The best fonts to use on a Resume and which fonts to avoid on a CV

 

 

A resume is supposed to reflect your best self and should therefore always be prepared using the most appropriate font. Some types of fonts should never appear on a resume especially if it the resume is meant for a potential employer. Bloomberg wanted to know from three different typography experts the following:

• The types of fonts that is best for curriculum vitae,
• The types of fonts that should never be seen by a potential employer,
• Whether emojis can be included in the resume.

 

The typography experts came up with the following observations!

Best font for resume:

 

Helvetica

 

Helvetica was selected as the best among all the other fonts. According to Brain Hoff, who is the creative director of Brian Hoff Design, Helvetica is not associated with any fuss; it does not lean in one direction or another. In addition, it feels honest, lighthearted, and professional. It is also safe and this is the reason why it is business friendly.

There are other good options that are sans –serif: This means their letters do not have the tiny ‘’feet’’ that adorn some letters such as the ‘’T ”in Times New Roman. However, the experts say you should desist from choosing a cheap imitator. The creative director at Collins, a brand consultancy in San Francisco, known as Matt Luckhurst, says that you should always use Helvetica. This is because it is the most beautiful type of font.

In short, knock off fonts are only appropriate if you are applying for a design job. For your resume, the experts are in agreement that Helvetica is the most appropriate.

 

Proxima Nova

 

Supposing you are on a high roller and you really want to buy a font. Mr. Hoff would advise you to go for Proxima Nova, which he calls ‘’a cousin to Helvetica’’, but with less of an edge.

Proxima Nova has a softer feel as opposed to Helvetica, which can be stiffer. Proxima Nova also feels a little rounder. According to Hoff, it is actually a favorite with many clients. However, it does not come cheap: a single style of the font goes for 29.99 Dollars, while the entire 144 -member family goes for 734 Dollars at myfonts.com.

 

Garamond

 

For those people who have enough experience, Garamond is the most ideal type of font to use in order to get a long rap sheet to fit in a single page. According to Luckhurst, Garamond is legible and easy for your eyes to follow. It actually has a lot of quirks in it and this is what allows the eye to see where it is supposed to go.

 

Times New Roman

 

There is some controversy surrounding the use of Times New Roman. However, Martina Flor, who is a designer and letterer in Berlin, Germany, says she does not have any problem with it. She also acknowledges that the font has a reputation of being staid. However, she also says the font is not to blame per se because it has been a system font for a long time, and therefore it has been used and misused quite a lot.

However, using Times New Roman can actually send a wrong signal to your prospective employer. It can be construed to mean you did not take time to consider the most appropriate font to use when preparing your resume, this is according to Hoff. He likens it to putting on sweatpants.

 

Didot

 

According to Luckhurst, if you want something intentionally upscale, Didot is the type of font to go for. He says it is very tall, a little fancy, and a little feminine. In addition, he says it is the most ideal form of font for a fashion job. He likens it to wearing a tuxedo for a job interview, or wearing a black dress to the ball.

 

Zapfina

 

This type of font is very flowery. It should never be used on any official document whatsoever. According to Luckhurst, it is most suitable for wedding invites, other than anything else.

Any font that looks like Zapfina should never be used on resumes, says Flor. According to her, they are hard to read and are not designed for anything longer than headline.

 

Courier

 

Courier is a type of font that is associated with typewriters, which are no longer in use. According to Luckhurst, you can only use this type of font if you do not know how to use your computer properly and you have not handwritten properly as well. You should never use courier on your resume.

 

Comic Sans

 

This is one type of font that should never appear on your resume. According to Hoff, you should not even think about it.

 

Emojis and Logos

 

Mark Luckhurst actually expressed his support for emojis. According to him, you should put a lot of them on the bottom of your resume. Potential employers will certainly love it. If you take a look at how most websites on the internet try to establish trust you will find that they have lots of logos on the bottom of the site, usually in a “as seen on” section. Why not try to emulate that social proof by including the logos of the companies you have worked for.