Best Fonts and Margins for Professional Resumes

Font and margin choices seem small—but they affect how readable your resume is and how professional it looks. Here's what to use and what to avoid.

Best Fonts for Resumes

Stick to common, readable fonts that work in ATS and print. Safe choices:

• Arial, Helvetica: Clean, neutral, widely supported. Good default.
• Calibri, Georgia: Also standard and easy to read. Calibri is common in Word; Georgia is a serif option.
• Garamond, Times New Roman: Traditional and professional; slightly more formal. Fine for conservative industries.

Use one font for the whole resume. You can use a slightly larger or bolder style for your name and section headings, but avoid mixing multiple font families.

Font Size

Body text: 10–12 pt. Your name: 14–18 pt. Section headings: 11–12 pt. Don't go below 10 pt to fit more content—it's hard to read and looks cramped. If you need more space, cut content or use two pages.

Margins

Use 0.5" to 1" on all sides. 0.75" is a common default. Too-narrow margins make the page feel crowded; too-wide margins waste space or make the resume look thin. Keep left and right margins equal for a balanced look.

Line spacing

Single or 1.15 line spacing is standard. Add a full line space between sections so they're easy to distinguish. Avoid double-spacing the whole document—it makes a one-pager look padded.

What to Avoid

• Decorative, script, or unusual fonts—they're hard to read and can look unprofessional.
• Font size below 10 pt or above 12 pt for body text.
• Margins under 0.5" or over 1.5".

The Bottom Line

Use a single, professional font (Arial, Calibri, Georgia, or similar) at 10–12 pt for body text, with 0.5"–1" margins and clear spacing between sections. Simple and readable beats fancy every time.