Which is the best font for resume? - The Battle Of Serif vs. Sans Serif

While designing a resume recently I realized the importance of using good fonts in a resume. Though it may not sound like a big deal to most of you, if you do take time out to make "data about you" more presentable for the employers, there's a chance that the single piece of paper works wonders for you.

A well written resume speaks volumes about your interest in giving attention to detail and tells the employer that you haven't just collected data and copy-pasted it on a word document.

If you are in the process of making a beautiful-looking professional resume, chances are that you will find these suggestions a bit handy.

How to choose a font? How to choose between Serif vs. Sans Serif?

Let us first understand the difference between the two categories of fonts.
Now, fonts that come under 'Serif' category are more stylized (curves, baselines) and have decorative markings on them. The best and common examples are - Times New Roman and Century.
Whereas the ones under 'Sans Serif' category are very simple and straightforward. There are no curves or hooks. Examples - Verdana and Arial.

Though there are no standard guidelines about which one is better for your resume, there's no need to get confused while choosing from thousands of different fonts available online these days. The mantra is quite simple - The font should be very pleasant on the eyes and should go well with the overall theme of the resume.

I would personally prefer a sans serif font, because it goes with the new-age style of our resume content. While the Serif fonts could look good for headlines or the header part if you choose to divide the resume in 5-6 relevant parts.

I invite the opinion of #-Link-Snipped-# on this and would love it if you pour in your opinions and comments.

Replies

  • Kaustubh Katdare
    Kaustubh Katdare
    My observation is that Verdana works well in most of the cases. But from readability perspective; you'll need Georgia or similar font. I am in love with commercial fonts like Proxima Nova; but they're beyond everyone's reach. The resume I had created after graduation was in Ariel and I gradually switched to Verdana.

    I think more than font, what matters is the overall presentation of the content. An interesting sub-discussions would be whether to use colors or present a simple black and white resume.
  • X-Engineer
    X-Engineer
    Yes for sure..As you said ,the overall look of the resume is what each eyes will scan...considering the fact of fonts used in the same.

    But I am not sure if the size of the texts also matter or not.Please shed some light on that.

    Bigger size can increase the page numbers,look clearer with enough spacing but when compared with smaller sizes,smaller ones looks better(compact)

    Smaller sizes an become irritating to some (seeking some magnifiers to decode it )

    Also do let me know if the spacing between various subheadings should be large ,moderate or smallest..with appropriate numbers which had been used..?

    PS: I considered bigger size for 12 and smaller size for 9......10 or 11 can be termed as medium i Hope...
  • Manashree Thokal
    Manashree Thokal
    Yes, font style and size are very important. I hate Monotype Corsiva with underlines on resumes. Most companies also ask for soft copy of resume. And I have seen, almost all of them sending it in Word Document.

    I personally would prefer resume converted to PDF, as it doesn't need any editing/formatting and looks more neat.

You are reading an archived discussion.

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