Resumes – Keep It Simple!

Nowadays, you can easily jump online to purchase a resume template that is eye-catching with their formats, colors, and icons. It’s easy to fill out the sections while the program drops the information into perfectly aligned sections. But it’s a nightmare to update a few years later. You end up going back to the program to purchase ANOTHER template.

You can search Microsoft Word for free templates but you’ll run into the same problem. Templates cause headaches when it comes to formatting and making the content fit, especially for writers who don’t use Word (or GoogleDocs or Pages) often.

My advice is to keep it simple!!! Forget the text boxes and section headers! Use simple text formats like Bold, Italics, and Underline to highlight important information. Use line and paragraph spacing and narrower margins to effectively use space.

If you are unfamiliar with formatting in Word, I recommend checking out some resources from GCFLearnFree such as the Indents and Tabs or the Line and Paragraph Spacing lessons.

For example, this is how my contact information (in the header) followed by the sections:

It’s easy to make the font size bigger so hiring managers can easily find the sections of interest. Under the Layout tab, I utilize the Before: and After: spacing options to help create a small amount of space between paragraphs so resumes easier to read.

Many clients are looking for something eye-catching and flashy but when it comes down to it, recruiters and hiring managers will skim resumes for key skills and buzzwords. If they are hard to find, your snazzy resume is no longer useful. Help your hiring manager find your highlights easily and quickly by keeping it simple!

Need help with your resume? Idaho Next Steps Life & Career Coaching provides workshops and private consultations.

The “Crafting Your Resume” workshop is on Monday, February 25 from 5:30-7pm at our office location!

Email idahonextstepscoaching@gmail.com or call (208) 795-5118 for more information.