When writing your resume, you want to make sure that it is in tip-top shape. It should also be a great representation of who you are. Resumes show the skills that you possess and prior work experience, but surprisingly, what type of font you choose can be a deal-breaker. AOL Jobs spoke to Barbara Safani, owner of the career management firm Career Solvers and author of “Happy About My Resume,” to pick her brain about the matter.
Safani recommends that resume-writers stick to generic fonts; such as Times New Roman and Georgia. If your potential employer doesn’t have your uniquely-styled font in their version of Microsoft Office, it will be converted, maybe crushing the whole document so it’s nearly illegible. She also advises against using most serif fonts, because they don’t survive well when scanned.
AOL Jobs also spoke to Kevin Poirer, the creative director of Massachusetts-based PearTree Design, and Ryan Clennan, the art director of Washington, D.C.-based Studio Grafik. They are more concerned with the style of the font than the actual meaning. Each of them has different opinions about the subject. One thing they agreed upon was that Times New Roman and Georgia are the top picks that people chose, but they are also the dullest when it comes to resume font styles. They are still the best choice when it comes to working in a business related job, but if you are applying to an artistic job you should chose something a little more dynamic.
Whatever font you choose, you want to make the font your own by giving it a little bit of color, images, and making sure you’re creative. You can organize your resume in a way that your layout looks very important and unique from the rest of the other candidates.
