Font Musings

I just saw a meme on the internet where The Little Mermaid is angrily stating “stop calling me Ariel, I’m Helvetica.”  Admittedly this is only funny to me because I have a first grader at home and I’m often watching Disney movies with her.  But it got me thinking about fonts and an article that is circulating around the internet.  

The article I’m referencing encourages readers NOT to use a standard font (Times New Roman or Calibri) because it is used by too many people on their resume and you “want your resume to stand out from the crowd.”  The authors encouraged readers to play with fonts to find something that will stand out and make your resume “an original.”  They opined that choosing a new and different font would make your resume look more “modern.”

If your resume is getting noticed because of the font and not because it was thoughtfully written to outline and emphasize your particular skills and experience, you are sending it to a place you DO NOT want to work.  

Over the years I’ve noticed  the fonts on people’s resumes.  I can’t recall that ever being a good thing.  I’ve seen fonts that are playful, fonts that look like they were printed on an old dot matrix printer, fonts that simulate cursive writing and fonts that are so microscopic that I couldn’t read them.  

At Legal Resume Review, we prefer a serif font, but a sans serif font can also work.  Just keep it easy to read.  Easy to read also means that the font has to be large enough for the average reader to decipher.  We recommend 12-point font for the body of the resume.  Never go below 11-point size.

Just remember that your resume should stand out because you have great experience (hopefully) and can articulate an answer to the most important question: how can I help the employer solve your problems.  Don’t let the font be what is noticed!