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Resumés

Resume Preparation Checklist

A resumé is a brief, well-organized document that represents an individual job-seeker, their qualifications, their skills, and their experiences. This guide, developed by Social Sciences Careers & Experiential Education staff is aimed at supporting students and job-seekers in preparing a resumé document that adheres to contemporary norms and expectations.

Basic Formatting

Your resume and your cover letter should share basic formatting. A clean and simple format gives each document ‘curb appeal’ at a glance. Visual cues like font, margin size, and spacing can make an immediate aesthetic impression on your reader, for better or for worse, even before they read a word. For this reason, job search experts recommend showing your mastery of norms and conventions, taking an accessible ‘less is more’ approach to document format, and letting your originality come from your written content.

Set Up Well-Balanced Margins

1-inch margins are fairly standard, on top and bottom. However, some guides allow for 0.75 inch margins, or even 0.5 inch margins if it helps your overall document. Make sure left and right margins are the same size, even if you make the top and bottom share a little smaller size, keeping within the ranges suggested above.

Select Left Alignment

The lines of text on your resume should typically be justified using the ‘left justification’ or ‘align left’ setting so that the left edge of the content is flush with the left margin of the document, while the right end varies. Allowing the right end of each line to vary helps with readability compared to, for example, ‘full’ justification.

Balance Your Use of White Space

Filling the page with too much text, on too many lines, that are too close together, with too small margins – all of this can make your resume seem cluttered. On the other hand, too much white space can make it feel sparse. Find the balance.

Put Everything in Normal Text

To help human beings, accessibility tools, and applicant tracking systems read your resumé, put all your materials in the normal text section of your document, using bullets, organizational headings, and (rarely) body paragraphs. Avoid using elements such as word art, tables, top margin headers, or bottom footers, which have been outmoded for use on resumés by new technology.

Resume-Specific Formatting

Here are some formatting tips specific to your resume:

Use Bullets and Avoid Paragraphs

Use efficient point-form entries in each section, set out with your choice of a simple, professional and consistent bullet style. Avoid composing paragraphs within a resume. (Exceptions are sometimes made for the ‘Highlights’ section, below.)

Format Your Sections Consistently

Each section of your resume should have subheadings, dates, and entries. As you make stylistic choices or follow norms, be sure to be consistent between sections.

Single Space Each Entry

Make your bullets single-spaced. Avoid adding spaces between each bullet under any given heading. But do make sure there is a visual gap of white space before your next heading. As an advanced tip, consider increasing digital accessibility by using the paragraph > ‘after’ settings to add some white space instead of adding it manual.

Distinguish Your Subheadings

Make your headings discernible at a glance and consistent throughout by using an enlarged and perhaps bolded font. Avoid using colour, however, even if that’s the default of your template. Using the ‘Headings’ (not ‘Header’) tool in the ‘Styles’ pane of your word processing program can help with consistency. See below for details.

Align Dates on the Right

Choose a consistent month and year style and use the same format across all of your entries. All dates should be aligned on the right margin.

Font

Here are some tips for selecting and managing your font:

Choose Your Font Carefully

Choose an easy to read, professional looking font without ‘serifs’ or decorative curls. Common recommendations include Tahoma, Arial, Verdana, Times New Roman, Calibri etc.

Make Your Font An Appropriate Size

Experts tend to suggest using 10.5-12 point font for readability. Any smaller is likely to feel too cluttered, and any larger risks the impression of trying to pad for length. Your headings can and should be larger, in the 13-14 point font range. No matter what you choose, be consistent. Using the ‘Headings’ tool in your word processing program’s ‘Styles’ pane can help with consistency.

Avoid Using Colour

Resist the urge to use colour for style, for meaning or to make an impression. Simple black font on a white background is strongly recommended. Using colour or decoration to stand out is considered an immature and distracting strategy. Furthermore, colour and contrast present accessibility issues for many readers. The best strategy is to use a subdued visual style and to distinguish yourself with your content.

Keep Your Font Consistent

Demonstrate attention to detail by making sure you have strict consistency across sections when it comes to exact font size, colour, and style. It is also recommended to keep font and formatting consistent between your resume and your cover letter.

Make Your Name Stand Out

Your name, in the contact information section, can be an exception to sizing rules. Make your name no larger than 16 points, and consider making it bolded. (See below.)

Layout

Here are some tips for setting up your layout of your sections, entries, and bullet points:

Order Your Sections

Follow resume norms when choosing the ordering, content, and header titles of your sections. Some sections may have only one set of bullet points; other sections may have multiple ‘entries’, each with their own bullet point statements.

Put Entries in Reverse Order

Within each section involving multiple entries, order your entries in reverse chronological order, using consistently styled subheadings for each. Choose an appropriate ordering for your bullet point statements, depending on context.

