What Should a Resume Look Like? A Guide for Job Seekers

Impressive Resume Example

Before diving into specifics, let's look at what a visually stunning, professional resume looks like. This example showcases the clean formatting, strategic layout, and visual appeal that catch hiring managers' attention:

Here’s Why This Resume Looks Professional

#1. Formatting and Layout

The foundation of any great-looking resume starts with choosing the right format. There are three main resume formats to consider:

• Reverse-chronological format. Also known as the chronological format, it lists your most recent experience first.
• Functional format. This format highlights your skills rather than your work history.
• Combination format. Blends both chronological and functional elements.

In most cases, the reverse-chronological is your best bet. It's the most popular format among hiring managers worldwide, and ATS systems scan it most effectively.

Once you’ve settled on the right resume format, it’s time to focus on layout.

A well-organized layout makes your resume easier to read and more appealing to both ATS systems and human reviewers. If your resume looks cluttered or disorganized, there’s a good chance hiring managers will skip it, regardless of how strong your qualifications.

Here’s how to fine-tune your resume layout to look polished and professional:

• Set the right margins. Use exactly one-inch margins on all four sides of your resume. This creates a balanced layout that’s easy on the eyes and helps ensure nothing gets cut off when printing or scanning.
• Pick a clean, professional font. Avoid overused or unprofessional fonts, such as Times New Roman or Comic Sans. Instead, go for sleek and modern options like Lato, Roboto, or Calibri.
• Use consistent line spacing. Stick to 1.0 spacing for body text and go up to 1.15 after section titles or headings. It keeps everything clean and readable without wasting valuable space.
• Save it as a PDF. Unless instructed otherwise, always submit your resume as a PDF to preserve its layout across different devices and operating systems.

Or Use a Professional Resume Template

Perfecting your resume’s design from scratch can be time-consuming and frustrating. Between setting margins, testing font sizes, and making sure everything fits neatly on one page, you might spend hours just on formatting.

So why don't you save yourself the headache and start with a professionally designed resume template?

Our free resume templates are built with input from hiring professionals, so you can be confident your resume will look modern, ATS-friendly, and visually appealing, without any design guesswork.

Here's how our template stacks up against a typical resume made in a text editor:

#2. Essential Sections

Every professional resume needs these core sections to look complete and comprehensive:

These sections form the backbone of any strong resume. Missing any of these essential elements makes your resume look incomplete and unprofessional.

#3. Resume Length

If you’re wondering how long your resume should be, one page is the gold standard. Most hiring managers spend only 6 seconds scanning your resume, so listing only your most impressive and relevant qualifications will ensure you keep their attention.

If you’re an entry-level or junior professional, a two or multiple-page resume is guaranteed to look unprofessional.

Two-page resumes are only acceptable for:

• Seasoned professionals with more than 15 years of work experience.
• Executive and middle management candidates applying for leadership roles.
• Academic job seekers pursuing university or research positions.

#4. Bullet Points

Bullet points make your resume instantly more readable and reader-friendly. Instead of dense paragraphs that hiring managers will skip over, bullet points break up your content and showcase your achievements more effectively.

ATS systems love bullet points, too. These systems can easily parse and categorize information when it's formatted in bullet points, improving your chances of passing the initial screening.

Use bullet points for:

• Describing past work duties and achievements.
• Elaborating on key skills and competencies.
• Explaining educational accomplishments and relevant coursework.
• Talking about project highlights and results.

Keep each bullet point to 1-2 lines maximum. This maintains the clean, scannable appearance that both human reviewers and ATS systems prefer.

#5. Additional Sections

If you have extra white space, you can include optional sections that showcase your unique qualifications and personality. These extras can set you apart from other candidates with a similar professional and educational background.

That said, make sure to keep these sections as relevant as possible, too:

• Languages. List any foreign languages with your proficiency level (beginner, intermediate, advanced, fluent).
• Certifications and Awards. Include professional certifications, licenses, or recognition that relates to your field.
• Projects. Highlight significant personal or academic projects that demonstrate relevant skills.
• Volunteer Experience. Show your community involvement and transferable skills gained through unpaid work.
• Hobbies and Interests. Add personality to your resume, but only include interests that relate to the job or show desirable traits.

Don't force these sections onto your resume. If including them means cramming text or extending to a second page unnecessarily, skip them. Your core sections should always take priority.

Remember, every line on your resume should serve a purpose. If an additional section doesn't strengthen your candidacy for the specific role, leave it out.

9 Resume Mistakes to Avoid

Even if you have amazing qualifications, poor formatting choices can get your resume tossed aside before anyone reads your experience.

These mistakes will instantly make your resume look unprofessional and hurt your chances of getting noticed:

1. Using unprofessional fonts. Avoid Comic Sans, Papyrus, or overly decorative scripts that are hard to read and look childish.
2. Adding a headshot or photo. Skip photos unless you're applying for modeling, acting, or if it's specifically stated in the job ad.
3. Cramming too many graphics. Charts, icons, or colorful design elements distract from your content and confuse ATS systems.
4. Creating uneven headings. Inconsistent font sizes, styles, or spacing between sections makes your resume look sloppy.
5. Mixing too many colors. Bright, neon colors look unprofessional and are hard to read on both screens and paper.
6. Leaving inconsistent spacing. Uneven gaps between sections, bullet points, or paragraphs make your resume look messy and hard to follow.
7. Using text boxes or tables. These formatting elements confuse ATS systems and can cause your information to get scrambled.
8. Making text too small. Fonts under 10 pts are hard to read, and suggest you're trying to cram too much content onto the page.
9. Centering all your text. Left-aligned formatting is much easier to scan than centered text.Adding borders or frames. These decorative elements create visual clutter and waste precious white space.

Bonus: Resume Checklist

Before you hit "submit" on your job application, run through this final checklist to make sure your resume looks perfect. 

This quick review will catch any formatting issues, missing information, or visual mistakes that could hurt your chances:

Key Takeaways

And you've made it to the end!

Before you go, let's quickly wrap up the most important points we've covered in this article:

• Your resume should follow the reverse-chronological format with a clean, professional design that includes one-inch margins on all sides and plenty of white space.
• Stick to the five essential sections - contact information, resume summary, work experience, education, and skills - as these form the backbone of any strong resume.
• Keep your resume to one page unless you're a senior executive with 15+ years of experience, applying for leadership roles, or pursuing academic positions.
• Use bullet points throughout your resume to make it more readable for both hiring managers and ATS systems, keeping each point to 1-2 lines maximum.
• Choose modern, professional fonts like Ubuntu, Roboto, or Overpass instead of the overused Times New Roman, and use 10-12 pt for body text with 14-16 pt for headers.
• Only add optional sections like languages, certifications, or volunteer experience if they're relevant to the job and you have space without cramming content.
• Avoid common visual mistakes like unprofessional fonts, photos, excessive graphics, inconsistent spacing, and text boxes that can make your resume look unprofessional or confuse ATS systems.