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Your resume is your first chance to make a good impression — and your font choice can make or break your candidacy.
It’s true, something as simple as an unprofessional or hard-to-read resume font can get your application tossed aside.
So, what’s the right resume font size, and how do you sort through professional resume fonts to find one that’s right for you?
This guide will answer all of your questions.
Want to see what the best resume fonts look like on your resume?
Make your resume in our Resume Builder or check out our resume examples library for inspiration.
Select a resume font – Top 10 options
When picking a resume font, there are four things to consider: style, spacing, professionalism and legibility.
Our favorite fonts for 2023 do all of the above plus they represent a range of designs — from clean and traditional to bold and creative.
FONT 1
Calibri
Calibri is a popular font in the corporate world, making it an excellent choice for a resume font. Designed by Lucas de Groot and introduced in 2007 in Microsoft Office Suite, Calibri is a sans-serif font with rounded edges, giving it a slightly fancier appearance than clean fonts like Helvetica and Arial. Also, Calibri became the default font of Microsoft applications the year it was introduced, taking the crown from Times New Roman.
Go with Calibri if you want a font that’s a business standard.
FONT 2
Arial
Robin Nicholas and Patricia Saunders created Arial for the Monotype company in 1982 as a digital version of the popular print typeface Helvetica. Characterized by its lack of serifs and clean geometrical shape, Arial has become a standard resume font and today is the default font in Google Docs.
Go with Arial if you want a great modern typeface that takes up a lot of room on the page (it’s quite wide).
FONT 3
Verdana
Another sans-serif typeface, Verdana was designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft in 1996. The design is known for being clean and easy to read, even at a small size. Originally designed for on-screen use, today Verdana is used in print and online in equal measure.
Go with Verdana if you want a professional font that’s similar to Arial — but a little less common.
FONT 4
Garamond
As far as popular fonts go, Garamond is an old-timer. This serif typeface goes back to the 16th Century to the French engraver Claude Garamond. One of the most important typefaces in history, Garamond is known for its refined design, including delicate serifs and timeless quality.
Go with Garamond if you want a refined font that has stood the test of time.
FONT 5
Georgia
Matthew Carter created Georgia in 1993 for Microsoft, making it one of the first typefaces specifically designed for on-screen use. Made to be legible even at small sizes, Georgia’s strong serifs make for an elegant and versatile look that’s one of the best resume fonts for academic and professional settings.
Go with Georgia if you want a serif font that’s not too fussy.
FONT 6
Roboto
Roboto is a more recent member of the best resume font club. Created for Google in 2011 by Christian Robertson, this modernist typography was originally made for Android mobile devices but has since become popular in a huge range of print and digital media.
Go with Roboto if you’re looking for a pared down typeface that’s widely used in day-to-day contexts like the iPhone and Facebook.
FONT 7
Palatino Linotype
Originally designed for print media, Palatino Linotype was created by Hermann Zapf in 1948. Updated and expanded in 1993, this font is inspired by classic Roman typefaces. Between the traditional serif and symmetrical design, this is one of the best professional resume fonts because it works for virtually any role.
Go with Palatino Linotype to project strength and professionalism.
FONT 8
Trebuchet MS
Another Microsoft typeface — this one designed by Vincent Connare in 1996 — Trebuchet MS offers a clean, modern design that’s slightly condensed in appearance. Included in many versions of Microsoft Office, the font’s inspiration is the Trebuchet, a Medieval weapon used to launch large objects through the air.
Go with Trebuchet MS if you want a modern resume font that’s not as common as Arial.
FONT 9
Bodoni MT
This classic serif typeface goes back to the Italian typographer Giambattista Bodoni, who created it to improve the quality of printing in Europe. Bodoni MT is one of several digital versions of this resume font, and it was released in 1999 with an update to the Windows operating system. It’s popular with designers for the elegant look and contrast between thin and thick strokes.
Go with Bodoni MT if you want a font that’s both classic and unique.
FONT 10
Tahoma
Among professional resume fonts, Tahoma stands out for its uniform stroke widths and simple letterforms. This font was also designed by Matthew Carter for Microsoft. Fun fact: the name “Tahoma” is the Native American word for “mountain,” chosen to represent the font’s strong appearance.
