Introduction: Why Formatting Matters More Than You Think
Your resume might have perfect content. You could be the ideal candidate with all the right skills and experience. But if your formatting is wrong, no one will ever know.
Here’s the harsh reality: Most resumes never reach human eyes. Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) scan and filter applications before recruiters see them. Poor formatting causes these systems to misread or completely skip your qualifications. You get rejected not because you’re unqualified, but because a computer couldn’t parse your resume.
Even if your resume makes it past the ATS, you have another hurdle. Recruiters spend an average of 6 seconds on their initial scan. If your resume is hard to read, cluttered, or visually confusing, it goes straight to the rejection pile.
Good formatting serves two critical purposes. It helps ATS systems accurately read your information. It also makes your resume easy for humans to scan quickly and find key qualifications. Master both, and you’ll see more interview invitations.
Mistake #1: Using Inconsistent Formatting
The Problem
Nothing screams “lack of attention to detail” like a resume with inconsistent formatting. This mistake is surprisingly common and immediately noticeable.
Watch for these consistency issues:
Font chaos: Your header uses Arial, your experience section uses Calibri, and somehow Times New Roman snuck into your education section. This happens when you copy and paste from different sources without checking.
Bullet point anarchy: Round bullets in one section, dashes in another, arrows somewhere else. Some lines start with bullets, others don’t. Your eyes don’t know where to focus.
Date format confusion: January 2023 here, 01/23 there, 2023-01 somewhere else. Sometimes you include the full month name, sometimes you abbreviate. This inconsistency makes it harder to quickly understand your career timeline.
Spacing irregularities: Two line breaks after one section, one line break after another. Random indentations. The visual rhythm feels off, making the document uncomfortable to read.
The Fix
Create a formatting system and stick to it religiously:
Choose one font family: Pick a professional font and use only that font throughout your entire resume. You can use different weights (bold, regular) and sizes (larger for headers), but the typeface should remain consistent.
Standardize bullets: Use the same bullet style for all lists. The simple round bullet (•) works universally. Use it for every single list item without exception.
Unify date formats: Pick one format and apply it everywhere. The MM/YYYY format (like 08/2023) is concise and universally understood. Avoid spelled-out months, which take up more space.
Apply uniform spacing: Decide on your spacing structure. For example, two line breaks between major sections, one line break between jobs within a section. Then apply this exact pattern throughout.
Career Level Considerations
Entry-level candidates: You’re proving you’re detail-oriented and professional. Consistency matters even more when you have less experience to showcase.
Mid-career professionals: With more content, consistency becomes harder but more critical. A five-line experience section with inconsistent formatting looks sloppy.
Senior executives: At this level, inconsistency suggests you don’t sweat the details. That’s not the impression you want to give when competing for leadership roles.
Mistake #2: Overcrowding the Page with Text
The Problem
I get it. You want to fit everything on one or two pages. So you shrink the margins to 0.25 inches, cram text from edge to edge, and eliminate all space between sections. The result looks like a wall of text that no one wants to read.
This approach backfires for several reasons:
Visual overwhelm: When recruiters open your resume and see solid text with no breathing room, their brain immediately registers “too hard to read.” They’re less likely to engage with your content.
ATS parsing issues: Some ATS systems have trouble with minimal margins and densely packed text. Your information might get cut off or misread.
Print problems: If anyone prints your resume, tiny margins often get cut off by printer boundaries. Your carefully crafted content gets literally erased.
Critical information gets buried: When everything is crammed together, nothing stands out. Your best achievements get lost in the visual noise.
The Fix
Embrace white space as your friend, not your enemy:
Use appropriate margins: Set margins to at least 0.5 inches on all sides. If you have room, 0.75-inch margins look even more professional and balanced.
Add section breaks: Put clear space between major sections. This helps readers mentally reset as they move from Experience to Education to Skills.
Use bullet points strategically: Instead of paragraph-style descriptions, break your achievements into concise bullet points. This creates natural white space and makes scanning easier.
Prioritize ruthlessly: If you’re struggling to fit everything, the answer isn’t smaller margins. Cut less relevant information instead. One page with breathing room beats two pages of cramped text.
What Good Spacing Looks Like
Picture this: Open your resume and immediately see distinct sections. Your eyes can quickly jump to “Work Experience” or “Education” without searching. Each job listing has clear separation from the next. Bullet points have enough space between them to read each one individually. The overall impression is clean, organized, and professional.
Now picture the opposite: Text runs from edge to edge. Section headers blur into content. Job listings run together. Your eyes get tired trying to find structure. This is what recruiters feel when they open a crowded resume.
