how to create a resume microsoft word

How-To Geek

How to create a professional résumé in microsoft word.

Your changes have been saved

Email is sent

Email has already been sent

Please verify your email address.

You’ve reached your account maximum for followed topics.

My 6 Favorite Uses for Samsung Dex

What is wireguard, and what makes it a worthy vpn protocol, playstation 2 emulation on the ps5 is disappointing, use pcsx2 instead, quick links, what is a résumé, using a microsoft word résumé template, crafting a custom résumé in microsoft word, deciding what information to include, organizing that information.

Pressing the send button when sending your résumé to a potential employer can be a nerve-racking experience. We're here to show you how to create a résumé using Microsoft Word and provide a few tips on getting you through the résumé screening process so you can press that send button with confidence.

A résumé, often referred to as a CV (curriculum vitae), is a summary of a person's background and experience, including work experience, education, and even volunteer work, and its most common use is to send to potential employers when searching for a new career opportunity. In fact, though taking on a much different form than that of what you'd expect a résumé to look like today, Leonardo Da Vinci even did this himself, and he is often given credit as the first person to create a resume.

Of course, the résumé has undergone quite the transformation since Da Vinci's 1482 version, drastically so during the age of word processors and digital typesetting in the 1970's---40 years after résumés became an institution. Fast-forward to today and not only do you have your standard .doc or .pdf résumé, but you'll also see people uploading video résumés on YouTube and using social media platforms like LinkedIn to sell themselves to companies.

We should be thankful for these developments because now we can skip the quill and ink and jump straight into Microsoft Word.

Microsoft Word offers a bunch of résumé templates. Some are beautiful; some are not. We'll let you decide which style fits you best, but here's where you can find them.

Go ahead and open Word. As soon as you do, you'll be greeted with several different templates to choose from, ranging from a simple blank document, cover letters, résumés, or even seasonal event flyers. Click the "Resumes and Cover Letters" link under the search box to see only those types of templates.

Now, you'll see all the different resume styles Word has to offer. There are a lot of different styles and color schemes to choose one, so pick what feels right. If you scroll down the list a bit, you'll also see some plainer resume templates designed for different purposes---like an entry-level, chronological, or extended CV style.

Some of the templates are already built into Word; others are a quick, free download from Office.com (and you won't even have to leave Word to grab them). When you click to create a resume, Word will let you know the download size (if it needs to download the template). Click the "Create" button and a few seconds later, you'll be in your document and ready to edit.

That's all there is to it! But what if you didn't find a résumé you liked? Luckily, Word has a few formatting tools to help you craft the perfect résumé.

Before we start, it's important to know that each résumé should reflect a person's personal experience and education. Since everyone's experience is different, it's no surprise that their résumés will be too.

That being said, there are some general aesthetic guidelines for making a résumé that we highly recommend you follow for a professional-looking document .

Go ahead and open up a clean, blank document in Word.

The first thing we'll want to do is set our margins. Go to the "Layout" tab and click the "Margins" buttons.

The drop-down menu displays several different margin options from which to choose. If you can't find the one you're looking for, you can click "Custom Margins" at the bottom and enter your specifications. Let's go ahead and do that.

According to the experts, the best margin size is 1" for the top and bottom and 0.63" for the sides. This may seem like an oddly specific number, but the objective is to get as much (relevant) information about yourself as possible on a page without overwhelming the reader. With the above credentials, we leave enough white space on the page for the reader to not feel suffocated.

Click "OK" once you've entered the margin sizes you want.

Now that our margins are set, it's time to start inputting information.

The information you put mainly depends on what you're trying to accomplish and where you are in your professional career. If you have over two years of working experience, then detailing that information is much more valuable than which high school you graduated from or which clubs you were a part of in college. Like a cover letter, your résumé should uniquely cater to the recipient. Dress to impress.

So, which information should you put? We'll give you the overview, and you can decide which areas you should detail.

