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Designing Your Resume : After you have developed some content for your resume and begun organizing your sections, you'll want to start experimenting with page design to help draw the eye to the right places and make your resume easy to read. By force of habit, most readers begin reading in the top left corner of a page. So how can you improve the chances that something on your resume will be seen? Simply place it toward the top and/or left of your page (or of a specific section of your page). Using the page design strategies listed below, you can draw the eye to other parts of your page as well: Creating a visual hierarchy : | Options | Sample | Tips | | using headings and subheadings to make it easier for readers to find desired information | Managerial Experience Assistant Manager Management Intern Education B.S. in Aviation Technology Relevant Coursework | customize headings if possible (see "Organizing your sections") make sure headings match section content use subsections and subheadings, if necessary (for example, if you held two jobs at the same place, create a subsection listing each position | | using bullets to break up dense prose passages that slow down the eye and make it difficult for readers to process information | developed department inventory database system assisted students with technical problems | try to limit to 2-5 bullets if possible (6 or more reduces effectiveness) use descriptive phrases rather than complete sentences (periods, caps, etc. unnecessary) experiment with other kinds of bullets besides the standard ones used here | | using indents and line breaks to indicate your organizational scheme | Field Experience Westminster Village
Planned Activities
| minimize punctuation when using line breaks and indents (white space "punctuates" instead) play with margins or tabs to indent more or less than the standard 5 spaces | | varying fonts-font choice (Times Roman, Geneva, Arial, Helvetica, etc.) font size (12 pt., 10 pt., etc.) and font style (bold, italics, underline, caps, etc.) | WORK EXPERIENCE
Research Assistant
New Crops and Plants Products | limit to a couple font choices: one for headings (sans serif fonts-that is, fonts like this-work well because they stand out) and one for rest (serif fonts like this are a great choice because they are more readable) avoid font sizes much smaller than 9 or 10 pt. avoid over-highlighting by, for example, using caps, boldface, italics and underline all on the same text | Using Cosistent Format: No matter which combination of page design strategies you use, try to use it consistently for all sections of your resume. Create a template for your resume or simply jot down your design choices for Major Headings Subheadings (and sub-subheadings, if used) Text/Body Sections (and subsections, if used) For example, you may decide you want to use 11pt. Helvetica Boldface Caps for major headings, 10pt. Palatino Underline for subheadings, and 10pt. Palatino Normal Indented for Text/Body Sections. In a similar vein, if you use bulleted lists for Text/Body Sections, then you'll want to do so for all sections that contain similar lists. Also, if you are using columns in more than one section of your resume, make sure they are aligned across sections, if at all possible. 
With so many design choices, it's easy to make mistakes here and there, accidentally switching font sizes, using boldface on a bullet, indenting a space too much, etc. When you proofread your resume, checking for spelling and accuracy overall, don't forget to proofread for page design as well. Using Whole Page:
When resumes fill only three-quarters or half a page, leaving white space to the right or bottom of the page, they seem underdeveloped. By using the whole page, you give prospective employers the impression you have much to offer. However, if you put too much on your page, readers will likely get frustrated trying to read it. With the one-page resume now nearly standard, your challenge is to get the most into an 8 1/2" X 11" space without bogging down your reader.
Try the following test: fold your resume draft from top to bottom and then from left to right. Your page will now be divided into four equal sections or quadrants, like this: 
Each of these quadrants should be as "full" as possible without appearing crowded. If you find, for example, that quadrants 3 and 4 are mostly white space, you may need to work on developing content (see above) or designing your page so that information is distributed more evenly. What are some strategies for balancing your page? The single best strategy is to use columns. You might use one narrow column for headings, for instance, and a wide column for the body of your resume. | Education | Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
| | | Bachelor of Science in Child Development and Family Studies | Or you may use columns within sections that include lists of information. Relevant Coursework | | | | | Finite Element Methods
Professional Selling Skills
Irrigation Management and Design | Hydraulic Control Systems
Design of Machine Components
Soil and Water Resource Engineering | Note: Depending on the word-processing program you are using, you may find it easier to set up columns by inserting a table (with no borders). Choosing Right Paper:
You may want to purchase a special paper for your resume. While white and off-white colors are fairly standard, other papers may work as long as they do not distract from the text of your resume. If you use a textured paper or one with a background pattern, check to see what your resume looks like photocopied. (Some papers photocopy very poorly). One last tip: try to coordinate your resume paper with your cover letter paper (and envelope) for a more professional application.
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Resume Tips 