Career Level Considerations
Entry-level candidates: You probably have room to spare. Use white space liberally. A one-page resume with good spacing beats a cramped document.
Mid-career professionals: You’ll need to balance completeness with readability. Focus on the last 10-15 years and most relevant experience. Older or less relevant roles can be condensed.
Senior executives: A two-page resume is perfectly acceptable at this level. Don’t try to cram 20 years of leadership into one cramped page. Use the space to highlight strategic achievements.
Mistake #3: Using Graphics, Charts, or Images
The Problem
I see resumes all the time with creative elements that seem helpful but actually hurt your chances:
Skill bars: Those little graphs showing you’re “80% proficient” in Excel or have “4 out of 5 stars” in project management. They look modern, but they’re meaningless and unreadable by ATS systems.
Headshots: Common in some countries, but a liability in the U.S. where they can introduce bias and get your resume rejected outright.
Icons and logos: Little icons next to your contact information or section headers might look sleek, but ATS systems can’t interpret them. They often cause parsing errors.
Infographic-style resumes: Full of charts, graphs, and visual elements. These look impressive in design portfolios but fail completely when run through applicant tracking systems.
Company logos: Adding the logo of companies you worked for seems like it might add credibility, but it creates the same ATS problems as any other image.
The Fix
Strip your resume down to text-based formatting only:
Replace skill bars with descriptions: Instead of a bar showing 80% Excel proficiency, write “Advanced Excel skills including pivot tables, VLOOKUP, and macro creation.”
Remove all photos: Unless you’re applying in a country where photos are expected, keep your face off your resume. Let your qualifications speak for themselves.
Use text instead of icons: Write out “Email:” instead of using an envelope icon. Write “LinkedIn:” instead of the LinkedIn logo.
Save creativity for your portfolio: If you’re in a creative field, show your design skills in a separate portfolio. Your resume should focus on clarity and ATS compatibility.
Why This Matters
When an ATS encounters an image, it can’t extract information from it. Your carefully designed skill chart becomes blank space to the system. That’s data loss you can’t afford. The ATS might mark you as missing required skills simply because it couldn’t read your graphic representation.
Career Level Considerations
Entry-level candidates: You might be tempted to use design elements to stand out. Resist. Stand out with strong accomplishments instead.
Creative professionals: Even if you’re a graphic designer, your resume should be text-based. Create a separate portfolio to showcase your design abilities.
Technical professionals: Those tech stack badges and programming language charts? Replace them with a simple “Skills” section listing technologies with your proficiency level in plain text.
Mistake #4: Choosing Unprofessional or Trendy Fonts
The Problem
Your font choice sends an immediate message about your professionalism. Choose wrong, and that message is “I don’t take this seriously.”
Common font mistakes include:
Overly casual fonts: Comic Sans is the obvious example, but Papyrus, Brush Script, and similar fonts are equally problematic. They look unprofessional and suggest poor judgment.
Overly decorative fonts: Script fonts, gothic fonts, or anything with excessive flourishes. These might work for wedding invitations, but not job applications.
Font sizes that strain eyes: Body text smaller than 10pt forces recruiters to squint. Larger than 12pt looks like a large-print book and wastes space.
Multiple font families: Using different fonts for headers and body text might seem like good design, but it usually just looks disorganized.
The Fix
Stick to proven professional fonts that are both readable and ATS-friendly:
Best choices for body text:
- Calibri: Modern, clean, and the default for many Word versions
- Arial: Classic, universally readable, and reliably parsed by ATS
- Garamond: Elegant serif option that’s professional and compact
- Georgia: Highly readable serif font that works well on screens
Size guidelines:
- Body text: 10-12pt (11pt is the sweet spot for most fonts)
- Section headers: 14-16pt
- Your name at the top: 18-24pt
Keep it simple: Choose one font and use it throughout. Create visual hierarchy with sizing and bold formatting, not different typefaces.
How to Test Your Font Choice
Print your resume and hold it at arm’s length. Can you still distinguish words and read headers? Good. Now email it to yourself and open it on your phone. Is it readable? Perfect. If either test fails, your font needs adjustment.
Career Level Considerations
All levels: Font choice is one area where the rules don’t change. Everyone needs readable, professional fonts. The only variable is that senior executives might lean toward traditional serif fonts like Garamond for a more established feel.
Mistake #5: Using Tables and Text Boxes
The Problem
Tables seem like a great way to organize information in neat columns. Text boxes let you create that perfect two-column layout. But here’s what actually happens:
ATS systems read tables incorrectly: Most ATS software reads left to right, top to bottom. When you use a table, the system might read across both columns before moving down, creating nonsense output. Your “Managed team of 12” might get read as “Managed team Increased revenue of 12 by 40%.” (For comprehensive ATS strategies, see our complete ATS resume guide.)
