The best fonts for your resume in 2022, say HubSpot Recruiters

Studies have shown that employers usually scan resumes only for about six seconds before deciding whether the candidate is eligible for the application.

With just six seconds to show your job qualifications, every detail counts – including the font you use. The question is, which resume fonts are best for stopping a six-second scan?

HubSpot employees have been asked to reveal the seven best fonts for your resume and what they think in terms of design in general so that your resume can stand out in a heap.

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The best fonts for a resume

1. Times New Roman
2. Arial
3. Calibri
4. Helvetica
5. Cambria
6. Georgia
7. Garamond
8. Avenir Next
9. Moon

With just six seconds to show your qualifications for the position, every detail counts. If you want to evoke a sense of style, professionalism and uniqueness, it is crucial that you make an effort and think twice when choosing a font.

When we talked to employers, it quickly became clear that classic fonts are still the best options.

“I’m a big fan of ‘classics’ for biographies – Times New Roman, Arial, Calibri, Helvetica and Cambria. I’m a little old school, but I think they’re the cleanest and exude professionalism,” he said. Johanna Flemingformer senior employer at HubSpot.

Riley Kundtza former senior MBA campus employer at HubSpot, agreed.

“It seems to me that the classic Times design and font are helpful in reading the condensed biography of an experienced MBA candidate.”

The Times New Roman has become somewhat controversial recently. It has been a popular font for many years, but lately some are opting for it.

“For me, it’s all about readability and cleanliness – I’d rather have serif fonts like Helvetica than serif fonts like Times New Roman,” said a technical staff at HubSpot. Glory Montes. “I would generally stay away from writing like the Times New Roman, it’s too used and it reminds me of long nights of writing papers in college.”

One Times-like font is Georgia, slightly wider, making it easier to read. In fact, this is the font used by The New York Times.

Paulina Valdez Franco, executive employer at HubSpot, agrees.

“My two favorite fonts are Helvetica if you’re looking for a clean and classic look, and Georgia if you’re looking for a more modern and fun look,” she said. “The latter is also designed for good reading on screens.”

Helvetica is widely used in the advertising industry and works equally well for pages and documents with a lot of text.

A lesser known font that is a great option for your resume is Garamond, recommended by our current team leader for hiring engineers at HubSpot, Rich Lapham.

“Employers have an idea of ​​the skills they’re looking for in a resume, so if you try a new style or shape, it’s harder for employers to find the information they’re looking for,” he said. “Keep it clean and simple.”

Franco added that Arial and Calibri are great choices if you want to play it safe.

Bridget LeMona global leader in emerging talent and a university head of employment at HubSpot, echoes this.

“It’s perfectly acceptable – and it’s becoming more common – that candidates are moving away from the norms of the Times New Roman and Calibri resume,” she said. “Avenir Next and Muna are two great options if you want to break the status quo.”

After all, when choosing a font, you will want to consider the position you are applying for. According to Montes, some of the more creative roles could benefit from a more unique font than Times New Roman.

Does the font of your resume matter at all?

Most of the recruiters I spoke to were hesitant to offer a font at all. Instead, they focus on the content.

“I don’t usually pay too much attention to writing,” he said Heta Patel former HubSpot employer. “I’m more concerned about whether the resume is designed in a clean way – submitting a PDF helps with that, so your design doesn’t move.”

Sales Recruitment Manager Kelsey Freedman agreed.

“Honestly, I’m not very interested in a resume font if it’s clear and in PDF format. I usually only review a resume for 20 to 30 seconds, so traditional font is good. “

After all, and as expected, your content is still paramount. However, clean, clear handwriting will help prevent the irritability it could cause an employer with a distracting, messy design.

“I’m most impressed with the content. Depending on the role, I see candidates sharing direct and compelling footage of their work,” he said. Ashley Hodder, global employment manager at HubSpot. “I’m looking for indicators that show data focus, autonomy and forethought.”

The worst fonts for a resume

While some employers may not have suggestions for the best fonts to use, many may agree with some of the worst.

“Anything that is italic or too bubbly is too hard to read. For example, I wouldn’t avoid Comic Sansa,” he says. Holly PetersonHubSpot UX recruitment team leader.

Another type of font to avoid is Script.

For documents that contain a lot of text, Script and all its derivatives make it difficult to read things because they are supposed to look like they were written by hand.

They are generally used in manuscripts and calligraphy for art projects and should not be present near your resume.

Ideal resume font size

When asked which font size is the best, Fleming said 12 is ideal. Most HR professionals would agree.

Your text should be large enough for comfortable, effortless reading, but small enough to make room for all the key elements such as goal, contact information, skills, and experience.

Where you can expand are titles for your name and section titles.

If the font you choose is particularly wide, you can reduce it to 10.5 – never below it.

The key finding is to make your resume as clear and easy to read as possible, which means keeping your font size around 12, stick to classic fonts with modern twists, and abandon your favorite script font.

Editor’s Note: This post was originally published in November 2018 and has been updated for completeness.