I’m going to re design my CV at the weekend. What fonts are people using currently I have courier.

So anyone got a nice clear font not times and not helvetica/Ariel

I’m just using Tahoma at the minute. Easy to read and looks a bit less standard than the usual times/arial/calibri/verdana etc. Futura is nice if you’re printing rather than uploading or sending in emails as it’s a non standard font so not everyone will have it installed..

Arno

really not important – the person reading it will be looking at loads others….

much more important is content and layout in that order – get your core skills, relevant experience in each previous role (a decade’s worth most recent first) and keep it short, no more than 2 pages

just use arial

If you wanted traditional looking but nothing too out-of-the-ordinary, try Minion or Garamond?

keep it short, no more than 2 pages

I hear this a lot, and I don’t think it’s something you can apply to everyone.

If you’re going for a lower-skilled job, then two pages could be a target perhaps. If you’re going for a skilled job then it’s just not viable.

I work in IT and I’ve been both recruiter and recruitee in the past, I’ve seen a lot of CVs. With a higher-end or specialised IT role, listing your skillset can be two pages on its own. Hell, I’ve seen CVs where a candidate’s qualifications alone take up more than a page.

When people try to cram too much into too little space in order to meet this magic “two page” rule, using 8-point fonts and no white space, it ends up unreadable.

Every recruiter is different of course, but I’d take too much information over too little any day. Content and layout, as Edhornby says, is far more important.

Comic Sans.

I hear this a lot, and I don’t think it’s something you can apply to everyone.

+1

I’ve colleagues who have 15 page CVs which is standard if, for example, you’re applying for an academic position above senior lecturer.

Calibri – worked for me, finished my current job today and start the new one on Monday 🙂

The other approach, of course, is to tailor your CV for each job. If you’re going for a sysadmin role you can perhaps drop your web development skills off there for instance, and vice versa.

The upside to this is you’re a far better match to what they’re looking for; the downside is that it’s exponentially more work. A couple of mates of mine take a hybrid approach; they have a ‘master’ generic CV for agencies etc, and separate specialised CVs for whichever hat they’re wearing that day.

Granted IT might be a bit weird like this, but I expect it’s not the only industry with such disparate sets of roles.

How about Caslon for that classical feel?

-j

Some nice ones some a bit dated. I’m in the design industry at the mo (not graphics) my CV is 2 pages and has white space 😀

Helv/Arial.

Believe me, I’ve seen hundreds of CVs and anybody submitting one in a non-std font would immediately get my back up.

It’s the content that matters, not the style (or are you an Apple fanboi?)

I read a lot of CVs. I like Arial and Times Roman. And I can’t be bothered reading more than 2 pages – if you can’t summarise yourself in that, then being short and to the point probably ain’t one of your skills.

Always tailor the CV to the job – if you can’t be bothered with the recruitment process then I probably won’t bother with you.

Finally, I would agree that academics can be long winded.