Text boxes get skipped entirely: Many ATS systems simply can’t extract information from text boxes. Anything inside those boxes becomes invisible to the system.
Complex layouts confuse parsing: The more complex your layout, the more likely the ATS will misinterpret your information. That beautiful three-column skills section? The ATS might read it as gibberish.
The Fix
Keep your layout simple and linear:
Use single-column format: Stack information vertically. It’s less visually interesting but infinitely more reliable for ATS parsing.
Avoid tables for layout: If you absolutely must use a table (say, to list technical skills in columns), keep it simple and test thoroughly with an ATS parser tool.
Remove all text boxes: Take any information from text boxes and place it in the main document flow.
Create structure with formatting: Use bold headers, bullet points, and spacing to create visual organization instead of relying on tables and boxes.
A Simple Test
Copy your entire resume and paste it into a plain text editor like Notepad. Does the information still make sense? Is it in logical order? If not, your formatting is too complex for most ATS systems.
Career Level Considerations
Entry-level candidates: Simple formatting is easier to create and more likely to work. This is one area where less experience actually makes life easier. If you’re wondering about length, check our resume length guide.
Mid-career professionals: You might be tempted to use tables to fit more information. Don’t. Edit content instead of complicating format.
Senior executives: Even at the highest levels, clarity beats complexity. A simple, well-organized resume demonstrates the strategic thinking of cutting through complexity.
Mistake #6: Putting Important Information in Headers/Footers
The Problem
Headers and footers seem like the perfect place for your contact information or a page number. They’re out of the way and appear on every page automatically. Here’s why this doesn’t work:
Most ATS systems ignore headers and footers completely: They’re programmed to extract information from the document body. Anything in headers or footers gets skipped.
Your contact information disappears: If your phone number and email are in the header, the ATS might mark you as having “no contact information provided.” That’s an automatic rejection.
It wastes space: Headers and footers create dead zones at the top and bottom of your page that could be used for actual content.
Page numbers aren’t necessary: Digital documents don’t need page numbers. If someone prints your resume, page numbers won’t help them interview you better.
The Fix
Place all information in the main document body:
Contact information at the top: Your name, phone number, email, location (city, state), and LinkedIn URL should all be in the body of your resume at the very top.
No headers or footers at all: Eliminate them entirely. They serve no useful purpose on a resume.
Repeat contact info on page two: If you have a two-page resume, include at least your name and phone number at the top of the second page in the body, not a header.
Maximize usable space: Without headers and footers, you have more room for the content that matters.
What Your Contact Section Should Look Like
Top of your resume in the document body:
JANE SMITH Seattle, WA | (555) 123-4567 | jane.smith@email.com | linkedin.com/in/janesmith
Clean, simple, and readable by any ATS system.
Career Level Considerations
All levels: This rule applies universally. No one benefits from headers and footers on a resume, regardless of experience level.
Mistake #7: Using Inconsistent or Confusing Section Headers
The Problem
Getting creative with section headers seems like a way to show personality. Instead, it confuses both ATS systems and human readers.
Problem headers I see regularly:
“My Journey” instead of “Work Experience”: Poetic but useless. ATS systems look for standard section names. Yours isn’t recognizable.
“What I Bring to the Table” instead of “Skills”: Again, creative but problematic. Recruiters scanning quickly might miss this section entirely.
“Where I Learned Stuff” instead of “Education”: This attempts humor but falls flat in a professional document.
Buried or unclear headers: When headers aren’t visually distinct from body text, sections blur together.
Missing expected sections: Not having a clear “Education” section when you have a degree, or skipping “Skills” in a technical field.
The Fix
Use standard, universally recognized section headers:
Required sections:
- Work Experience (or Professional Experience)
- Education
- Skills (or Technical Skills, Core Competencies)
Optional but common sections:
- Summary (or Professional Summary)
- Certifications
- Projects (for technical roles or recent graduates)
- Volunteer Experience
- Publications (for academic or research roles)
Make headers stand out visually:
- Use a larger font size (14-16pt when body text is 11pt)
- Make them bold
- Add space above them
- Consider all caps for major sections (WORK EXPERIENCE)
Follow conventional order: 1. Contact information 2. Summary (optional) 3. Work Experience 4. Education 5. Skills 6. Additional sections
Why Standard Headers Matter
ATS systems are programmed to recognize standard section names. When they scan for “Education,” they expect to see exactly that word. Use “Academic Background” instead, and the system might not register that you have a degree. This could disqualify you if education is a requirement.