• Contact Information
• Professional Experience (It's also ok to include any volunteer work at the bottom of this section)
• Additional Skills

For all of these, tailor the information to the job. You don't need to fit irrelevant work experience in there unless not including it would create a gap in your work experience. But if you're applying for a job as an accountant, nobody cares that you delivered pizzas 12 years ago. And you do list out any additional skills, make sure they're relevant to the position for which you're applying. Your high school friend might be impressed by how high you can kick, but your future employer---not so much.

Another thing to remember is that you should always list out your experience in reverse chronological order. That is, list out your most recent experience first, and go back from there.

There're several ways to do this, but arguably the most effective way is by creating headings and then inserting a table for the content of each section. By doing so, you're not only able to move content around in groups instead of individually, which can be a headache in itself, but you're also able to give your résumé a unique touch by adding table designs. In the image below, for example, we've added a dashed border to the left side of the table to create a nice little visual element to tie the different experience elements together.

First things first, let's go ahead and find a heading that we like. In the "Styles" section of the "Home" tab, you'll find several default styles. If you can't find one you like, then Word has a feature that lets you create your own. First, click the "More" arrow on the right-hand side of the different built-in styles.

You'll see a menu with three different options. Go ahead and click "Create a Style."

The "Create New Style from Formatting" window will appear. The only thing you can do here is to name the style, so click "Modify."

Now you should see a window with many formatting options. For fonts, there's no best option. Just make sure you use something that's clean and readable. "Georgia" is a great example. A 14 pt font size is fine for headings, but make sure it's bold so that each section is easier to find for the reader.

The "Add to the Styles gallery" option will automatically be selected. It's good to leave this option selected so you'll have easy access to your heading for the other sections of your résumé. If you plan to use this heading again in future documents, you can go ahead and deselect "Only in this document," but since we only plan to use it for our résumé, we'll keep that option selected.

Click "OK."

Go ahead and type in your first heading and apply the new style to it. In this example, we'll use "Experience" first.

Now, let's use a table under our first heading so that we can keep all our content lined up correctly. Place your insertion point on the line under your new heading, switch to the "Insert" tab, and click the "Table" button.

You'll see a 10x8 grid on the drop-down menu. You can create the table size by moving your mouse over the grid and clicking when it's the size you want. For your résumé, you'll need one column and enough rows to contain the separate pieces of information you have to list. For example, if you have three prior jobs to list in the Experience section, you'll want a table that's 1x3.

And here's what it looks like after we've inserted the table into the document.

We'll remove the border lines later. First, go ahead and put in your information. You'll want the "Job Title, Company" text to be 1 or 2 pts larger than the rest of the text but be sure to keep it smaller than the heading of the section. If you want your job title to stand out, you can change the color or make it italic, but try to keep it simple.

Once that's ready, let's go ahead change the borders of our table. Select the table by placing your insertion point anywhere inside it. Switch to the "Design" tab in the "Table Tools" section of the Ribbon, and then click the "Borders" button.

If you want to keep it simple and remove all the lines of your table, select "No Border." In this example, we're going to give our table a little flavor, so we'll select "Borders and Shading."

Because we only want to customize the left border of our table, we will select "Custom" under the "Setting" section. This lets us use the "Preview" section to deselect the sides on which we don't want borders. Click the boxes surrounding the preview to turn off all the borders except for the left one.

In the "Style" list, you can select the border design, color, and width you want. Click "OK" when you're ready.

Now we should have an experience section on our résumé that's starting to shape up. A little playing with colors and maybe spacing the table rows a bit, and you should be ready to go.

Now, just repeat these steps for the rest of the sections and your professional résumé will be finished in no time!

Image Credit: fizkes /Shutterstock

• Microsoft Office
• Microsoft Word

• Delete a Page in Word
• Convert PDF to Word
• Page Numbers in Word
• Double Space in Word
• Table of Contents in Word

How to make a resume in Microsoft Word

Whether you’re just entering the workforce or need a resume refresh, you’re probably considering Microsoft Word for the task. We’ll walk you through options for making a resume in Word, from using helpful templates to creating a resume from scratch.

Use a built-in Word resume template

Use a word resume template on the web, use a third-party word resume template, create a word resume from scratch.

