The Best Fonts and Sizes for a Resume
Create Your Resume Now

Table of Contents
Here are more resources that can help you
-
Resume/CV Templates
-
- Resume Styles
- Best Resume Template
- Professional Resume Template
- Basic Resume Template
- Simple Resume Template
- Creative Resume Template
- Portfolio Resume Template
- Infographic Resume Template
- Contemporary Resume Template
- Modern Resume Template
- ATS Resume Template
- One-Page Resume Template
- Google Docs Resume Template
- OpenOffice Resume Template
- CV Template
- Biodata Resume Template
- Pages Resume Template
- Writer Resume Template
- Student Resume Template
- High School Student Resume Template
- Internship Resume Template
- Entry Level Resume Template
- Massage Therapist Resume Template
- Medical Assistant Resume Template
- Cashier Resume Template
- BabySitter Resume Template
- Customer Service Template
- Attorney Resume Template
- Customer Service Representative Resume Template
- Teacher Resume Template
- Engineering Resume Template
- Nurse Resume Templates
- Personal Support Worker
- Federal Resume Template
- Latex Resume Template
- College Student Resume Template
- High School Graduate Resume Template
-
Resume Help
The look of your resume is as important as the information you include. Our resume builder and free resume templates are fully customizable, giving you the chance to use different resume fonts and treatments to help differentiate yourself for other job seekers.
Read on to learn more about our favorite fonts and different ways to maximize the impact of your resume.
The Best Resume Fonts
Favorite Fonts Featured on our Builder
Our professional resume writers and expert designers partnered together to highlight these professional fonts on our Resume Builder based on their universal appeal and legibility across screens and physical copies.
Popular serif fonts
If you opt to download one of our free resume templates and plan on submitting a physical copy of your application, your best choice of font should be a serif as they are ideal because the “little feet” mimic a lined paper, making it easier for hiring managers to skim a document. These are the four best serif fonts for your resume.
Popular sans serif fonts
Although a serif font is ideal for physical resumes, your best bet when applying online should be a sans serif font because of their simple design which reduces eye strain while reading on a screen.
Start your resume journey with our expertly curated list of templates—explore and get started now.
Why Does Font Matter?
Legibility
As mentioned before, some fonts are easier to read on a physical, printed resume while others are specifically designed to help reduce eye-strain from a digital screen. You should carefully weigh the pros and cons of each choice.
Whether you choose to apply in-person to a small or independently owned workplace, dropping off your application materials at a job fair, uploading your documents to an online application program or applying for multiple jobs through an online work board such as Glassdoor, LinkedIn or Monster, you should consider the kind of font you utilize to leave a lasting impression on recruiters.
Professionalism (Traditional fonts vrs creative fonts)
The type of font you chose needs to reflect the work environment and perceived requirements of an open job opportunity.
For example, conventionally recognized fonts like Times New Roman and Arial are best suited for traditional careers in law, medicine, civil service, academics or infrastructure. As these careers follow strict rules and regulations and aren’t driven by fast-paced innovation, a stoic and familiar font reflects the same attitudes as most employees within these industries.
However, a creative, unfamiliar or less recognized font choice such as Verdana, Badoni, or Fira aligns better with industries that require alternate forms of thinking, frequent innovation, or constant social experimentation such as marketing, venture capital, technology, sales or engineering.
