"How to Format a Resume (Fonts, Margins, Spacing, and Length)"

Content is what wins interviews — but bad formatting is what gets a strong resume skimmed past or filtered out before anyone reads it. Cramped margins, a hard-to-read font, or a layout the applicant tracking system (ATS) can't parse will sink good experience. The good news: formatting is the easy part to get right. Here are the rules.

Length

One page for students, new grads, and most people with under ~10 years of experience.
Two pages for seasoned professionals with a lot of relevant history.
Never pad to fill space or shrink everything to cram in more. Density of relevant content beats raw length. (See how far back a resume should go for trimming older roles.)

Fonts

Use a clean, professional font — Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, Georgia, Garamond, or similar. Avoid decorative or hard-to-read typefaces.
Body text: 10–12pt. Headings can be slightly larger.
Pick one font (or one pairing) and use it consistently throughout.

Readability beats personality here — your font should be invisible, not a statement.

Margins and Spacing

Margins: 0.5 to 1 inch on all sides. Below 0.5" looks cramped and can get cut off when printed.
Use white space to guide the eye — consistent spacing between sections and entries.
Don't cram. A slightly shorter, breathable resume reads better than a wall of text squeezed onto one page.

Layout: Single-Column Wins

For anything going through an online application, use a single-column layout. Two-column and sidebar designs look modern but frequently scramble when an ATS reads them top-to-bottom. Save the creative layout for a portfolio. (More on this in one-column vs. two-column resumes.)

Section Headings and Consistency

Clear, standard headings — "Experience," "Education," "Skills" — that both humans and ATS recognize.
Consistent formatting for every entry: same order of fields, same date style, same bullet style.
Reverse-chronological order within experience and education.

Consistency signals attention to detail without you having to claim it.

File Format and Name

Export as PDF (unless the posting asks for .docx) to lock your formatting across devices.
Make sure it's a text-based PDF, not an image — select-and-copy the text to confirm.
Name the file Firstname-Lastname-Resume.pdf, not resume_final_v3.pdf.

What Breaks Formatting and ATS

Avoid elements that look fine to you but confuse parsers:

Tables used for layout
Text boxes (often invisible to ATS)
Headers/footers for key info like contact details
Graphics, icons, and charts that hold text
Photos (in most Western markets)

Keep important information in plain, linear text.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best font and size for a resume?

A clean, professional font like Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, or Garamond at 10–12pt for body text. Use one font consistently, and keep headings only slightly larger.

What margins should a resume have?

Between 0.5 and 1 inch on all sides. Going below 0.5" looks cramped and risks content being cut off when printed; wider margins improve readability.

How long should a resume be?

One page for students and most professionals with under about 10 years of experience; up to two pages for senior candidates with extensive relevant history. Don't pad or cram — prioritize relevant content.

What resume format is best for ATS?

A single-column, text-based layout in a standard font, saved as a text PDF, with standard section headings and no tables, text boxes, or graphics holding text. This parses reliably across applicant tracking systems.

Good formatting should be invisible — it lets your content do the work instead of getting in its way. PrismResume's templates are built to look polished and stay ATS-readable by default — correct margins, clean fonts, single-column structure — and export a properly named, text-based PDF, so you never lose an opportunity to a formatting problem.