Sections of Your Resumé

You can organize the sections of your resumé by making consistently-formatted section headings on your own, or for greater ease and accessibility you can use the Styles feature in Word or a similar tool like the text styles feature in Google Docs.

The recommended sections to include in your resume are, in order, as follows:

  • Your resume should start with your contact information, with the same style used exactly for both your resume and your cover letter.
  • Your name should be presented prominently in an enlarged font.
  • Consider making your name into a heading using the ‘Heading 1’ feature of your writing program’s ‘Styles’ tool.
  • This optional section, placed at the start of your resume, should include points tailored to the specific job for which you are applying. Just by reading this section, the reader should recognize what you are applying to — and why.
  • Use strong action verbs to emphasize your skills through experience.
  • This section is not a place to just list generic skills. You need to provide relevant examples of your experiences and accomplishments using these skills.
  • A paragraph style is sometimes acceptable for this particular entry, with a suggested length limit of four (4) sentences.
  • If using a bullet point style, keep it to six (6) bullets or fewer.
  • For each entry in this section, list your degree or credential as a subheading, with the font bolded. Identify the academic institution clearly on the second line.
  • Courses/academic experiences are relevant to specific job and defined, not just listed
  • You may draw on experience gained as a student by including details about a unique project, case study or research in this section.
  • For each entry in this section, list your job title as a subheading, with the font bolded. Identify the company/employer/organization name on the second line.
  • Entries for paid and unpaid experience should appear in the same format.
  • Typically paid entries should all appear first, in reverse chronological order (i.e. newest first, oldest last). Unpaid entries should typically appear afterwards, also in reverse chronological order.
  • Optional: While the ordering just mentioned is typical and recommended, in some situations you might consider putting more directly relevant experiences earlier and out of order.
  • Tailor your resumé for each position by including or excluding experiences, and by re-weighting emphasis based on relevance. Your resumé, and especially your experience section, should not be a one-size-fits-all exhaustive list of all of your experiences. It should be a curated list customized for application to each role. If it helps you to keep a template resume saved with a complete historical list, go for it, but be sure to trim down customized versions each time you apply.
  • Compose each bullet point using the ‘Accomplishment Statement’ format, always starting with strong past-tense action verbs.
  • Avoid weak and indirect language such as “responsible for”, and be sure to use different action verbs at the beginning of each bullet throughout resume, avoiding any repetition.

Elements to Avoid

Do not include the following sections or elements:

Eliminate Any Headshot or Photo

No photo is needed. Including a photograph or headshot is the custom in some countries or regions, but it is not recommended or appropriate in Canada.

Eliminate the Objective Section

No objective section is needed. Stating a short-term or medium-term goal is still taught in some Canadian schools, but doing so is widely considered outdated and is no longer recommended.

Eliminate the References Section

No references section is needed. It used to be the norm to offer the names or contact details of references, but it is not recommended today. Similarly, offering to make “references available upon request” is also not needed, since it is taken for granted as a part of contemporary job application processes.

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For Reflection: Photos

Photos are not generally required or recommended as a part of job applications in Canada and the United States. However, practices vary in different countries around the world. What are some of the downsides of including (or requiring) a photo? If you have lived outside of Canada, what do you know about practices or norms about this in another country?

Writing & Style

When it comes to your writing and style, here are some key tips:

Write Well and Clearly

Pay close attention to spelling, grammar, and punctuation. Ask a trusted proof-reader for help with copy editing.

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Follow Number Conventions

The numbers one through ten should be written out in full as words, while 11+ should remain in numeral format. Exceptions where small numbers should remain numerals include when discussing grades, ages, or dollar amounts.

Avoid First Person Pronouns

You won’t need the words “I” or “My” in any of your bullet points. Because of resume conventions, your strong past-tense action-oriented verbs will convey well enough that you are the acting subject.

Mirror Language and Values

Incorporate key words used in the position description or job posting, and tailor your own word choice to mirror back the values, priorities, and criteria that are communicated there by the employer. This demonstrates practical attention to detail, shows interest in the specific role in question, and speaks to the criteria that may be used to select candidates.

Delivering Your Documents

Once your resumé and cover letter are finished, here’s how to proceed:

Do Submit a Cover Letter

Whenever there is an option to do so, you should absolutely attach a cover letter with your resumé. Only avoid doing so if it is explicitly forbidden.

Save and Upload as a PDF

Unless otherwise guided by the job posting instructions or by the application system, be prepared to export your document as a PDF file type. PDF is the current standard for managing documents that are not intended for editing by the end user. Using PDF allows you to ensure that your visual appearance and formatting will be maintained.

Name Your File Clearly

When saving your documents, use a clear and consistent formula when naming your document (ex. First and Last Name – Role Title). Hiring professionals are often hiring for more than one role at a time, so specifying your name and the role will give them clarity when receiving your documents.

Send Together (or Separately)

Unless otherwise guided by the job posting instructions or by the application system, combine your cover letter and your resume together into one file, in that order.

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