The quickest and easiest way to make a resume in Word is using one of Microsoft’s templates . You can look for one directly in Word and choose from a large collection of options.

Open Word, select File > New , and pop “resume” into the Search box. You can then browse the templates with resumes for specific jobs and industries along with those for any type of position.

Choose a template to see a description and pick Create to use the resume.

The Microsoft resume templates come with placeholders that you can simply swap out for your own details. This is handy if you like the appearance of all elements in the template. Of course, if you’re not fond of the color scheme or font styles, you can change those types of items.

Remember to go to File > Save As to save a copy of your resume.

Maybe you don’t have Microsoft Word on your computer yet but need your resume in that format. You can use Word on the web for free with a Microsoft account and take advantage of resume templates.

Visit the Microsoft Create website and explore the resume templates . If you see one you like, select it to open it directly in Word for the web.

Alternatively, select Create from scratch and choose Resumes, flyers, brochures . When Word opens, use the Designer sidebar on the right to browse through and choose a resume template.

Then, swap out the placeholders for your own details and customize the resume as you like.

If you like the template idea but don’t care for any of the Microsoft options, you can check out third-party templates for your resume. Here are just a few of the top options and samples of resume templates they offer for free.

Resume Genius

With Resume Genius , you can pick from over a dozen custom Word templates to download. From simple to professional to aesthetically pleasing to visually appealing, you’re sure to find at least one resume template you like.

Hloom offers over 15 resume and CV templates for free and even more if you don’t mind paying. Be sure to select Free on the left below License if you want to narrow down the no-charge options. As a bonus, you’ll also see a tab for cover letters if you’re in the market for one of those too.

Template.net

One more place to check out for Word resume templates is Template.net . You’ll find a large variety of attractive options specific to position or resume style. Like with Hloom, select Free beneath License on the left, and be sure to take a look at the cover letter collection too.

After you download a resume template from one of the above sites, simply customize it with your own details.

Maybe you’d prefer to simply create your resume from scratch; this is always an option if you have the time. Consider reviewing the above templates and samples for the information you should include and ideas for formatting.

To get started, add the following details to your resume:

Full name and current position : Place your name and position at the top. If you don’t have a current position, you can certainly omit it.

Objective (optional) : Provide a brief description of your goal to potential employers beneath your name and position. This is an optional inclusion — if you add one, try to keep it short and sweet with one to two meaningful sentences.

Contact details : Include at least your email address and phone number. If you have an up-to-date website or LinkedIn profile, you can add these as well. Make sure these details are kept together in a specific location so they’re simple to find.

Work experience : List your work experience in chronological order with the most recent first. Start with your position, then move onto the employer, month, and year you worked there, and your duties. You should include your duties and responsibilities in a list format making them easy to review.

Education : List your educational history in chronological order with the most recent first. Start with the degree, then add the school with the month and year you attended.

Skills, awards, and more : Use a list format to add your skills, awards, certifications, volunteer work, and any other details you feel important to the position or company.

Here are several tips when formatting your resume in Word:

• Use a heading or larger font for your full name at the top.
• Add headings for the Experience, Educations, and Skills sections.
• If you decide to use color, keep it to just one or two complementary colors.
• Try to use the same font style throughout, taking advantage of font sizes, headings, or bold formatting for more prominent details.
• Use a font that’s easy to read like a 12-point Arial, Calibri, Georgia, or Times New Roman for the main body text. You might also consider which font style works better for reading on the web versus on a printed piece.
• If you include a headshot, make sure it’s a professional one.
• Consider using a table to structure your resume, as shown above.

Finally, be sure to keep the appearance and content of your resume consistent.

Is it OK to make a resume in Word?

Absolutely! This is exactly the type of document you should create in a word processing application like Microsoft Word. If you prefer, you can also use a web application like Google Docs to make a resume or downloadable software like LibreOffice Writer.

Once your resume is complete, you can save it as a PDF or other requested format in most word processing applications for submission to the potential employer or hiring manager.