How to Choose the Right Font for Your Resume
Traditional
Choose a highly recognized and standardized font such as Times New Roman, Arial or Garamond if you’re applying to a career in the following traditional fields:
- Administrative Support
- Agriculture
- Business
- Construction
- Education
- Financial
- Social Service
- Food Preparation and Service
- Healthcare
- Information Technology
- Maintenance and Repair
- Legal
- Military
- Production
- Protective Service
Modern
A modern font such as Helvetica, Proxima Nova or Bodoni MT may be suited to modern career opportunities that follow most conventional business practices but engage in some creative or innovative behaviors such as the following:
- Administrative Support
- Architecture
- Arts and Design
- Business (ideally new technology)
- Entertainment and Sports
- Legal
- Management
- Media and Communication
- Personal Care and Service
- Sales
Creative
Fonts such as Verdana, Fira Sans or Blinker are best suited for careers in the creative industry, such as:
- Architecture and Engineering
- Arts and Design
- Education, Training and library
- Entertainment and Sports
- Media and Communication
- Sales
Contemporary
A contemporary font such as Century Gothic, Georgia, Garamond or Helvetica successfully combines traditional elements of vintage fonts with the screen-friendly design of modern needs. These fonts are perfect to conventional careers in the following areas:
- Architecture and Engineering
- Arts and Design
- Business and Financial
- Community and Social Service
- Computer and Information Technology
- Education, Training and Library
- Entertainment and Sports
- Food Preparation and Serving
- Healthcare
- Legal
- Life, Physical and Social Science
- Management
- Media and Communication
- Military
- Office and Administrative Support
- Production
- Protective Service
- Sales
- Transportation and Material Moving
Simple
A simple font such as Badoni MT, PT Sans, Cambria or Calibri is a safe and reliable option for any job seeker, regardless of their level of experience. Consider using these fonts if you’re pursuing a career in the following industries:
- Building and Grounds Cleaning
- Business and Financial
- Community and Social Service
- Computer and Information Technology
- Construction and Extraction
- Education, Training and Library
- Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
- Food Preparation and Serving
- Healthcare
- Installation, Maintenance and Repair
- Legal
- Management
- Math
- Military
- Office and Administrative Support
- Production
- Sales
- Transportation and Material Moving
Pairing Fonts and Other Useful Tips
Use multiple fonts
An easy way to elevate your resume is to use multiple fonts on your document. We recommend that you designate one for the main body of your resume and another one for your name and section headings such as your Work History or Education.
- A thick font pairs well with a lean font.
- Use a serif font for headings and san serif for the body of your text
- Use multiple fonts within the same family i.e. Arial, Arial Black, Arial Narrow, or Arial Nova
- Use a designed, legible font for headings and a simple, legible font for the main body of your text
- Avoid clutter and use no more than three fonts or font treatments.
Trust your instincts and experiment with multiple font combinations. These are some of our tried and true font pairings to help you get started.
Adding font treatments
If you’re concerned about clashing fonts or unappealing font combinations, you can opt for alternate font treatments that can help you create special design elements for key sections. For example, you can use bolded text for all of your section headings to indicate that this is the start of a new section or use underlined text to highlight key career accomplishments.
These are a few of the font treatments that you can use to elevate your resume:
- Bold text
- Italicized text
- Underlined text
- Different color choices
Using multiple font sizes
In addition to specialized font treatments, you can use designated font sizes to create visual indications for new sections.
Please remember that the following size suggestions are estimates based on commonly used fonts such as Times New Roman or Calibri. Other fonts might appear smaller or larger than those two –– feel free to use your best judgment to choose the right font size for your resume.
- Name: 24-32 size font
- Headings: 14-20 size font
- Main text: 10-12 size font
Use an Online Tool to Sample Multiple Fonts
Our online Resume Builder features multiple professional fonts and appealing font treatments that can help elevate your resume. Thanks to the pre-written skills and responsibilities related to popular job titles, professionally written summary statements and customizable sections, this builder can help you build an application-ready resume in a fraction of the time.
FAQ
What is the best format for a resume? https://www.hloom.com/resume/formats
There’s no one-size-fits-all resume –– there are three major resume formats that are best suited for each job seeker. Here’s a quick summary of which resume fits which candidates best.
- Best format for career climbers: Chronological
- Best format for strong skills, short-term jobs or work gaps: Functional
- Best format for most job seekers: Combination
How can I include my skills in a resume?
Most resumes feature at least one dedicated skills section, although a skills-based resume like the functional format can feature multiple sections. To successfully use these sections to their full advantage, you need to strike a delicate balance between soft, hard, and technical skills. We researched and compiled a list of the most requested skills on the job market.
How can I make an ATS friendly resume?
Most modern resumes need to impress hiring managers and align with the scanning limitations of applicant tracking software, or ATS. These computer programs auto-scan all resumes for specific skills, experience, or keywords before forwarding them to hiring managers. Elevate your interview odds by using these pre-built templates designed to follow ATS-standards.
Four Font-Forward Template Styles You’ll Love
Rate our Templates
Gabriela Barcenas
Gaby is Hloom’s resident writer, a certified professional resume writer (CPRW), and a baking enthusiast. She likes to defend the use of the functional resume to her friends in HR. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in English and Creative Writing and wrote about career growth, tech startups, education, fashion, travel and lifestyle culture throughout her career.