Space Saving on Resumes

Picture this: You are applying for your dream job and have spent hours selecting your best experiences and tailoring your application to a tee, but there’s a problem: Your resume has trickled onto a third page or made an awkward widow. What do you do? Check out these tips to learn how to save space while maximizing your impact.

Reduce Margin Size… Slightly 

This is a great first step if you are trying to maximize the space on your resume. Aim to reduce your margins slightly below what your document has preset the margins to, but be sure to avoid over-reducing! Having margins helps make your document readable and white space is important, so try to find a good balance between the two.

Trim the Headers and Footers

You have reduced your margin size, but are still not quite down to your desired page number. The next thing to go can be your headers and footers. This can help you gain an invaluable extra line which can help you reach your desired page count. Just like with your margins, do not over reduce your headers and footers as they are still quite important and bring a lot of critical white space to your document. 

Choose Space Saving Fonts

Choosing a smaller typeface might seem like a small change, but it can make an impact in creating space in your resume! Choosing a slimmer font size such as Calibri or Times New Roman can help you make up some space on your document. Most platforms default font size is 12 or 11 points, but by using an easy to read font, size 10 or 11 is typically appropriate for a resume. Anything smaller than size 10 can impact the readability of your documents significantly. Even though there are many great custom and professional fonts available to use, try to use simple fonts that are readily available as they are often more compatible with ATS systems.

Change up Spacing

Making the spacing slightly smaller between lines and sections can be a savvy space saving method for your resume. Most programs will default to double or 1.5 spacing, so decreasing your spacing to single spacing can help. Make sure that your spacing changes are consistent across all sections of your document or else your document may look mismatched and your sections can look unbalanced.

Avoid Using Justified Text

Finally, avoid using justified text. Though it may make your document visually appear more professional and give you a uniform look across the page, it can also significantly impact the readability of your document. Having awkward spacing between words can greatly impact how well a recruiter is able to skim your documents. Instead, just stick to keeping everything left justified across both your resume and cover letter.

No matter which strategy you choose to use, be sure to be consistent across your documents! Remember, your resume and cover letter are two pieces of one application package so they should have a cohesive look. If you are reducing the margins on your resume and changing to a space saving font like Calibri, make sure that you are doing the same thing to your cover letter! 

Looking for additional guidance on resumes and cover letters? Book an appointment with your Work Experience Coordinator to get tailored tips and feedback on your documents.