Font choice for resume and cover letter

I usually use Times New Roman 11 or 12 point. If it's too small to read, the reviewer may not even bother.

Helvetica FTW

Julius Caesar said:

Hi all,

I'm looking for font recommendations for my cover letter and resume. ...

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Vodoo is correct. Your vita should be in a single font. Times/Times New are good choices. Time/Times New is a better choice than Helvetica/Arial because serif fonts more readable than sans serif fonts. Your headings may be bold. You may use italics where appropriate. However, multiple fonts, multiple colors, and other decorations are a no-no.

What type of position are you looking to get into?
For a designer TNR is plain and I'd look for someone else unless the resume has really good info. I'd prefer Garamond to TNR….TNR is VERY harsh with it's thick/thin parts.
Helvetica can be clean but as noted hard to read at times.

It took me several weeks to get my resume typeface chosen. I opted for Adelle and Bodega for headers (I use Bodega in my branding).
I felt Adele is a nice serifed typeface that offered a clean look and still easy to read. I paid for my versions but a few months afterward they offered a few weights free.

You can view my resume in my Behance link located below/sig.

Stand out - use 100% Comic Sans!

Cooper Black is making a comeback... big time. You heard it here first...

If you e-mail your resume out, don't choose a font that printers will not be able to print.

I am a New Baskerville fan for general serif body type. The italic is very nice.

Vodoo is not correct. I'm sorry but I am going to have to go against the advise here, serif fonts are a bad choice. San serif are much easier to read for larger bodies of text, that's why I'd go Helvetica because it's simple modern and looks good online, print or mobile.

Case in point when I sent through a CV a few years ago in Caslon I was asked to resend in a San-Serif font because the manager who was interviewing was dyslexic and just couldn't read large chunks of text with serifs.

Julius Caesar said:

Books are very large chunks of text that use serif fonts.

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petitio principii.

Again I refer to the purposing... A book ≠ curriculum vitae

I'd rather use a font that I know would be readable by many people than run the risk of eliminating or reducing the potency of a document that enables me to work. If it's the difference between a font I like vs a font that is readable by many then I'd take the latter.

I'd also suggest looking here

ezekielrage_99 said:

petitio principii.

Again I refer to the purposing... A book ≠ curriculum vitae

I'd rather use a font that I know would be readable by many people than run the risk of eliminating or reducing the potency of a document that enables me to work. If it's the difference between a font I like vs a font that is readable by many then I'd take the latter.

I'd also suggest looking here

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Here is the deal. If your your vita is to be read by a single individual in a small company, then you have some flexibility. It is OK to "pretty it up"--maybe. If you are applying for an entry level job in a large company, then your vita will likely be scanned, OCRed, and catalogued by keyword. The only person who ever sees your creation will be the person who places it on the scannner document feeder.

• Multiple colors--bad. The scanner may not pick-up non-black text.
• Different typesizes--bad. They confuse the OCR.
• Multiple fonts--bad. They confuse the OCR.
• Decorative fonts--bad. Do I need to explain this one?
• Non-text decorative elements like lines and swooshes--bad. The OCR will not have a clue.

Your link provides good information. However, it is worth noting that boring the reader is not an issue with vita that are scanned and catalogued.

The last time that I applied for a new position, I uploaded my credentials to the firm's employment server. My vita, cover letter, and supporting documentation were in PDF format. This practice is followed by many firms and by most professional and graduate schools. Oh, did I mention resume paper?

so Julius, have you decided on anything?
did you have anything started before?

This is a one-page resume of a designer,

http://www.davidsieren.com/new_site/downloads/sieren_resume.pdf

This is the format I followed last time; one page, lots of white space, latest first, no photo, all black and white.

TheGenerous said:

This is a one-page resume of a designer,

http://www.davidsieren.com/new_site/downloads/sieren_resume.pdf

This is the format I followed last time; one page, lots of white space, latest first, no photo, all black and white.

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I opened the PDF and found it very difficult to read. The font were too small on my hi-res MBP. They are better off recapturing that white space and increasing the font size.

Here's some on this link. Though I don't think they are all super some are nice.
Mine is in the mix there...not sure if that is good or bad though.

http://theultralinx.com/2011/06/17-amazing-examples-of-cvresume-design.html

BJMRamage said:

Here's some on this link. Though I don't think they are all super some are nice.
Mine is in the mix there...not sure if that is good or bad though.

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Just as a bit of perspective: for about a decade, I had responsibility for hiring designers and design-oriented Mac operators, and I wouldn't have even read the vast majority of the CVs on that link.

The thing to remember here is that the person reading your CV will be wading through LOTS and LOTS of CVs. Many of them will be from people who are completely unsuitable but who are incapable of reading the job spec, many more will be 'cleverly' designed but from my side of the desk, this job is a chore.

I don't want to have to extract information from a CV. I want a clean, legible font and the relevant information presented in a manner that is immediately accessible. The CV that serves you best is the one that gets read by the person hiring. Pay attention to your typesetting, because that's a level of detail they will appreciate.

Cheers

Jim