Resume Font, Length, and Formatting: What Actually Matters

Design opinions vary; a few things are close to universal.

1. Pick one clean, readable font (Calibri, Arial, Georgia) at 10-12pt — nothing decorative.
2. Keep margins between 0.5-1 inch; too tight looks cramped, too wide wastes space.
3. Use consistent bullet style and spacing throughout — inconsistency reads as careless.
4. Bold sparingly (job titles or company names, not entire sentences).
5. Avoid photos, icons, and graphics unless you're in a genuinely visual field (design, media) — they can break ATS parsing elsewhere.

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