These Are The Best Fonts For Your Resume In 2021
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When it comes to crafting the perfect resume to land your dream job, you probably think of just about everything but the font. But font is a key part of your first impression to recruiters and employers.
In this post, I’m going to walk you through the 10 best fonts for your resume . We’ll also talk about why employers care about font choice and how you can use it to set yourself apart from the competition.
What Are The Most Popular Resume Formats
The three most common resume formats are chronological, functional and combination. When deciding which resume format you should use, consider your professional history and the role youre applying for. For example, if you have limited work experience, you might instead focus on academic work, volunteer positions or apprenticeships with a functional resume instead of a chronological resume, which prioritizes job history.In the next sections, well explore each resume format type in detail, including which is best based on common job search situations.
What Fonts Should You Avoid On A Resume
Avoid using flowery, themed, or fun fonts, like Comic Sans and Impact or cursive fonts such as Freestyle Script and Segoe Script.
Along with being difficult to read and not compatible with an ATS, artistic fonts tell employers that you don’t know the rules of creating a professional resume, which could potentially lead them to think you don’t take your job search seriously. Remember, no snazzy resume font will showcase your qualifications as clearly as your job experience, talents, and accomplishments.
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Italics And Bolding On Your Resume
Dont overuse emphasis on your resume. Its fine to bold a section header such as Summary or Education and also italicize past roles youve held, but if you overuse emphasis, it starts to lose meaning. If everything is emphasized, then nothing is emphasized.
Stick to bold and italics for emphasis on your resume. Other methods might not scan or convert well through an ATS or make your resume look busy and crowded, decreasing the chances a recruiter or hiring manager will want to read it.
Also avoid underlining, since in the digital era underlines are usually associated with web links. On top of this, some typefaces dont play well with underlines, meaning lowercase letters like g, j, or q might not scan or convert correctly within an ATS.
Take Your Pick The Best Font For Your Resume
Remember that with resume fonts, the effect is subliminal. Focus on ones that will subtly impress rather than obviously detract.
Take a look at our resume tips hub for more advice on how to write a resume.
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Best Resume Fonts In 2021
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Some of the best resume tips include tips on the best resume font to use.
The font you use on your resume affects the look of your entire resume.
And since the average recruiter only spends 6 seconds reviewing a resume, it’s never been more important to choose your resume font strategically.
You’ll need to use a font that is ATS friendly and easy to read.
Not only is the font type important, but the size and color of the font are equally important.
In this article, we will share the best resume fonts, the worst resume fonts, the best font sizes, and the best font colors for 2021.
“Not every resume font is created equal. When it comes to your resume font… stick to the basics! This is NOT the area to show off your “creativity”.
-Mike Podesto
According to Quora, there are roughly 300,000 fonts in the world that fall into 60,000 font families.
Narrowing down the 9 best fonts for a resume was not an easy task.
Our team of resume experts collectively has more than 20 years of resume writing experience allowing us to present to you the tried and proven resume fonts for 2021.
Situational Fonts For Cover Letters
Youll hear conflicting advice on certain fonts, these are generally considered situational fonts and you need to consider the image, character and context for the job:
Helvetica: Theres nothing wrong with the worlds most famous font, but its so old that many consider it yesterdays choice.
Times New Roman: Same goes for this classic serif font: It still works after all these years, but you wont get points for originality.
Roboto, Open Sans, Ubuntu: These are clean and legible fonts that are widely used in the tech/IT industry, but they may not be as popular with more traditional jobs and employers. You can feel a bit safer using these when applying to a software company or an IT startup. Just be advised that you might end up with an overly sleek and techy feel to your document.
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Worst Fonts To Use In Your Resume
Virtually all sources recommend against using these fonts in a resume. Whether you call these the worst fonts or extremely situational fonts or really think about what youre doing fonts is up to you. Bottom line is: extreme caution is advised.
Brush Script: This and other typefaces made to look like cursive handwriting may be great fonts to choose for a wedding invitation, but dont use them on a resume.
Century Gothic: This hairline-thin font may be interesting to look at, but its definitely not the best font for a CV.
Comic Sans: Designed to look like the text used in comic books, Comic Sans inspires rare agreement among font experts that it doesnt belong anywhere near a resume.
Courier: Mimicking an old-fashioned typewriter, Courier may appeal to your nostalgia, but in addition to other demerits it features unhelpful horizontal spacing, providing the same amount of space for thin letters like i and wide letters like w.
