I'm wondering if I should just use Helvetica Regular to stay on the safe side, but therefor making the resume too mainstream or if I should use something like Helvetica Neue Light in order to stand out and making it look more modern? What do you think? Oh, and btw. 11 pt or 12 pt?
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What variant of Helvetica should I use for a resume?
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Firstly, I'd recommend that you use 12 pt; it is a lot easier to read. And why use Helvetica? Has this been requested by the people (or company) to whom you intend sending the resumé?
Moreover, I'd suggest that you use the regular font, not the 'Neue Light'.
Well, I like it and so does this article: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-27/the-best-and-worst-fonts-to-use-on-your-r-sum-
If you like it, fine, stay with it.
My own personal favourites are Garamond, - a font I really like - Arno Pro, and the ever reliable Times New Roman.
As someone who reads many resumes, I don't much care about the font as long as it's not too far off the beaten path (Comic Sans comes to mind as one that would turn me off) and not so small that I need to enlarge it. I'm more concerned about overall layout, content, and readability. I know that job applicants these days like to highlight capabilities ("proven organizer of efficient meetings"), but I prefer to know what, specifically, they've accomplished previously.
My resume has been in TNR forever but several years ago, I sent a resume for a 6 month consulting gig where they mentioned they wanted people not afraid of taking risks, and mentioned it twice in the ad, in Comic Sans. My cover letter opened, Imagine the calculated risks I'd be willing to take after sending you my resume in Comic Sans. I got the gig.
An unconventional resume may cause an applicant to stand out in a positive or negative way that can be difficult to predict. Given the circumstances, your use of CS was illustrative of a trait that the employer was looking for. However, what is appropriate depends on the type of job. I typically interview for very high-level administrative or faculty positions and use of CS would lead me to disfavor one applicant over another, all other things being equal.
Favorite resume fonts are:
- Optima
- Garamond
- Aldus
- Goudy Old Style
My current resume uses a combo of Garamond and Optima with a clean left right justification - really a good looking combo.
- Optima
- Garamond
- Aldus
- Goudy Old Style
My current resume uses a combo of Garamond and Optima with a clean left right justification - really a good looking combo.