Career Level Considerations
Entry-level candidates: Stick to the basics. You might put Education before Work Experience if your degree is more impressive than your limited work history.
Mid-career professionals: Standard headers let your accomplishments speak for themselves. You don’t need creative headers to stand out.
Senior executives: At this level, conventional structure demonstrates you understand professional norms and respect the reader’s time.
Mistake #8: Creating Unreadable File Names
The Problem
You’d be surprised how many people send resumes with file names like:
- Resume.pdf
- Document1.docx
- finalFINAL_use_this_one_v3.pdf
- asdf.pdf
When a recruiter downloads 50 resumes, they all end up in the same folder. If 20 are named “Resume.pdf,” good luck keeping track of which is which. Your resume gets lost in the pile, or worse, overwritten by someone else’s identically named file.
Beyond organization issues, generic file names look unprofessional and suggest you’re mass-applying without customizing anything.
The Fix
Create professional, specific file names:
Basic format: FirstName_LastName_Resume.pdf
- Example: Sarah_Johnson_Resume.pdf
For specific positions: FirstName_LastName_JobTitle_Resume.pdf
- Example: Sarah_Johnson_Marketing_Manager_Resume.pdf
Key rules:
- Use underscores, not spaces (some systems handle spaces poorly)
- Avoid special characters (@, #, &, etc.)
- Keep it concise but descriptive
- Include your actual name (not “Applicant” or “Candidate”)
- Use the .pdf extension unless instructed otherwise
Why This Matters
Professional file naming shows attention to detail and makes the recruiter’s job easier. When they need to find your resume again, they can search for your name. When they share your resume with the hiring manager, it’s immediately clear whose it is. Small details like this contribute to an overall impression of professionalism.
Career Level Considerations
All levels: File naming conventions don’t change based on experience. Everyone should follow these basic professional standards.
Mistake #9: Ignoring the Impact of Color
The Problem
Color can make your resume stand out, but usually not in a good way:
Bright, distracting colors: Hot pink headers or bright orange accents might catch attention, but they suggest poor professional judgment. They also become unreadable when printed in black and white.
Color as the only differentiator: When you use color to distinguish between different types of information, that meaning disappears in grayscale. Your carefully color-coded skills become indistinguishable.
Low contrast combinations: Light gray text on white background or dark blue on black might look sleek on your screen but becomes illegible when printed or viewed on different monitors.
ATS can’t see color: Any meaning you assign through color is lost when the ATS parses your resume. If you use red text for your strongest skills, the ATS just sees text. Understanding how ATS systems work helps you avoid these pitfalls.
The Fix
Keep color minimal and professional:
Safest approach: Black text on white background. This works universally across ATS systems, screens, and printers.
If you want color: Choose one professional accent color for headers or your name. Navy blue, dark gray, or deep green work well. Use this color sparingly.
Maintain high contrast: Whatever colors you choose, ensure strong contrast between text and background. Your grandmother should be able to read it without squinting.
Test in black and white: Print or view your resume in grayscale. Does all information remain clear and distinguishable? If not, adjust your approach.
Never use colored text for body content: Keep your job descriptions, achievements, and other critical content in black. Color should only be an accent, never the primary text.
Visual Examples
Good: Your name in navy blue (18pt, bold), section headers in the same navy blue (14pt, bold), all other text in black.
Bad: Rainbow-colored section headers, red text for achievements, blue text for job titles, purple skills section.
Career Level Considerations
Entry-level candidates: Stick to black and white. You don’t need color to stand out, and it risks looking unprofessional.
Creative professionals: You have slightly more latitude, but still keep it subtle. One tasteful accent color at most.
Senior executives: Conservative industries expect traditional formatting. Even in creative industries, executive-level resumes should be understated.
Mistake #10: Using the Wrong File Format
The Problem
File format might seem like a minor technical detail, but it can determine whether your resume gets read at all:
Incompatible formats: Sending a Pages file to a recruiter who uses Windows. Sending a Numbers spreadsheet. Using formats that require specific software to open.
Image-based PDFs: Creating a PDF by scanning a printed resume or taking a screenshot. These look like documents but contain no extractable text for ATS systems.
Outdated formats: Using .doc (pre-2007 Word format) instead of .docx. Some modern systems flag these as potential security risks.
Wrong format for the ATS: Some older ATS systems handle .docx better, while others prefer PDF. Without knowing which, you’re guessing.
The Fix
Follow these file format best practices:
Default to PDF: Create a text-based PDF from Word, Google Docs, or another word processor. This preserves your formatting across different devices and operating systems.
Use .docx as backup: Keep a Word version ready in case an employer specifically requests it or if you’re uploading to a system that explicitly states “Word documents only.”
