains. Recruitment managers will first see the design, and only then will begin to read the paper.

Try to wrap this situation to an advantage. In other words, if an applicant can refine the design as efficiently as possible, then he/she will obviously look extraordinary and profitable. And for this, we recommend everyone to use the basic design principles that will help with this.

Choosing the perfect font

If anyone decides to use some unique font for a CV, one can definitely stand out among the leading candidates. Almost all the resumes use two main fonts, namely Arial and Times New Roman.

Nevertheless, there does not exist any universal proper font. Therefore, try to listen to the following recommendations for choosing a font:

  • Make sure that the font stays equally readable both on the computer screen and on a printed sheet of paper. It would be better if a candidate chooses a 12 font size. If one selects a smaller font, then most likely the text will seem completely unreadable or illegible.
  • If an applicant wants to highlight the headings in a larger font, he/she should make sure that each heading is formatted the same way throughout the text.
  • If you apply for a creative profession, then most likely, you will prefer a Sans-Serif font. However, for a more conservative job, a Serif font is most likely suitable, as it’s more traditional.
  • Since the font is one of the design elements, an employer will consider it. Imagine that a job seeker has never been seen and the design gives the first impression of her/him as a specialist. Thus, one needs to correctly select the font in order to make an excellent first impression.

Focus on your contact information

If you want an HR manager to contact you as soon as possible, make sure that the contact section’s not only visually highlighted, but also placed at the top of the credentials. If you plan to send your resume in electronic form, make sure to add a link to your email directly in the resume. Also, you can include direct links to your profile on social networks so that the employer can find more information about you.

Indicate only the most critical and specific information

Modern people are very often oversaturated with various information. That’s why our brains cannot spend time reading or understanding everything that we see during the day.

At the same time, HR managers simply physically cannot give each resume a proper amount of time. That’s why in order for the resume to become as effective as possible, try to put it on one page. In any case, the HR manager spends an average of about 6 seconds analyzing a CV.

Use infographic elements.

Thanks to infographics, a job seeker can take the credentials to a whole new level. Such a tool very quickly allows everyone to visually demonstrate the essential things hard to explain using words. Nevertheless, keep in mind the audience. If we’re talking about a more traditional and conservative company, then an infographic summary will not always be appropriate.

Nevertheless, if you are a representative of the creative profession or when you apply for the role of an employee in a young startup, then using infographics is what you need. Thus, one can become a genuinely original candidate, and will definitely face decent attention.

Explore examples in the industry

After you look at examples of other resumes that have been compiled by specialists from your industry, it may be easier for you to imagine what your document should look like.

If you’re a bank employee, then naturally, we’re talking about the classic font and design options. Nevertheless, if your profession is web design, then, on the contrary, you should already try to make the application more colorful and impressive. Thus, you can demonstrate the skills in advance using a specific example. Therefore, it’s better to study in advance what type of design’s suitable for your credentials.

Make to save a CV in a correct format

Often the candidates spend a considerable amount of time and effort on an application that does not bring any benefit. If you’re still wondering why your resume stays ignored and the HR manager does not call you back, then there may be a problem in the format in which you saved the document.

Therefore, experts most often recommend saving a CV in PDF format, which can be opened on almost any electronic device. If the resume’s saved in other formats, then perhaps the HR manager simply cannot even open it. And this, in turn, will cause unnecessary negativity concerning your candidacy.