What is a new cool font people are using for resumes?

It’s really quite hard to go wrong with Arial or Times New Roman.

I have been using helvetica neue, resume’s look pretty sharp and I’ve landed two jobs with it, and it just got me another interview.

Verdana size 10 (no bigger because Verdana is a bigger font so using a 10 with this is like using a 12 with times or Arial.

Unless you’re trying to go for a graphic design job, it’s not the font of the resume that gets you the job.

I am of the “stick with one font” school of thought or you end up with what looks like a ransom note.

For headers (e.g. “Previous Employeers” Your Name, “Education”, “Experience” etc.) , I’d go for Georgia and the for the body font you could use either Helvetica Neue or plain ‘ol Helvetica.

Using different fonts for the headers and the body just gives for a nicer, more professional feel. It also helps to break up each section a bit more – which in turn makes it a bit easier to read and navigate.

For header font size, I’d say go with something either 18px or 20px – you should not need to go any bigger. For the body font size, stay around 11/12 px. 12 is the normal size, but sometimes people like their fonts a bit smaller. 12 is really perfect though.

Please don’t use Arial as it is pretty much just a less aesthetically pleasing version of Helvetica. I also wouldn’t use Verdana as it’s not really professionally looking (it was the font I was in love with when I was 14).

Good luck!

Forget about cool, and go for readability instead. You are after a job, right? Find a fresh, sans-serif font for the headers and go with a professional looking serif font for the body.

I agree with @dkranzberg. Personally, I like Arial for heads and Book Antiqua for the body, but if I were a young person I might have another preference. You can’t go wrong with classic. Prospective employers don’t want to read annoyingly jazzed up resumes. If you work too hard at the eyewash, you’ll be suspected of trying to distract them from the content.

I would go with plain old Book Antiqua or Times New Roman, as long as you’re applying for anything besides a job in the arts. Size 11 minimum.

If you want something exotic yet classy I’d recommend DIN. It’s been in use since 1936 on German road signs—where readability is critical. It’s sans serif and easy on the eyes. I’ve used it on my resume ever since I did my undergrad and it’s seemed to work quite well. It was recommended to me by a designer friend of mine. Heck it’s even used in the HUD on Half-Life 2, the opening titles of Dexter and in JetBlue’s logotype.

@chels I’d pick Cambria (if you have it) over Georgia, but that’s just my opinion. Both are good.

@dkranzberg Your premise is a little flawed. When mixing serif and sans-serif, typographers would generally use sans-serif for the body copy and serif for the titles. The reason for this is that another way to describe a serif font is as a decorated font, and for the same reason you might use a decorated ampersand and other flourishes in your headings and covers, this stuff traditionally belongs in headings. It’s obviously a matter of taste, but there is nothing more professional about using sans-serif for your headings and serif for your body copy. In fact, A List Apart, one of the most widely respected publications in the web design industry, always uses serif for headings and sans-serif for body copy.

@richardhenry You are simply wrong. I don’t think you know what the terms mean.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sans-serif

@dkranzberg That article actually falls on both sides of the fence several times:

In traditional printing serifed fonts are used for body text because they are considered easier to read than sans-serif fonts for this purpose.

That backs up your argument. But then the article goes on to say:

However, the belief isn’t supported by scientific study. Studies with child participants have found no difference in their ability to read either style of typeface. Sans-serif fonts are more often used in headlines, headings, and shorter pieces of text…

In addition it is the opinion of many modern font foundries that serif should be used for headings, and sans-serif should be used for body copy.

The font foundry Hoefler & Frere-Jones and many other widely respected industry figures have long supported this approach, as you can see from their website and work.

@dkranzberg (In conclusion, it’s a matter of taste. It depends which one you personally like more, and which one you think your employer would like more. Clearly if you were applying for a job at my company, I would find a resumé with sans-serif headings and serif body copy more visually appealing.)

@timtrueman I have always loved the DIN font—sheer, simple and elegant.

@richardhenry
“However, the belief isn’t supported by scientific study. Studies with child participants have found no difference in their ability to read either style of typeface. Sans-serif fonts are more often used in headlines, headings, and shorter pieces of text…”

Certainly you’ve noticed that children’s books are written with large fonts and large fonts are obviously easier to read without embellishments. This part of the article is quite silly. Scientific study. BTW: how many resume’s have you written with the mind of a child in mind?

We’re off target here, anyway. Let’s just let it go.

I think Gotham would qualify for a “cool, new” font I might use for a resume.

@phaedryx Gotham is a great font, Gotham Rounded is my favorite. ‘Tis expensive though.

yeah, I agree about the $$

@richardhenry – My understanding is that it is most common to use serif fonts for large blocks of text when the goal is a printed piece, but sans-serif fonts for large blocks of text when the intended publication is digital. So your references, like A List Apart (which is essentially a magazine about websites) using a sans-serif font is not surprising.

@dkranzberg – This is something that could easily change over time as younger people grow accustomed to reading so much content online. So the question of intended audience is a valid one. If the expectation can be held that the person reading the resume is a younger person, then sans-serif might be fine.

Personally, I would still lean to the side of targeting my resume to an older audience and go with a serif font for the majority of the resume. I think mine is entirely in Times New Roman right now with size and style differentiation to create distinct elements.

Ultimately, just be consistent and simple with font selection for a resume because the focus needs to be on the content and you don’t want to create any distractions that would cause someone to put the resume down before reading it.

@timtrueman thanks for the tip on DIN. It came at just the right time for a book I am working on!

Oh, that Gotham font is nice. I use Franklin Gothic and/or Calibri myself.

Minion Pro is also one that’s a little “different” (ie. not your standard Arial, Times New Roman, Helvetica) but also simple and professional.