Ensure PDFs are text-based: After creating your PDF, try selecting text with your cursor. If you can highlight and copy text, it’s correct. If not, your PDF is image-based and won’t work with ATS.
Test on multiple devices: Email your resume to yourself and open it on your phone, tablet, and computer. Make sure it looks correct on all devices.
When in doubt, ask: If the job posting doesn’t specify a format preference, it’s perfectly acceptable to email and ask: “Would you prefer my resume as a PDF or Word document?”
How to Create a Proper PDF
From Microsoft Word: File → Save As → Select “PDF” as file type → Save
From Google Docs: File → Download → PDF Document
From Mac Pages: File → Export To → PDF
After creating the PDF, open it and try selecting text. You should be able to highlight and copy any text in the document. If not, something went wrong in the export process.
Career Level Considerations
All levels: File format requirements are universal. Everyone needs to submit in compatible, ATS-friendly formats.
Career-Level Specific Formatting Tips
Entry-Level and Recent Graduates
Keep it to one page: With limited experience, you don’t need two pages. A concise, well-formatted single page is more impressive than a padded longer resume.
Leverage education section: Format your education section prominently. Include relevant coursework, honors, and academic achievements with clear bullet points.
Format projects effectively: If you’re including class projects or personal projects, format them like work experience with bullet points highlighting your contributions and results.
Don’t over-design: The temptation to use creative formatting to stand out is strong when you lack experience. Resist it. Clean, professional formatting is what gets you through the door.
Mid-Career Professionals
Edit ruthlessly: You probably have too much content. Format by highlighting the most relevant and impressive information with strategic use of bold and bullet placement. Less relevant positions can be condensed.
Create clear career progression: Use consistent formatting to make it easy to see your advancement. Same format for each position, but the content should show increasing responsibility.
Quantify achievements consistently: Format all metrics the same way. If you use percentages in one bullet, don’t switch to fractions in another.
Two pages is acceptable: If you need two pages for 10-15 years of relevant experience, use them. But maintain the same formatting standards on both pages.
Senior Executives and Leadership
Lead with a strong summary: Format a 3-4 line executive summary at the top that captures your leadership value. Make it visually distinct but professional.
Emphasize strategic achievements: Format your bullets to lead with high-level impact. Use formatting (like bold) to draw attention to key metrics and results.
Simplify older positions: Jobs from 15+ years ago can be listed with title, company, and dates only. Consistent formatting but minimal detail.
Consider a two-page format: Executive resumes almost always warrant two pages. Don’t try to cram extensive leadership experience into one page.
The Resume Formatting Reality Check
Let me be direct: Your resume formatting isn’t about artistic expression. It’s about communication efficiency.
ATS systems are gatekeepers. You must format in a way they can parse correctly. This means simple, text-based, linear layouts with standard section headers.
Human readers are busy. You must format in a way they can scan in seconds. This means clear hierarchy, white space, and visual organization.
The good news is that what works for ATS also works for humans. Clean, simple formatting with consistent structure serves both audiences.
The mistakes covered in this guide all share a common thread: They prioritize appearance over function. A creative font looks nice but fails in ATS parsing. A colorful header catches the eye but becomes meaningless in grayscale. Tables create neat columns but confuse parsing algorithms.
Strip away the formatting flourishes. Focus on clarity, consistency, and compatibility. Your content is strong enough to stand on its own. Give it the clean, professional presentation it deserves.
Take Action Now
Review your current resume against this guide. How many of these mistakes are you making? Don’t feel bad if you find several. Most people make at least a few of these errors without realizing it.
Fix them now, before your next application:
- Open your resume
- Run through the checklist above
- Fix each formatting issue you identify
- Test your resume by pasting it into a plain text editor
- Save your updated version with a professional file name
- Create both a PDF and .docx version
The time you invest in formatting now will pay off with more interview invitations later. Every application you send should showcase your qualifications in the clearest, most professional format possible.
Your experience and skills got you this far. Don’t let formatting mistakes keep you from the interview you deserve.
The Easy Way: Resume Refiner
Going through your resume and fixing all these formatting issues manually takes time and expertise. Resume Refiner does it automatically.
Upload your resume and the job description you’re targeting. Our system immediately identifies formatting problems, ATS compatibility issues, and opportunities to better present your qualifications. You get specific, actionable feedback on exactly what to fix and how to fix it.
No more guessing whether your resume will make it through ATS screening. No more wondering if your formatting helps or hurts your chances. Get clear answers and concrete improvements in minutes, not hours.
Because your time is better spent preparing for the interview you’re about to land.