A well-thought-out resume layout signals that you are a professional who needs to be taken seriously. If your resume looks too long, isn’t easy to scan, or is disorganized, recruiters will decide it’s not worth the effort and throw it in the bin before you have a chance to support yourself. The following guidelines will help you ensure that your resume layout will make a positive impression on you.

Recommendations for the professional design of your resume:

Keep your resume short and sweet. Stick to a standard resume layout. Avoid adding a photo. Don’t include a CV on your resume. Build your resume. Use the right font and colors. Keep creativity for creative work.

1. Keep your resume short and sweet.

In a resume, the place is not on your side. Therefore, it is best to use 2 A4 pages. It is unlikely that a recruiter will have time to read a resume that resembles a novel.

Keeping your resume short also ensures that it can be easily scanned by the Applicant Tracking System (ATS).

The key is to look at the job description and include only relevant experience, skills, and accomplishments.

2. Stick to a standard resume format.

While the order and content of your resume may vary, there are several elements that should be included in every resume:

Personal data and contact details

The personal information you need to provide depends on the country in which you are applying for a job. At a minimum, include your full name, full address and city, email address and telephone number. If you are applying for a job abroad, also include the country in your address.

In South Africa, you may be asked to provide your ID, gender and date of birth; however, you must proceed with caution to protect yourself from identity theft. Just in case, disclose this information only upon special request and submit your resume in PDF format with password protection.

Additional details that should be provided are your LinkedIn URL and your personal / portfolio website, unless they are critical to your application.

Personal statement

A Personal Statement is a 4-5 line summary of your career history that tells recruiters who you are, what your skills are, and what you are looking for in the position.

experience

List only relevant work experience. For each position, include the company you worked for, the title of the position, start and end dates, and your experience. Try to incorporate a mix of responsibilities and accomplishments to showcase your skills in the best possible light.

Education

Your professional and additional education is important here. Unless you are a recent graduate, there is no need to mention the schools you attended or the exams you took.

Skills and abilities

In the UK, Ireland and New Zealand, there is no need for a dedicated skills section on your resume. For South Africa, this section is required to highlight computer and foreign language skills and any other job related issues.

References

In the UK and Ireland, it was common practice to write “links available on request”; however, this is now considered a waste of space. At this early stage in the hiring process, references are not required, so there is no need to refer to them.

However, it is common in New Zealand and South Africa to include two links so potential employers can check your work history. Make sure your recommendations are up to date, and of course, ask permission before submitting details.

3. Don’t post photos.

Including a photo on your resume is generally discouraged. For models and actors for whom appearance is an important factor in the application process, photography may be required.

It’s worth noting that in the UK and Ireland, strict anti-discrimination laws prohibit companies from asking too much personal information from candidates.

4. Don’t write “Curriculum Vitae” on your resume.

Many candidates point out the obvious and write the words “Curriculum Vitae” on their resume. It’s a valuable waste of space and communicates to recruiters what they already know. Instead, your name should be at the very top of your resume. Since this is the first thing recruiters will see, put your name in bold and in the center of the page to grab their attention.

5. Write your resume.

Your resume should be easily reviewed by recruiters and ATS. Here are some tips to give your resume a clear structure and make it presentable:

Give the sections clear headings, such as Employment History. Use bold for headings and italics for subheadings. Maintain margins of 1 to 1.5 inches. Leave enough white space between sections – don’t wedge too much text into your resume. Break up blocks of text with markers.

6. Use a suitable font and colors.

Fonts like Calibri and Arial are easy to read and exude professionalism. Use 10-12 points for plain text, 14 for headings, and 14-16 for your name to make it stand out.

Keep colors to a minimum. The best resume colors are standard black or neutral colors such as blue or gray to highlight headlines.

7. Retain creativity for creative work.

With so many templates and designs on offer, it can be tempting to showcase your creativity to recruiters. If you’re applying to a fashion advertising agency, they might be impressed with an eye-catching resume with thoughtful graphics and animations.

For most other jobs, recruiters will appreciate a resume that makes the task simpler and doesn’t force them to look for information. The main thing here is to carefully read the job description. Unless otherwise noted, be professional and stick to neutral colors as described above.

Use the services of a resume writer

While your resume content will ultimately get you a job, the impact of a professional resume layout shouldn’t be underestimated. With so many different tips online, it can be difficult to figure out how to structure your resume properly.

A professional resume writer like hoteljob.id can save you hours of work and help you make a better first impression with recruiters. Using our resume writer, you will be able to choose from 20 professional templates to ensure that you include relevant information in a concise and easy-to-read format.

Just enter your details and choose the template that works best for your application to create a resume that goes through ATS, wins over recruiters, and leads to a job offer.