3 Ways to Improve Your Resume Format to Grab Employers' Attention

Are you applying for positions but not getting a response? Your job resume may be to blame.

Employers, recruiters and hiring managers look at a lot of job resumes, and many will decide within 5 to 8 seconds whether to put your resume in the keep file or the reject file. They know what they are looking for—but will they find it? Clarity in your resume's layout and organization helps you get your point across. Writing a professional resume is essential, but so is creating one that people want to read.

Even if you already have some good resume writing skills, those action-packed sentences will likely blur before your audience's eyes if you don't consider your visual presentation.

Here are three simple resume format strategies to get past the five-second glance:

Add Color

Black font is more than a classic—in business writing, it's often a boring given. Color accents or even subtle coloring on your resume will catch the eyes of your audience. Depending on the size of the company and who is doing the first review of resumes, the person looking at your resume could be looking at hundreds of resumes each day.

Try picking one or two professional tones, then change the font color for your name, headings or other key pieces of information.

Bullet Point Well

No, that's not actually a verb. But if you want to convey your transferable job skills and credentials within 5 to 8 seconds, treat those dots with the respect they deserve. You may want to tweak your job resume to match each job description or to make a new resume for each type of position you're applying for.

When possible, begin each bullet-point sentence with action verbs: improved, developed, organized, planned, coordinated, implemented, etc.

Use Blank Space

Give resume-readers' eyes a break by using blank space. Blank space not only helps break up content, but it can also help highlight the most important points—the things that you do not want to be skimmed over. And while it is important to keep your resume's length between 1 to 2 pages, depending on your work experience, it's also true that your resume needs to be highly readable.

If you're not sure that you've arranged your text and spaces well, ask a career services professional or an acquaintance with artistic or graphic design experience if they like your resume's layout.

Noticeable spaces between paragraphs and bullet-point lists make it easier for hiring managers and recruiters to find the important takeaways.

When your job resume is ready, start applying with confidence!

If you feel sure that your resume is an accurate representation of you and that it's easy to read, you're in good shape. However, if you need a simple resume format to get you started, try one of these free resume templates from novoresume.com.

Are you looking for a job right now? Check out our Job Board. We work with a variety of businesses, and we post new job openings weekly.