How far back should a resume go?

Most experts recommend 10 to 15 years is appropriate for a resume. Keep in mind that you should include relevant work experience for that time period . For example, if you’re a nurse who worked at a fast-food chain for two months 12 years ago, you can likely exclude that job.

How many pages should a resume be?

The standard for a resume is one to two pages. However, this can depend on the length of your experience and education in relation to the position for which you’re applying. For instance, someone who’s been in the workforce for 20 years might require two pages, but a recent college graduate would probably only need one page.

Editors’ Recommendations

• It took Microsoft 30 years to change this Windows feature
• Microsoft is axing unlicensed accounts for this popular service
• How to use mail merge in Microsoft Word
• How to download Microsoft Word
• Microsoft might be building its own Vision Pro rival
• How-To Guides

Upgrading to Windows 11 comes with a few requirements, and that includes a bump in random access memory (RAM). And with Windows 10 nearing the end of support, many users will soon need to consider switching to Windows 11 regardless of how much memory it consumes.

Windows 11, while it introduces a host of new features, may consume more RAM than its predecessor, but the amount of memory that it uses is not universal. Below, we'll explain what RAM is, explore how much RAM Windows 11 actually uses, and how to lower that amount if your PC is having a hard time. Windows 11: RAM usage when idle

Microsoft Teams is reportedly testing a new design that merges the app's channels and text chat into one user interface, a lot like Slack. This could potentially streamline text communication for organizations and businesses, as The Verge's Tom Warren mentioned in his Notebook newsletter post.

The newsletter mentioned that Microsoft is currently testing a change combining the text chat and channels into one UI. An internal Microsoft message said: "Our new experience brings chats and channels together to get you to what matters faster."

Since releasing the original Surface tablet in 2012, Microsoft has grown its PC business into a multibillion-dollar enterprise. The mobile Surface line has expanded to include 2-in-1 and traditional clamshell laptops in various form factors. There's the Surface Pro 11, Surface Laptop 7, Surface Laptop Go 3, and Surface Laptop Studio 2. That's quite the lineup, and you'll find a Surface on a number of our best-of lists such as best tablets and best laptops.

The two most mainstream lines, though, are the Surface Pro 11 and the Surface Laptop 7. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and you'll want to keep them in mind if you're looking for a Surface and choosing between the two. Specs and configurations

• Format a resume with a template Video
• Format using tables Video
• Tools for better resumes Video

Format a resume with a template

Here’s how to download and use a template to create a sharp resume. We’ll show how you can cut and paste parts of your old resume and make the fonts and spacing look perfect.

Whether you’re online or offline go to FILE > New and search for “Resume.”

Preview and click the one you want to open.

You can start typing right away or cut and paste text into the document.

After pasting old text, it might look funny, or not formatted correctly. Select Ctrl to see Paste Options and choose one like Keep Text Only . Then the text use the font and formatting of the new resume.

Six steps to developing a great resume

Microsoft resume templates  

Look up words in the thesaurus

Most people submit resumes online these days, but there are still reasons why you need a paper resume.

A big one is at the interview. You want to come in with copies of your resume so you can hand it to the person.

So they don’t have to scramble to find the copy of theirs or look for on their computer.

So I’m going to show you a couple of different ways of formatting a resume.

First of all it’s going to be with a template.

I’m going to open up Word 2013 here, and it opens to this new gallery view that shows off templates.

If you have an earlier version of Word, you just want to go to FILE and New and you’ll be able to search for resume or search for templates.

I’m going to type in “Resume”.

If I was offline I get about a dozen or so resumes, here online I can get the full power of Office.com .

I can get a couple hundred I can look for.

Some with categories, occupations… Let me just click on this thumbnail, I can see a little bigger thumbnail, and I can click through these arrows to find one I like.

You can also see customer ratings which is Ahh..You know that way you can see what’s populate what people like.

I’m going to use this one here called the Timeless design . Open that up. And it populates with my name.

Today I’m Daryl McFarland. And it gives you some instructions of how to use the template if you need that or you can just start typing away with your new objective here for your resume.

