Resume Fonts That Get You Noticed for the Right Reasons

Selecting a visually appealing, professional font to craft your resume is a simple yet powerful way to catch an employer’s eye. 

Here are the best fonts to use. 

Times New Roman
If you’ve ever typed an essay for a high school English course, chances are you know about Times New Roman. 

It’s a serif typeface with small, decorative strokes at the end of each letter, giving it a formal, traditional appearance. It has an old-timey, intelligent design with small and narrow letters, making it efficient for long bodies of text. 

Times New Roman is the go-to for many academic and professional documents. Its ideal industries are education, law, and government. 

Some argue that Times New Roman is overused, but it remains a safe, practical choice, especially for resumes.

Arial
Arial is the default typeface for Google Docs. 

Arial is a simple, clean sans-serif font with even stroke widths and a straightforward design. It has a modern, balanced appearance, making it a favorite for emails and websites. 

It’s legible on both screen and paper, making it a popular choice for candidates needing digital and hard copies of their resumes.  

Calibri
Calibri was once the default font for Microsoft Office. 

Calibri is a sans-serif typeface. Its letters are proportionally spaced with rounded edges. It has a clean, contemporary appearance that is ideal for digital media. 

It’s an excellent choice for your resume if you’re applying for a position in an industry that values creativity and innovation. 

Georgia
Georgia was specifically designed for Microsoft to be readable on screens. 

Like Times New Roman, Georgia is a serif typeface with small lines at the ends of its letters, giving it a classic, traditional appearance. It has relatively tall lowercase letters and decent spacing, making it legible in small sizes.

Georgia is a great choice if you’re sending Word or PDF copies of your resume. 

Helvetica
Helvetica is one of the most popular, influential typefaces in the world. 

It’s a sans-serif typeface with crisp, clear lines, evenly spaced letter spacing, and height. It has a minimalist design that’s adaptable to almost any professional document you can think of. It has a basic, modern feel that serves many well. 

Helvetica gives off a professional, neutral feel, making it a sound choice for your resume.   

Garamond
Garamond has roots in the 16th century.

It’s a classic serif typeface with slightly curved letters with fine points. Its lowercase letters are relatively small, contrasting with thick and thin strokes, giving it an old-style appearance that combines formality with creativity. 

Garamond’s visual appeal is particularly striking with employers in publishing, academia, and the arts. 

Verdana
Verdana was one of the first fonts specifically designed for digital media.

It’s a sans-serif font with wide letter spacing and smooth strokes. Its lowercase letters are relatively large, making it highly readable on screens, even in small sizes. 

Verdana is a favorite among tech professionals. It’s good for resumes, PowerPoint, and emails.  

Cambria
Cambria is part of the Cleartype Font Collection, an assortment of fonts specifically designed for the digital age.  

Cambria is the product of blending the decorative nature of serif fonts with modern design principles, giving it an elegant, structured appearance. Its slight contrast of thick and thin strokes within its characters enhances its readability.

It’s an excellent choice for your resume if you want a balanced look that can appeal to both traditional and modern industries. 

Tahoma
Tahoma is a widely recognized font that is used in a variety of web content. 

It’s a sans-serif with a functional design. Its characters are narrow and tall, with wide spaces between them, which will be helpful if you need to fit plenty of information on a single page without sacrificing legibility. 

Tahoma is a good choice for your resume if you’re applying as a web designer or tech professional.

Book Antiqua
Book Antiqua was one of the most elegantly designed fonts available. 

It’s a serif font with prominent, refined strokes at the ends of its letters. It has a contrast of thick and thin strokes that exude sophistication and tradition with a typical old-style appeal.

Book Antiqua is a great choice for your resume if you’re applying for a position in the liberal arts.

Learn More About Fonts
The font that will help your resume stand out will depend on your industry. 

For example, a tech company will likely value functionality and innovation, so you might want to go with Verdana or Helvetica. On the other hand, if you’re in a creative industry that values sophistication, you could use Book Antiqua or Garamond. 

And remember that this is not an exhaustive list. Although there are guidelines you should follow regarding legibility and professionalism, there are thousands of fonts and many possibilities. Do your research, and you’re likely to find a font that fits whatever position you’re applying for.