Impact: Anything resembling this over-bold, heavily condensed font will save recruiters a lot of time they will toss it at a glance.
Papyrus: Unless youre designing a poster for a movie about ancient Egypt, consign this picturesque font to the trash heap of history.
Cover Letter Font Size And Spacing
Whatever font you choose, do not make the mistake of running it too big or too small. Too big and it looks childish too small and the reader needs a magnifying glass. And you can always count on resume.io for occupation-specific advice and a top-of-the-line online cover letter builderto boost your career!
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How To Choose The Best Font For Your Resume
The two most important factors when selecting a font for your resume are readability and professionalism.
The last thing you want to do is to make a recruiter or employers life harder, so when building your resume, your font should always be straightforward and highly readable. They shouldnt have to squint to read overly light, thin fonts, or struggle to make out complex symbols or typefaces.
Professionalism, meanwhile, is all about tone. Just as we discussed in the previous section, even silent choices like font and formatting can convey tone as easily as your word choice. The tone of your font should match the tone of your workplace personality and your level of professionalism.
In terms of both readability and professionalism, there are a few broad font families that we commonly associate with the workplace and with professional settings. Lets go over each of the five main font families, or broad categories, from which you have to choose when youre writing your resume, cover letter, or references.
What Is The Best Font To Use For A Cv
These simple CV details could make or break your application.
We all know that presentation is key for a good CV a recruiter will start making judgements about you as soon as they glance at your document, before they’ve even read a word. Your job is to make it as easy as possible for them to evaluate your CV, and font plays a part in that. If an HR manager gives up because the text is too small, the words are too condensed on the page or you’ve chosen a hard-to-read typeface, you’ve fallen at the first hurdle.
If you want to figure out the best font and font size to use on your CV, we’re here to guide you.
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The 5 Best Fonts To Use On Your Resume
Times New Roman might cost you your next job.
While resume font choice may seem trivial, experts say it’s actually pretty important. A bad font can take the focus off the accomplishments you’ve listed.
“A reader may not arrive at the content if your font if too distracting,” Samantha Howie, senior human resources recruiter at the New York-based Maximum Management Corp., told the Huffington Post. “The key is that we can read it with ease.”
Drawing upon Howie’s recruiting expertise and tips from a typeface expert, we’ve composed a definitive list of the best fonts to use on your resume. Spoiler alert: The days of using Times News Roman have come to an end.
For an elegant feel, Garamond is the one. “Garamond is very readable,” Howie told HuffPost. “But for me, it feels a little bit old fashioned, or perhaps not as corporate.”
Howie approves of this widely popular font, calling it a “safe bet.” Typeface expert Brian Hoff, creative designer at Brian Hoff Design, agrees. “It’s very neutral,” he told HuffPost. “It’s clean but doesn’t have much of a way about it.”
“It has the same positive attributes as Garamond, but for me doesn’t feel as dated because it is less curvy,” Howie said of this font. However, Hoff said that Georgia tends to appeal more on the Web than it does in print. So if you’re going to distribute hard copies of your resume, think twice about Georgia.
“Comic Sans was literally created for comic books,” Hoff said.
What Kinds Of Fonts Should You Stay Away From
Now that you have a sense of the classic fonts and basic considerations, you should also know there are a few things you should avoid:
- Heavily stylized fonts: Although pretty and design-oriented, stay away from heavily stylized fonts like modern cursive fonts, since ATSs cant read them, Yurovsky says, and humans might have trouble, too.
- Narrow, condensed, or light fonts or versions of fonts: These fonts can be harder on human eyes, especially when youre reading on a screen.
- Non-standard, downloaded, or custom fonts: Fonts that arent standard to most operating systems may be converted inaccurately by an ATS, says Muse career coach Tina Wascovich.
- Gimmick fonts: Your resume is a professional document, so your font choice should also be professional. Stay away from fonts like Comic Sans, Papyrus, and, of course, Wingdings.
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Resume Fonts & Sizes:
- The most common font to use is Times New Roman, in black and size 12 points.
- Other serif fonts to consider that are easy to read include: Georgie, Bell MT, Goudy Old Style, Garamond.
- Popular sans serif fonts include Arial, Tahoma, Century Gothic, and Lucida Sans.
- Any of the above fonts would be reasonable for a resume as long as you consistently use one font only.
- Make your headings and name stand out, think of your resume like a blog post or newspaper article.
