Resume Guidelines, Formatting & Writing Rules

A guide to effective resume building

1. One page: One page will be sufficient and is a widely accepted practice.

2. Choose the right order: You have three main types of resumes to choose from:

   1. Chronological: Focuses on professional experience, listed in reverse chronological order. Most resumes use this format.
   2. Functional: Emphasizes on large skills section over work history.
   3. Combination: Gives equal space to your skills and work experience sections.

3. Select a readable font and font size: The resume should be easy for anyone to read. Here are some fonts that follow resume formatting guidelines that can help to clearly present your qualifications for hiring managers:

   • Cambria
   • Calibri
   • Times New Roman

Set your font size anywhere between 10 and 12 - no matter what the size of the page is, do not go below the 10-point font.

4. Be concise: Use brief statements in the form of bullet points or sentences.
5. Use past tense in describing past positions and use present tense for your current position(s).
6. Don’t List Everything You’ve Ever Done: List out the most important activities you have done that match with your job role .
7. Use templates : Make your resume visually appealing to the hiring manager by including a touch of colour. Use a resume template created by a professional designer to ensure your resume has a good balance of colour, black text, and white space. You can try using platforms like Hiveboard.in for a better experience . This platform also offers quick editing and online access.