Resume Formatting: A Clear, ATS-Friendly Layout

Good formatting makes the next piece of information predictable. Your name should be the strongest element, section headings should share one style, job titles and employers should be easy to distinguish, and body text should remain quiet and readable.

• Use consistent type sizes for equivalent elements
• Separate sections with spacing instead of decorative graphics
• Align dates consistently
• Keep bullet indentation shallow and uniform

A simple one-column layout works across roles and reduces the chance that text will be read out of order. Avoid putting critical information in headers, footers, floating text boxes, charts, or images. Creative candidates can show visual work in a portfolio while keeping the application resume straightforward.

Choose a common professional typeface and use one family throughout. A typical body size is around 10.5 to 12 points, depending on the font. Margins usually work best between roughly 0.6 and 1 inch. Do not compress the page until reading becomes work.

• Use bold selectively for roles, employers, or headings
• Avoid all-caps body text and long italic passages
• Keep line spacing and paragraph spacing consistent
• Let a second page happen when the alternative is unreadable text

Follow the employer’s requested file type. A text-based PDF preserves layout well; DOCX may be preferred by some application systems. Never submit a scanned image of a resume unless explicitly requested.

1. 1

   Check the filename

   Use a clear format such as Firstname-Lastname-Resume.pdf.

2. 2

   Open the export

   Confirm that bullets, line breaks, links, and page breaks survived.

3. 3

   Check mobile

   Recruiters may review on a smaller screen; make sure the page is still legible.