- Make headlines bold, Italicise, CAPITALISE, or underline. And feel free to increase the font size to 14-16 points.
- Try and keep your resume to one page, leave the reader wanting to know more.
Here Are Some Of The Best Fonts For Your Resume:
Why aren’t Times New Roman and Arial on this list?
Its a common misconception that Times New Roman and Arial are great resume fonts. While they are some of the most popular fonts in general, they are not the best for your resume.
Times New Roman is a compact font and can be difficult to read. Arial is overused and won’t capture anyone’s attention!
What about serif vs. sans serif?
There are four major types of fonts: serif, sans serif, script, and decorative.
For purposes of a resume, both serif and sans serif can be used. These fonts are the most professional and easiest to read.
Sans serif fonts are considered modern and simple. Serif fonts are elegant and professional.
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What Are The Best Resume Font Sizes
Which exact font sizes are best for your resume will vary based on the font youve picked and your situation. So choose your font first and use your own judgement to determine which font sizes are most appropriate.
Here are some general guidelines from our experts to get you started:
- Your Name: 20-24 point
- Headings and Subheadings: 11-14 point
- Body Text and Your Contact Info: 10-12 point
Ultimately, the most important component of your resume is the content. Your font and font size choices should be about making sure your content is clear so you can convince the reader you’re right for the job.
Regina Borsellino is a NYC-based editor at The Muse covering job search and career advice, particularly resume best practices, interviewing, remote work, and personal and professional development. Before joining The Muse, Regina was an editor for InvestorPlace, where she also wrote about topics such as investing and biotech companies. She holds a BA in English language and literature from the University of Maryland and an MFA in creative writing from American University. Find her on and .
Best Font For A Resume
Most recruiters take about seven seconds to scan over a resume, so font type and size are important considerations for readability and professional appearance. Whichever font style you choose, it should be easy on the eyes and have enough white space to read well on desktop, mobile screens, and in print.
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Resume Fonts: The Bottom Line
Weve gone through every aspect of resume fonts, from why they matter in the first place to how to choose the best one to fit your professional goals.
Remember to keep readability and professionalism in mind when you choose a font for your cover letter and CV. When in doubt, select a contemporary sans serif typeface and a 12-14-pt. font size. Use bold and italics consistently but sparingly, and remember that white space is your friend.
In addition, the way weve thought about resume fonts in this article is a good model for how you should approach all of your introductory materials during the job application process.
Every aspect of your cover letter and CV or resume should be carefully curated to highlight relevant experience and traits. And because your potential employer doesnt have anything to go on other than what you provide them with, its important to make every letter and every typeface count.
Why Is Resume Font Important
The style of the font you choose for your resume is important because it impacts the readability and appearance. It gives your resume a professional appearance and helps you present a positive first impression to the hiring manager.
Choosing the right font ensures your resume is readable to applicant tracking system software. When you use a standard font, the likelihood of the hiring manager receiving your resume for review increases. When you fill out an application online, some ATS software can automatically scan your resume and populate the boxes for you. Using an easy-to-scan font makes it simple for the ATS to translate your resume to the application.
When choosing a resume font, consider the size, presentation and legibility on both paper and a computer screen. You’ll likely send your resume through an online link or email first and present a paper copy during an interview.
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Resume Font Size Options
Make it easy for hiring managers and potential interviewers to read through your entire resume. Choose a font size that’s between 10 and 12. This will ensure that no one has to squint to read through all the information on this important document.
It’s fine to use a larger font size for your name in the heading section of your resume at the top of the page.
Hiring managers and recruiters typically spend seconds glancing at each resume before moving it to the yes or no pile. Make your resume difficult to read, and you might wind up losing out on an opportunity that would have been perfect for you.
Resume Format : Combination Resumes
A combination resume is a blend of the chronological and functional resume types. This resume format allows you to emphasize both your work experience and relevant skills. Because your skills and employment history will consume most of your resume space, you may need to eliminate optional sections such as a summary statement, volunteer work or special interests.
A combination resume format usually includes the following information in this order:
- Contact information
- Summary of most relevant skills
- Work experience
-
Education
The combination resume is a more flexible format, so you should list either your skills or your work experience first depending on which you consider more important for the role. For example, if you have many unique skills that are especially valuable to the industry in which youre applying to work, you might consider listing them above your work experience. It can also be helpful to look for clues in the job posting to understand what is most important for the employer in an ideal candidate.
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