Resume Formatting: Why It Matters

When applying for a new position, your resume is a key component. It may be the only piece of information an employer has about you.

A resume is much more than a summary of work history; it's a tool that lets an employer know that you're a great candidate, and maybe even their future new hire.

With that, when was the last time your resume received a proper update? We live in an extremely fast-paced society, so cleaning up your resume is probably at the bottom of your to-do list.

LeaderStat recruiters have seen a variety of resumes – some were great, while others were a bit jumbled and had room for improvement. Of course, we know that there are dozens of resume formatting examples on the internet, so we expect resumes to vary in style and length.

LeaderStat receives dozens of digital resumes each day. Whether someone is applying for a leadership position or an entry-level travel nurse position, their resume should highlight the following:

• Industry-specific experience (work history)
• Education and credentials
• Skills or certifications
  

To ensure that our recruiters have clean and accurate resumes to present to our clients, we often find ourselves re-formatting the resumes we receive. This includes anything from correcting spelling errors and alignment to removing references and candidate headshots.

Cleaning up your resume might seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. We want to make the application, interviewing and hiring process easy for everyone – candidates, clients and recruiters.

QUICK TIPS
Before attaching your resume to a job application, take a few minutes to check the following:

• Use spell check (free tool in Microsoft Word).
• Use font size 11 or 12.
• Use one-inch margins and 1 – 1.5 spacing.
• Avoid using colors.
• Choose a font that’s easy to read – Arial, Times New Roman or Calibri are great choices.
• Ensure that your work history includes specific start and end dates, this includes the month and year.
              Example: Golden Acres Senior Living
              02/2020 – 04/2021
• Check for repetitive sentences – don’t copy and paste the same job description multiples times, even if the jobs are extremely similar.
• Join a free resume review group on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FreeResumeReview
• Save your resume file as a Word Document or PDF and make sure the title of your document is appropriate. E.g. John Smith Resume_2021.

To help ensure our LeaderStat candidates are set up for success from start to finish, we created this resume example that would get noticed by a hiring manager.

Remember, your resume is a reflection of your professional accolades. It’s your chance to shine amongst dozens of other qualified candidates. If this document is the only tool that a hiring manager has to get to know you better, make sure you take the time to perfect it.

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