Tab is not just a soft drink from the 1970s. It’s also a function in your word-processing software that you need to learn to use for consistent resume layout.
Why? Because you can’t guarantee that the font you use will be the same font used by those reading your resume, according to the blog post Resume Layout–Use Tabs, Not Spaces by Palladian International. Here’s Palladian’s visual representation of the issue:
- Below are eight examples of the same resume text. The first four examples are formatted using spaces and the second four are spaced with tabs.
- Even though the different fonts are significantly different sizes (even though the text size is 11pt for all of the choices), the text formatted with Tabs still lines up.
This is an excellent visual representation of what you don’t want to happen to your resume layout. The lesson here is to avoid the space bar as much as possible.
The post explains that most word-processing packages let users view how spacing is formatted by using the button with a backward “P” (the symbol for a paragraph). In that view, spaces are dots, and tabs are arrows.
Use the arrows.
If you didn’t know about this layout tip, you may also not know that most resume are read and scanned by computers and machines before a real human ever sets eyes on your hard work.
Palladian Job Search Webinars
If you’re interested in more advice from Palladian International’s recruiters, attend one of their free Webinars. Resume Writing basics, July 6 at 11 a.m. will cover what recruiters and hiring managers look for in a resume as well as resume length and structure. Upcoming webinars are Job Interviewing Basics, July 8 and Job Search Basics, July 10. Click here for more information from Palladian.
For More on writing your Resume:
- Are You Making These Four Resume Mistakes?
- Where Does Your Resume Go? How Job Listings Are Filled
- Prepare to be Quizzed: The Job Assessment
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