The Best Fonts for Your Resume
While deciding on a resume format and template that will get you noticed, the font you use on your resume is no small detail. Choosing the right font for your resume is equally essential because the typeface you select will help hiring managers easily read your content. It also makes an aesthetic first impression. For example, suppose you choose a playful font and are applying for an engineering firm position. In that case, there needs to be more clarity between how you present yourself and what the potential employer expects.
Read on for guidance on why font choices matter on your resume, what to consider when choosing a resume font, and some suggested resume fonts that are proven effective.
Why Font Choice Matters on Your Resume
Just as in the spoken language, how you say something is as important as what you say. Font sets the tone. Your resume font choice sends a subtle message about your professionalism, attention to detail, and standards. Here’s why font choice matters on your resume.
First impressions count
Font choice might seem subtle, but your typeface sends a loud-and-clear message about how you want to be perceived. Suppose you choose an overly decorative font for your resume. In that case, you will send the wrong message to hiring managers about who you are as a professional, your experience, and your capabilities. Think about it: If you choose a fluffy font designed to look chalkboard-ish in style, like Permanent Marker, or a scripted font, such as Lobster, you’re telling a potential employer that they are not worth taking seriously.
Overly stylized fonts, like Comic Sans or Papyrus, that are hard to read or look unprofessional give future employers the wrong idea about your standards. Choosing a readable and widely recognized font across ATS is crucial for getting your resume noticed.
Font compatibility with applicant tracking systems
More on font compatibility with ATS: These systems scan and read resumes and accept standard fonts such as Calibri, Arial, Times New Roman, and Verdana. The simple characters of these fonts are easy for ATS to read. However, ATS needs clarification when fed a highly stylized font like Bauhaus.
Another tip for choosing a font to pass through ATS is consistency throughout your resume. Switching back and forth between fonts can also confuse ATS, causing the system to mix up data or skip over parts of your resume that may set you apart from other candidates.
Avoid overusing font effects like bold, italic, and underline. While these font treatments are acceptable when used sparingly, if you persistently bold words within your professional experience bullet points, for example, ATS could avert the section. Mark key resume sections in bold, but maintain a “normal” setting with your chosen standardized font.
Characteristics of a Good Resume Font
There’s nothing fancy about choosing a good resume font that will pass through ATS and give hiring managers a professional first impression. The font you select should be readable with a defined style — again, nothing decorative. Standardized fonts like Times New Roman, Verdana, and Calibri are professional. These, plus others on the Top 10 Best Fonts for Your Resume, offer versatility across platforms. Seek a universal font that’s buttoned-up and not showy so your resume will look organized and its content will shine.
Readability and clarity
The time hiring managers spend with an initial scan of your resume is minimal. The same goes for ATS. That said, readability is paramount, and a decorative, whimsical, or splashy font distracts the reader (human or machine). More font choices will be needed to overshadow the credentials and experience you present in your resume content. Top resume fonts prioritize ease of reading so content can be consumed without barriers like overdone font treatments.
Professional appearance
Wearing a blazer presents a professional appearance. A fedora does precisely the opposite. Professional fonts for a resume have the same first-impression effect. The best font for a resume has a clean, simple, and well-defined design with uniform characters that are easy to read at any size. On the other hand, casual fonts to avoid on a resume can have irregularities like uneven spacing and curves that prevent ATS and hiring managers from scanning and quickly consuming the content.
When choosing a font for your resume, consider your industry and its standards. For example, creative resume fonts in the graphic design, marketing, or advertising industries are uniform yet can express more personality. Those commonly include Futura, Proxima Nova, and Avenir. These creative resume fonts are readable yet stylish.
Otherwise, stick to standardized fonts for your resume and the best fonts for your curriculum vitae (CV), such as Arial, Calibri, Georgia, Times New Roman, Helvetica, Garamond, Verdana, and Cambria.
