{"id":20199,"date":"2017-10-03T11:30:25","date_gmt":"2017-10-03T16:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/?page_id=20199"},"modified":"2024-07-29T11:40:41","modified_gmt":"2024-07-29T16:40:41","slug":"how-do-you-format-a-resume","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/how-to-guides\/resume-guide-2\/how-do-you-format-a-resume\/","title":{"rendered":"How do you format a resume?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-modular-content-collection><p>Resumes come in many different shapes and sizes depending on the field and the applicant\u2019s level of experience. There are, however, generally accepted guidelines:<\/p>\n<h3>Keep your resume to one page<\/h3>\n<p>A one-page resume is considered ideal for college students and recent graduates. If you believe that you need a two-page resume, check with your faculty member or a <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/connect-with-us\/\">Piper Center coach<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Avoid personal pronouns<\/h3>\n<p>Do not use \u201cI,\u201d \u201cwe,\u201d or \u201cmy\u201d in a resume. Save them for your cover letter. Start your bullet points with an <a href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/how-to-guides\/resume-guide\/action-verbs\/\">action verb<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Use verbs in the past tense<\/h3>\n<p>Because your resume describes what you\u2019ve done in the past, use verbs in the <strong>past tense<\/strong>: \u201creviewed,\u201d \u201cexamined,\u201d \u201cpresented.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Use a verb in the <strong>present tense<\/strong> only if the work or activity is ongoing and you are doing it at the time you are applying for the role.<\/p>\n<h3>Use a readable font and font size<\/h3>\n<p>Be consistent in your choice of font. <strong>Times New Roman<\/strong>, <strong>Garamond<\/strong>,\u00a0<strong>Helvetica, and Arial<\/strong>\u00a0are compact fonts that allow you to include more information. Do not use a font smaller than 10 point.<\/p>\n<h3>Include white space<\/h3>\n<p>White space \u2014 the top, bottom, and margins of a resume \u2014 is important. Aim for a resume that is uncluttered and visually attractive. A crowded resume may give the impression that you\u2019re unorganized or that you lack confidence (you\u2019re including everything because you\u2019re not sure that you\u2019ve done enough).<\/p>\n<h3>Be sparing with italics, underlining and boldface type<\/h3>\n<p>You may use italics, underlining, and boldface type to highlight a point, but try not to create a cluttered look. Use highlighting consistently and infrequently.<\/p>\n<h3>Proofread your resume<\/h3>\n<p>Proofread your resume to make sure that there are no misspellings or grammatical errors. Check your font size and spacing throughout.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"cta\" href=\"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/how-to-guides\/resume-guide\/how-do-you-deliver-your-resume-successfully\/\">How do you deliver your resume successfully?<\/a><\/p>\n<p><!-- begin-migrated-from-panel-builder --><!-- end-migrated-from-panel-builder --><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Resumes come in many different shapes and sizes depending on the field and the applicant\u2019s level of experience. There are, however, generally accepted guidelines: Keep your resume to one page [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8275,"featured_media":0,"parent":17159,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-20199","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20199","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8275"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20199"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20199\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41081,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/20199\/revisions\/41081"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/17159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wp.stolaf.edu\/pipercenter\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20199"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}