Now with resumes, most of the time people have older resume, they may cut and paste in, they want to format it so let’s look at that for a few moments here. I’m going to open up some text that I have here.

And just cut and paste this objective.

And you want to ahh.. make sure you know each resume has to have a different objective for each company.

Don’t want to be general. You want to be specific with your resume.

So, here I have the text that I want but, of course, it looks a little different. The font size is wrong.

There is a couple of different ways to change the formatting. You can look at styles. Some people use Format Painter .

But when you cut and paste, if you don’t touch any other keys, you get this little box here at the end, with a little clipboard that says Ctrl by it.

Ctrl is the shortcut. So let me click Ctrl . And it opens up Paste options. And it gives me several options I can use.

I can use this one called Keep Text Only . And look, it shrinks down my text. Perfect. So that’s good. Let’s do it one more time.

We’re going to grab some of these old skills I have and I’ll update them as I work this new resume. Again, little too big.

Now notice this last line I have some bold text in it.

I want to keep that bold text but if I chose the option -- Keep text only , it strips out all formatting.

So hyperlinks and everything is striped out so I don’t want to use that.

I want to go over here and Merge Formatting , and there, it keeps the bold and also makes the text look proper for this template.

Templates in general especially in resumes, templates have what we call control content.

If you look up here we have boxes for street address, telephone, email.

That just gives you some structure to the template, you can delete those if you want.

Also down here in the experience area we have this.

If you don’t want it, again you can just simply right-click and remove content control and it’ll strip that away.

A lot of times people just want to update a resume with a different look.

You can do that really quickly with the DESIGN tab. Let’s go over there.

So click DESIGN and I get all this formatting options here at the top and I can just mouse over and my resume changes, it previews.

Now some of these look good. Some of them really don’t look good.

But it’s a quick way to kind of get a different look for your resumes.

Because sometimes we just want a fresh start with a new resume. You can also do that with Themes over here on the far left.

Themes are a great way to control color, font size, spacing.

I use it a lot for PowerPoint and not as much in Word, but you can set a difference to your resume and just click the one that you want. So that’s working with templates.

In our next video, we’re going to use formatting, well, we’re going to format without a template.

Need more help?

Want more options.

Explore subscription benefits, browse training courses, learn how to secure your device, and more.

Microsoft 365 subscription benefits

Microsoft 365 training

Microsoft security

Accessibility center

Communities help you ask and answer questions, give feedback, and hear from experts with rich knowledge.

Ask the Microsoft Community

Microsoft Tech Community

Windows Insiders

Microsoft 365 Insiders

Was this information helpful?

Thank you for your feedback.

How to Make a Word Resume in 2024 - 7 Easy Steps

At some point or another - meaning, before online resume builders made our lives easier - most of us have had to make a resume in Word. 

Now, making a resume in Word can be tiresome. Not being entirely optimized for the task, it can give you a hard time formatting and styling your resume to your needs - and this is just one of its disadvantages. 

That being said, the use of Word is unlikely to drop only because it’s impractical. This means that knowing how to make a resume in Word is still a good skill to have. And if you’re sitting and thinking: “well, this doesn’t make matters any easier” - we hear you. 

That’s exactly why this article is here - to teach you how to make a resume in Word, in just a few easy steps. 

• Should You Make a Resume in Word?
• How to Make a Resume in Word in 7 Easy Steps
• How to Format your Resume - 3 Pro Formatting Tips

But before we dive into the nitty-gritty details of how to make a resume in Word, let’s go through the downsides of using it to build your resume, and what other easier alternatives you might have in more detail. 

Should You Make a Resume in Word? 

Microsoft Word might once have been a top resume-building option, but that time is long gone. Although it has ready-made templates, Word in itself was never meant to be a resume builder - this reflects on the end product, which often looks old-fashioned and dull. 

Not to mention that it offers very little space for creativity. Try to make a small change in the layout and see the format crumble in front of your eyes. 

