Resume Style or Format

You need to realize that employers are busy people and that they will usually spend about 20 – 30 seconds looking at a resume. Therefore, your resume should be written in such a way that you direct your prospective employer’s eyes to the most important information immediately. Here are some tips that might be helpful.

Chronological

All information, especially under the headings ‘work experience’ and ‘academic qualification’ should be arranged in a chronological order starting with the most recent events first.

Headings

Information included should be arranged neatly under suitable headings such as ‘work experience’, ‘personal details’, etc.

Type your resume

• Make sure your resume is typed and printed on clean white paper, preferably A4 size. Use standard and clearly legible fonts.
• Avoid fancy fonts, designs and decorative papers.
• Design your resume for easy skimming: emphasize by boldfacing, capitalizing and italicizing.
• Center and balance your resume on the page.

White Space

• Leave plenty of white space on your resume. Although it is understandable that you might have much important details to describe, try not to over-crowd the pages with words
• Try to keep your resume within two pages. Remember, you are not preparing a thesis!
• Leave blank space between the separate sections and items on your resume.