Font versatility across platforms
Some fonts display differently depending on the operating system, device, software application, or platform. The best font for your resume is built into most operating systems with Windows and macOS compatibility. These include fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, Calibri, Verdana, and Helvetica.
What happens if you choose a font that is not compatible across operating systems? If the hiring manager or ATS does not install the font, the system will substitute it with a default that can distort your resume’s appearance.
Serif vs. non-serif fonts for your resume
Serif fonts are traditional, formal, and reliable. They are often used in the most professional settings, which might have dress coats like suit coats and no casual Fridays. So, consider your desired employer and their work environment. Do you need to dress up? If so, choose a serif font such as Times New Roman, Georgia, or Garamond.
Sans-serif fonts on a resume are professional yet modern. They are cleaner than serif fonts because they are more linear and do not have additional strokes. Sans-serif fonts work for skilled and creative employers. Examples include Calibri, Helvetica, and Arial.
Fonts to avoid on a resume are casual fonts like Comic Sans, which are playful and too informal.
Top 10 Best Fonts for Your Resume
Need help deciding which font to choose for your resume, the best font for your job application, and what fonts hiring managers prefer for a resume? Here’s our top 10 list of the best fonts for your resume that will pass through ATS and deliver a professional first impression.
Serif fonts
Serif fonts are proven to be easier to read than any other type, convey high professionalism, and their traditional appeal is appropriate for industries like financial services and legal. Following are some practical examples of serif fonts for your resume.
Times New Roman: This is the classic font. It is widely used in formal documents such as resumes.
Georgia: This modern serif font offers excellent readability for resumes.
Garamond: The timeless Garamond font stands out for its elegance yet retains the serif features that most professional work environments embrace.
Sans-serif fonts
Sans-serif fonts for resumes offer the best of both worlds: clean, creative, standardized, and professional. Here are some examples of top resume fonts that are sans-serif, pass through ATS, and make reading your resume easy for hiring managers.
Arial is the most popular and widely used sans-serif font for resumes because it is highly readable, compatible, and clean. It is also a staple across operating systems.
Calibri: This is also a modern font for resumes and is a default one for Microsoft, replacing Times New Roman. It is popular because it’s clean-lined, professional, easy to read, and relevant. Plus, it’s compatible across platforms, which is critical for ATS.
Helvetica: Another minimalist resume font is Helvetica, which is often used in design projects and is an ideal creative resume font.
Verdana: The Verdana font for resumes offers more spacing than some other sans-serif fonts. It is also a highly readable Microsoft-originated font, especially when the text is tiny. This is helpful for a resume you want to keep to one page but have lots of content to include.
Monospace fonts
These fonts are reminiscent of the typewriter, and because each character takes up the same amount of space, an X consumes as much white space as lower-case i. You’ll often find monospace fonts in coding. If you decide to use monospace fonts in your resume — common in technology industries — here’s what we recommend.
Courier: This iconic monospace font was designed by IBM when typewriters were still a thing, and its uniform spacing is mechanical, functional, readable, and attractive in the tech industry.
More creative resume fonts
Want to add some flair to your creative resume font while maintaining high professionalism to make a solid first impression? Here are a couple more font options if you want to step out of the collection of standard creative resume fonts that include options like Calibri.
Calibri light: A cousin of a favorite creative resume font, Calibri, this softer and modern sans-serif is ideal for design-oriented resumes.
Cambria: Looking for a creative serif font? Cambria fits the bill. It’s readable and compatible across operations systems and platforms and offers the highly easy-to-digest aspects of serif fonts with a clean-lined look.
Cambria is a serif typeface designed primarily for readability in both print and on-screen formats. It was developed as part of Microsoft’s ClearType font collection, which was introduced with the release of Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista. Cambria is known for balancing traditional and modern design, combining classic serif elements with digital optimization to create a versatile, highly legible font.
Tips for Formatting Your Resume with the Best Font
Format your resume with the best font by paying close attention to font size and spacing and consistently using the same font throughout the document. Some situations can warrant combining fonts, and there are ways to do this without cluttering your resume or negatively impacting readability.
