A font is a numbering and lettering design used in composing a written document. It comes in distinct families and differs in form, weight, size, and spacing. If you’re applying for an information technology (IT) job, here are the best resume fonts to use as listed by Resume Professional Writers, a provider of free IT resume review.
Best Resume Fonts to Use for Your IT Job Application
1. Avenir
Times New Roman is maybe the most common font of choice for many of us and is the exact reason you should avoid it. You don’t want your application paper to look the same as hundreds of others. So, don’t use this font when you create your resume, but pick something else. Try Avenir, a versatile sans-serif font that boasts of a clean, crisp form. Avenir has multiple weights that can differentiate the sections and features of your resume and give your copy an updated style.
Note: Sans-serif fonts don’t have extending features at the end of their strokes while serif fonts have little hooks, curves, or markings as part of their design.
2. Calibri
Microsoft replaced Times New Roman with Calibri as the default font for Microsoft Word in 2007. Hence, when you create your resume in Word without changing the font, you’re using Calibri. Nothing is wrong with this font. Besides being a professional and easy-to-read font, Calibri is neat. So, when a hiring manager sees your resume, the copy will not be messy. When you type in Calibri at a 12-point size, it will produce around 500 to 700 words, the ideal length of a two-page resume.
3. Cambria
This serif typeface is part of a group of fonts called ClearType Font Collection distributed with Microsoft Office programs. Although Dutch typeface designer Jelle Bosma created it for on-screen reading, Cambria looks great on paper, too. With sturdy letter construction that keeps legibility even at small sizes, this font is a good pick for both printed and online resumes.
4. Constantia
Constantia’s round letterforms make it friendlier and less stuffy compared to other serif fonts. This style looks great both on-screen and in printed documents and is perfect when you need to send your application paper in both digital and hard copies.
5. Didot
Didot is a unique and sophisticated serif font with an upscale form that can lend style to your IT resume. Yet, you can only see Didot’s delicate serifs at larger sizes. Thus, we suggest you use this font in headings than in the body.
6. Garamond
The modern version of Garamond can give your resume a classic, yet elegant style that’s much more interesting than the overused Times New Roman. This type can fit more text on a page without crowding your design by tightening up the spacing or sacrificing the readability by lowering the font size.
7. Georgia
This font is a proxy for Times New Roman. Its letterforms have thicker strokes, making it easy to read at small sizes. Likewise, British type designer Matthew Carter designed this font for clarity on computer monitors. It goes great when viewed on digital documents as if you’re sending your copy in portable document format or PDF.
8. Helvetica
To give your resume a modern yet professional appeal, try Helvetica. Many designers and typographers consider this Swiss sans-serif typeface to be the king of fonts. With its clean, contemporary lines, many use Helvetica on almost everything from car to airline, to software companies.
Helvetica comes with every Mac operating system. Yet, if you want to use it with Windows, you need to buy it.
9. Lato
Lato is a sans-serif font first designed for corporate use. While this typeface looks neutral in body copy, it has a few unique traits at larger sizes. Łukasz Dziedzic, Lato’s designer, describes the font as “serious but friendly”, making it perfect for resumes.
This font comes in a wide range of styles and weights, but its “light,” “hairline,” and “thin” weights are too hard to see at small sizes.
10. Verdana
Carter designed this font to keep its legibility even at small sizes on computer screens. Thus, Verdana is a good pick if you need to squeeze plenty of information on your resume. This font is one of the best resume fonts to use if you know the hiring manager will read your application paper online and not in print.
Download the infographic about the Best Fonts for IT Resume.
Other Top IT Resume Fonts:
- Trebuchet MS – this friendly and round sans-serif font goes well on screen.
- Arial Narrow – if you’re tight on space, this sans-serif font is modern and still legible even in the narrow form.
- Tahoma – a sans serif, too, this font has a more modern glow compared to other typefaces.
Any of these forms will be perfect for your IT resume as long as you choose the best resume fonts. In addition, use two fonts, at the most, in your application paper to make your resume more professional and less cluttered.
Conclusion
If you want hiring managers to read your resume, invest time and energy not only in its content but on its form, too. Choose an easy-to-read font and make sure it’s universal, so it’ll open on every computer and beat the applicant tracking system (ATS).
Aside from the best resume fonts, we also provide IT resume samples you can use as a writing guide. Do you find this article helpful? Our resume blog page provides a wide range of career, job, and writing tips.
