Executive resume formatting best practices Key takeaway: top-performing resumes have simple layouts and plenty of white space. Two column designs actually give you less space to describe your qualifications which isn’t ideal. While they continue to improve their accuracy over time, it’s simply too big of a risk that your resume will look like a jumbled mess or the system will decide you’re not a match for the position because it couldn’t parse out the relevant content from your resume. Our research tells us that most applicant tracking systems struggle with two column designs, non-standard fonts, graphics, and tables.

Understandably, you don’t want your resume to be perceived as boring, so you do need to put in some effort into your design, layout and font choices.Īlso, keep in mind that most resumes are entered into an applicant tracking system, and this can be a huge problem when you use a trendy resume format. You won’t get an interview if the hiring manager can’t read your resume.Īt the executive level in particular, you can’t go wrong with a simple, classically elegant resume design. Unless you’re applying for a job in a field like graphic design, it’s better to stick to a resume in a basic format with a simple, black, sans-serif font. Just as you would never hire an executive recruiter or resume writer to design your logo, you shouldn’t rely solely on a graphic designer for your resume design.Īs we’ve explained in our article on top resume mistakes, incorporating fancy graphs, charts, colors or images into your resume may capture a recruiter’s attention, but it might not be for the right reason.Įlaborately-designed resumes are often more difficult to decipher and cause the reader to have to hunt for relevant information. Keep in mind that many of the people who profit from selling creative resume templates are designers without any experience as a hiring manager. While that may be true, our experience tells us that these templates are largely ineffective for actually landing interviews. These highly designed styles are touted as being more eye-catching.

These formats typically include two-column designs, substantial use of color, non-standard sections and layouts, and fancy fonts or bar graphs to indicate skill levels.

There are all sorts of resume templates available on the internet we’re seeing a trend towards more creative formats being used, even by executives. What you need to know about selecting an effective executive resume template Executive resume formatting best practices.What you need to know about selecting an effective executive resume template.

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