Font size and spacing for resumes
For body text, a font size of 10 to 12 points is ideal for readability and will allow you to consolidate content into an ideal one-page resume. Heading and section titles should be more significant, usually 14 to 16 points. However, if you use a 10-point body text, consider the scale and make section headings 13 to 14 points.
Use 1 to 1.15 line spacing for body text so hiring managers and ATS can easily read your resume’s content. Maintain consistent margins of 0.5 to 1 inch on all sides for a clean, professional look.
Consistency in font use
Select an industry-standard font for your resume, such as one of the Top 10 Resume Fonts we suggested (Calibri, Helvetica, Verdana), and stick to it. Avoid mixing and matching different fonts, which will distract the reader and could trip up the ATS, causing the system to skip over or misinterpret content. Headings, subheadings, and body text should be in the same font. Use text treatments like bold and italic sparingly, such as for headings and subheadings.
Combining fonts on your resume
Using two fonts on your resume to draw attention to specific sections is acceptable for headings or your name at the top. Some complementary font pairings for resumes include:
- Calibri and Cambria
- Arial and Georgia
- Helvetica and Times New Roman
- Garamond and Calibri
Common Mistakes To Avoid When Choosing Resume Fonts
Now that we’ve covered best practices for choosing resume fonts, here are some common mistakes to avoid when selecting a font and formatting your resume.
Using too many fonts
Limit font choices on a resume to ensure readability, consistency, and a professional look. Combining too many fonts on a resume looks messy and can trip up ATS, which might skip over or misinterpret some of your content. If you use more than one font, select complimentary fonts, one for headers and another for body copy.
Choosing decorative or hard-to-read fonts
Non-traditional fonts distract hiring managers and ATS from your qualifications as a desirable candidate. For example, gimmicky fonts like Comic Sans and Papyrus and highly decorative script fonts are considered unprofessional and difficult to read. Save those for a bake sale flier. Your resume deserves a clean-lined serif of sans-serif font that will impress the reader.
Ignoring applicant tracking systems compatibility
Some fonts need to be quickly processed through ATS, which can result in your resume being rejected or your content needing more accuracy. Your resume will never reach the hiring manager. Use proven ATS-friendly fonts such as Arial, Calibri, Georgia, Times New Roman, and Verdana.
Overlooking print and digital consistency
Choose a font that is readable on screen and in print. Some fonts look great on screen but appear pixelated or are otherwise difficult to read on different devices or when printed. Test the font by comparing its appearance on other devices, such as computer screens and mobile devices. Then, print a sample to determine if the resume font is consistent in digital and print formats.
Additional Resources
Links to resume templates with font suggestions
Online tools for resume formatting
- Are Resume Templates a Good Idea?
- How To Build a Professional Resume
- How To Build a Resume for Free (Plus Examples and Templates)
Career advice articles and job application tips
- 3 in 4 Hiring Managers Pass on Candidates with Poor Resumes
- 7 in 10 of Recent Job Seekers Cheated During the Hiring Process
- Listing Pronouns on Resumes
Frequently Asked Questions About the Best Fonts for Your Resume
Effective resume fonts are clean, easy to read, and have a consistent look across digital and print formats. Some examples of great fonts to use on your resume include Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, Times New Roman, Verdana, and Cambria.
Readability is crucial when selecting a font type and size for your resume. Generally, use a 10 to 12-point size for body copy and a 13 to 16-point size for headers. Remember that white space on your resume makes it easier for hiring managers and ATS to scan the information.
Use up to two fonts on your resume. Generally speaking, select one highly readable, professional font such as Calibri and use the font consistently throughout your resume. If you want variety, limit font choices to types, complementary types such as Calibri and Cambria.
Resume Templates offers free, HR approved resume templates to help you create a professional resume in minutes. Choose from several template options and even pre-populate a resume from your profile.