Go with Tahoma if you’re looking for a powerful font with straight, uniform lines.
Want to see how different fonts look on your resume?
Give our Resume Builder a try. Simply pick a template and start building.
Choosing the right resume font size
Does resume font size matter? Why would an employer care as long as you have the right qualifications?
Resume font size does matter. When you’re trying to showcase your skills and qualifications in just a few seconds, you should never let font size get in the way of legibility.
So, what’s the best font size for a resume? The rule of thumb is that the font size should be between 10-12 pts for the main content. You may be able to go one point larger for a particularly small font or one point smaller for a wide, tall font.
Let’s see what that looks like when compared with a font that’s too big and too small:
JUST RIGHT – 11pt
The big and small ones look silly, right?
As you can see, no matter what font size you use for the body text, the main header and sections headers will be larger. Here’s the correct font size for each of those:
- Section headers should be between 14-16 pts
- Resume header (your name) should be between 28-35 pts.
Now that you know how to use the correct resume font size, let’s go over some key tips.
Resume font formatting tips
Picking the best resume font and sizing it correctly is one thing — making sure it’s properly formatted is another.Let’s take a look at common debates about resume fonts.
Resume font color
There are two main rules for choosing a resume font color:
- Black is always a fine option. Employers will never complain when you use black font. It’s the go-to color for millions of job seekers.
- If you want to use something other than black, make sure it is easy-to-read and consistently applied. For example, a dark turquoise would work, but baby blue would not. The latter is too light and hard to read. Also, if you make one header a dark turquoise blue, then all headers should be turquoise.
Let’s see the difference between a good use of font color versus a bad use of color:
Dramatic, right? The light font color used in the resume on the left makes it difficult to read. Never sacrifice legibility for style.
Using italics, bold and underlining
You may be wondering about font styling — italics, bold and underlining. Each one has its time and place.
Italics are useful for calling out different types of information. For example, in a work history section, you should put the dates in italics to set them apart from the job title and company name.
Bold is often used in section headers or to highlight important information. For example, many resume templates put job titles in bold. This makes it easier for readers to see your career progression.
Underlining should be used sparingly, if at all. Underlined text is hard to read and makes the page feel cluttered.
Now, see how this example uses both bold and italics to differentiate information:
Mixing fonts
Generally speaking, we advise against mixing fonts. The problem is trying to mix fonts can easily go wrong and make the applicant look bad.
For example, many job seekers want to use one font for the resume body and a different font for section headers. But what if the font combination looks strange to the hiring manager? That’s not worth the risk.
However, if you’re a designer with an in-depth knowledge of typefaces, go for it. You’ll have the background to make judgment calls that are less likely to backfire.
Serif vs sans serif: Understanding the difference
Matching resume fonts to your cover letter
4 resume fonts to avoid
You know the best resume font to use this year, but what about the worst? Here are four resume fonts you shouldn’t use under any circumstances.
Okay, this one is obvious. Microsoft released this typeface in 1994 to mimic a style found in comic book speech bubbles. Today it comes off as silly and unprofessional.
When it comes to the legibility of resume fonts, Impact is one of the worst offenders. The look is very thick and compacted, making it difficult to differentiate between letters. Recruiters will toss a resume they can’t read — avoid this font.
This is another font that is simply too hard to read. The idea is nice — making your words look like brush strokes. In practice, when you put the strokes together, it’s too splotchy and cramped. It strains the eyes and can get your resume instantly rejected.
This hand-drawn typeface is meant to look like it’s written on parchment. Not only is it difficult to read, but the playful, hand-drawn appearance can also look tacky and cheap in a professional setting.
Is your resume font readable?
Resume fonts FAQ
- Trebuchet MS
- Arial
- Calibri
- Book Antiqua
- Georgia
- Cambria
- Comic Sans
- Papyrus
- Brush Script
- Mistral
- Impact
- Lucina Console
Don is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) with more than 10 years’ experience creating digital content, including four years helping job seekers develop their careers. He holds an M.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University.