On the other hand, if you simply use the Word template without customizing it, yours might just become another resume in the crowd that won’t even pass the Applicant Tracking System (ATS) - the software most companies use to filter through countless resumes they receive daily. 

Long story short, here are MS Word’s main cons as a resume builder:

Long story short, here are MS Word’s main cons as a resume builder: 

• It can be clunky and outdated - chances are, any Word template you choose to use for your resume will look old-fashioned. Technology has changed what is expected of your resume, just as it has changed job-search over the last decade.
• It is not ATS-optimized - the software that most recruiters use not to waste time looking at the resumes? Well, most Word templates are not optimized for it. This means that you can be the fittest candidate for the job and not even get invited to an interview.
• It’s time-consuming - making changes to the layout of a Word resume template is a nightmare.

Everyone knows what happens when you move an image in Word:

It’s exactly for these reasons, as well as the added efficiency, originality, and time preservation, that online resume builders are the obvious choice for creating your resume. 

Novorésumé’s online resume builder is fast, easy to use, and perfect if you want to land that interview. You can start building your resume immediately just by clicking on the link, or you can pick one of our free resume templates , according to your needs.

Step #1: Pick a Word Resume Template 

The first step in making a resume in Word is accessing its free resume templates. How you access the templates may change depending on the Microsoft Word version you’re using, but what you ultimately need to do is the following: 

Open Word. 

Select one of the Resume templates Word suggests, or simply search for “resume” and you’ll find a bunch more.

Choose the resume template that best fits your qualifications and professional profile.

Click “Create.” 

You’re good to go: the template should appear as a Word document ready to be filled with your personal information and all other relevant sections. 

Step #2: Create a Resume Header 

From this point on, things should be pretty easy to pick up. 

Start filling up your resume from the top, which is where the resume header is located. Traditionally, the header should include the following information:

• First and last name
• Phone Number
• Location (Street Address, City, State)

You may notice the lack of optional information in this resume template, such as your professional job title , your LinkedIn URL , or social media links. 

If you feel like that info will significantly improve your resume, look for a Word template that includes them, or manually add them to the template you’ve already chosen. We’ll go over some formatting techniques to improve your resume template later on in the article. 

Step #3. Include a Resume Summary or Objective

Next, you need to describe your professional experience or professional goals (in case you lack the experience) through the resume summary or objective. 

Write a resume summary or resume objective - depending on which one best fits your resume - and try to express yourself in a way that will keep the recruiter’s attention for more than the traditional 7 seconds . 

Quick recap: a resume summary is a 2-3 sentence overview of your career and is used in 90% of the cases. A resume objective is more commonly used among those with little professional experience or those who are changing careers and describes your professional goals. 

Step #4: Create a Compelling Work Experience Section

This is where things get serious. 

The work experience section is the most important part of your resume for obvious reasons and usually plays a decisive part in the recruiters’ decisions. So just filling up the gaps in the experience section of the Word template won’t be enough. You should try to make this section as compelling as possible - following some of the tips provided below. 

But first, the basics. As with any standard format, the experience section should include the following components: 

• Job title and position
• Company name and location
• Dates of employment 
• Achievements and responsibilities 

Again, how the resume looks in Word will depend on the template that you have chosen. 

Obviously, the template lets you add as many professional entries as you wish - but that doesn’t mean you should go overboard. List your experience in reverse-chronological order, meaning: start from the latest and move back in time, based on the amount of professional experience you possess. 

There are, of course, a couple of pro tips that you should follow even as you use the Word templates to make your experience section more compelling. 

Pro Tip #1 - List achievements over responsibilities

Notice the example above.

Instead of responsibilities, we have opted to list achievements. Listing achievements over responsibilities whenever possible is one of the best ways to stand out in the eyes of recruiters. That’s because responsibilities are similar for one type of job, while achievements show exactly what you can contribute to the position . 

Pro Tip #2 - Tailor your resume to the job you are applying for.

Another good practice is tailoring your resume to the job you are applying for. This can help you go through the ATS and land your resume right on the recruiters’ tables. 

