Five Resume-Formatting Mistakes

Here at TheLadders, we look at a lot of resumes and talk to a lot of people on both sides of the desk: the job seekers who are sending them out as well as the recruiters and HR pros on the receiving end.

To pass muster with hiring decision makers (as well as the software systems they use to screen candidates), the format of your resume is crucial. Here are five common missteps that can eliminate your resume from consideration:

1. Keep it short, but don’t squeeze.While a resume may occasionally run to three pages if the candidate is making a major career switch and needs data to back it up, most resume experts recommend two pages. But don’t succumb to the temptation to shrink fonts or margins to pack in more information: Text should be at least 10 or 10.5 points, and margins should be no smaller than 0.5 inch.

2. “Death by bullets.”An unbroken block of text is hard to read, and bullets a great way to call out distinct points. But use bullet points sparingly, and be sure to include the most important ones first. A resume riddled with bullets can be even harder for your reader to navigate.

3. Don’t get hung up on the calendar.Traditional reverse-chronological resume formatting isn’t always the best tool to sell your skills, especially at the senior level. Instead, consider a hybrid resume that combines both functional and chronological information. A summary section can outline career highlights and key qualities and accomplishments, while a chronological section puts those elements into context.

4. No pictures, no PDFs.Multimedia technology has made it easier than ever before to include elements such as photographs or save your electronic resume in a format such as PDF. Don’t do either: Photos can choke many applicant tracking systems (ATSes) and cause difficulties with HR departments’ anti-discrimination rules, while Microsoft Word remains the standard that ATS software is capable of processing.

5. Don’t forget the file name.It’s easy to sweat the resume format only to choke on one small detail: What do you name that electronic file? According to a report, “Resume Filename Best Practices” from executive recruiters Palladian International of Waynesboro, Va., plenty of job seekers surveyed included extraneous information in file names, such as version date or “final,” “revised” or “updated.” Palladian recommends dividing words with a dash — and again, use Microsoft Word 2003’s .doc format, not PDF, Rich Text, or other oddities.

Matthew Rothenberg is editorial director for TheLadders, the world's leading online service catering exclusively to the $100K+ job market. Previously he worked at Ziff Davis Media, ZDNet, CNET, and Hachette Filipacchi.