If you want to know exactly what information to include in your resume, how and when to list achievements over responsibilities, and how to tailor your resume to your job, head over to our complete guide on how to write a resume .

Step #5: Add Your Educational Background 

Things should get quite easy after you get your professional experience section out of the way.

The education section of your resume should include the following: 

• University name and location 
• Years attended
• Program name / Degree obtained 

Optionally, you can include your GPA, Minor degrees, or any special award or academic achievement. Our advice is to include them only if you are a recent graduate or entry-level professional with not much else to include in your resume, or if your education history is truly outstanding. 

Step #6: Make Sure to Include Your Skills

At this point, you can consider most of the work done! 

Now that you have reached the skills section, things get even easier. Make a bullet or numbered list of your hard and soft skills and you’re good to go. 

Hard skills are usually measured through experience levels - you can place your experience level (usually categorized into Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced or Expert ) into brackets, so you don’t take up too much space within the resume. 

Pro Tip #3 - Tailor the skills and qualifications on your resume to the job

Take a look at the essential skills required on the job ad and see if you can incorporate them into your list of skills. 

Step #7: Include Optional Resume Sections 

Congrats - you can finally stretch your legs and even allow yourself a little pat on the back. 

The additional sections are not mandatory in a resume, so if you’ve reached your resume space limit, you can just call it a day and save your resume. 

They are, however, a great way to show off additional assets such as languages, hobbies and interests, and even volunteering experience on your resume ! 

• Remember to also determine your language knowledge levels. Those are Native , Fluent , Proficient , Intermediate , and Basic.  

In the off chance that you still have some space left - considering resumes should be 1-2 pages at most and that Word templates are not as good at saving space as online resume builders - you can include the following optional sections: 

• Certifications and Awards
• Publications 

Follow the same practice as with the skills section, and you’re good to go!

How to Format Your Word Resume 

With all the essentials covered, let’s go over some formatting tips such as fonts, line spacing, and headings so that your Word resume looks as uniform and clean-cut as possible. 

Best Resume Fonts in Word 

We cannot repeat this enough - the resume font you use, matters. It matters just as much as first appearances matter and we all know they do, a lot. 

The font that you decide to use will impact your resume readability whether you like it or not, so you should use a font that will help you stand out, but not in a bad way. What’s a bad way? Comic Sans and other similarly-looking comic fonts. 

The usual Times New Roman, point-12, formula, on the other hand, will just blend you with the crowd. 

Instead, consider using one of the following recruiter-friendly fonts which will complement your resume both on-screen and in printed form, according to Business News Daily :  

• Book Antiqua
• Trebuchet MS

Optimal Line Spacing for a Word Resume  

The good thing about the Word resume template is that it usually has fonts and line spacing covered for you, yet it’s still good to know that the best line spacing for resumes is 1 or 1.15 between text and double lines after headings.

Feel free, however, to play around with line spacing when it comes to adjusting your resume layout.

Headings in a Word Resume

Again, Word templates do a good job of making the headings stand out. As a rule of thumb - and as is noticeable in the above examples - headings should be bigger than the rest of the text. So, if you’re using a 12 pt text, consider adjusting the headings between 14-16 pt. 

You can also underline or bold each resume section heading, or even use a different font, but as we always advise: don’t go overboard and try to maintain the style of the Word resume template that you have chosen.

And by now, you should have a complete resume in Word that looks like this:

Key Takeaways 

Well, here you have it - your nicely tailored resume in Word, ready to land you that job interview. 

Although not the easiest task, we are convinced this article has given you all the necessary information on how to make a resume in Word and the confidence to do so easily. 

Here’s what’s good to remember: 

• Order your resume sections properly, usually in reverse-chronological order. 
• Make sure that your section headings stand out from the rest of the text, by usually using a larger font size.
• Check if your chosen font, line spacing, and margins are aligned, readable, and professional-looking. 
• Opt for an online resume builder such as the one Novorésumé provides for a more modern, time-saving, and HR-friendly resume. 

To provide a safer experience, the best content and great communication, we use cookies. Learn how we use them for non-authenticated users.