Best Fonts and Layout for an ATS-Friendly Resume
Design That Works for You, Not Against You
A beautiful resume is useless if the recruiter's automated system cannot read it. At the same time, an ATS-compatible resume should not look like a soulless plain-text file. The challenge is finding the right balance between aesthetics and technical readability.
ATS software (Applicant Tracking Systems) analyzes your document's structure before extracting its content. Fonts, sizes, margins, and heading hierarchy all affect parsing. To understand how ATS systems work overall, start with our complete guide.
Recommended Fonts for an ATS Resume
The Safe Choices
Not all fonts perform equally when an ATS parses your resume. Here are those that combine technical compatibility with human readability:
| Font | Type | Strengths | ATS Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calibri | Sans-serif | Default Word font since 2007, excellent screen readability | Excellent |
| Arial | Sans-serif | Universal, available on every system | Excellent |
| Helvetica | Sans-serif | Elegant, highly legible, standard on Mac | Very good |
| Garamond | Serif | Classic, space-saving due to narrow characters | Very good |
| Times New Roman | Serif | Formal, universally compatible | Excellent |
| Georgia | Serif | Designed for screens, strong readability | Very good |
| Cambria | Serif | Modern, pairs well with Calibri | Very good |
Fonts to Avoid
Certain fonts, even popular ones, cause technical or readability problems:
- Decorative fonts (Comic Sans, Papyrus, Impact): hard to read and unprofessional.
- Script fonts (Brush Script, Pacifico): ATS systems struggle to parse them.
- Ultra-thin fonts (Thin, UltraLight): some ATS systems fail to detect them at small sizes.
- Non-standard fonts downloaded from the internet: if the font is not embedded in the PDF, the reading system will substitute a default font, which can break your layout.
How Many Fonts Should You Use?
The golden rule: one to two fonts maximum. For example:
- Option 1: Calibri for the entire document (bold for headings, regular for body).
- Option 2: Arial for headings, Garamond for body text.
More than two fonts create a cluttered look and needlessly complicate parsing.
The Ideal Font Size
Body Text
The standard size for body text falls between 10 and 12 points. Here are the nuances:
- 12 pt: Comfortable to read, recommended if you have the space.
- 11 pt: Good compromise between readability and space savings.
- 10 pt: Acceptable, but this is the minimum. Below this, some ATS systems struggle with parsing, and on-screen reading becomes strained.
Section Headings
Section headings (Experience, Education, Skills) should be between 12 and 16 points. They need to stand out clearly from the body text through larger size, bold weight, or both.
Your Name
Your name at the top of the resume can be 16 to 22 points. It is the only element that justifies a noticeably larger size than the rest.
Target Job Title
The job title (just below your name) ideally falls between 12 and 14 points. Mirror the exact title from the posting to maximize your compatibility score.
Margins and Spacing
Margins
| Area | Recommended | Minimum | Maximum |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | 0.75 in | 0.5 in | 1 in |
| Bottom | 0.75 in | 0.5 in | 1 in |
| Left | 0.75 in | 0.5 in | 1 in |
| Right | 0.75 in | 0.5 in | 1 in |
Why not go below 0.5 inches? Some ATS systems truncate content too close to the page edge. Additionally, printers often cut margins below 0.4 inches.
Line Spacing
- 1.0 to 1.15: Optimal for a resume. Enough white space for readability, compact enough to avoid wasting space.
- 1.5: Too generous for a resume. Save this spacing for cover letters.
- Below 1.0: Text becomes too tight, hard to read, and prone to parsing errors.
Spacing Between Sections
Allow 6 to 12 points of space before each new section heading. This space guides the reader's eye and helps the ATS identify the logical blocks of the document.
Heading Structure
Recommended Hierarchy
ATS systems rely on heading hierarchy to understand your resume's structure:
- Level 1: Your name (largest, at the top)
- Level 2: Main sections (Experience, Education, Skills)
- Level 3: Sub-elements (each job title, each degree)
For this hierarchy to be parsed correctly:
- Use native heading styles in Word (Heading 1, Heading 2) rather than simply making text bold and large.
- In PDF, ensure your export tool preserves structure tags.
Section Order
The optimal section order for an ATS resume is covered in detail in our article on ATS-compatible format. In summary: contact information, title, summary, skills, experience, education, certifications, languages.
Formatting That Works
Bold
Bold is your best ally for a readable resume:
- Bold your section headings.
- Bold your job titles and company names.
- Bold key skills in your professional summary.
- Do not overuse it: if everything is bold, nothing stands out.
Bullet Points
Bulleted lists structure your experience and make scanning easier:
- Use simple bullets (filled circles, hyphens).
- Avoid custom graphic bullets (stars, checkmarks, icons).
- Start each bullet with an action verb followed by a quantified result.
Colors
ATS systems ignore colors, so they cause no technical issue. But keep these points in mind:
- High contrast: Dark text on a light background (black on white remains the safest choice).
- Accent color: A single color for headings or horizontal rules (navy blue, dark gray, deep green).
- Never light text on dark background: Some ATS systems and printers handle this poorly.
Layout Elements to Avoid
Certain layout choices, even common ones, are problematic for ATS systems:
- Multiple columns: ATS reads text left to right, line by line. Two columns can mix your skills with your experience dates.
- Floating text boxes: Their content is often ignored or placed in the wrong location.
- Headers and footers: Invisible to most ATS systems. Never place your contact details here.
- Complex tables: Tables with merged or nested cells confuse the parser.
- Images and icons: ATS systems do not "see" images. A phone or envelope icon is not parsed.
For the complete list of layout mistakes, read the errors that get your resume rejected.
Practical Examples
The Developer with 15 Technologies to List
Instead of creating a three-column table, list your technologies inline, separated by commas or pipes:
Languages: Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Go, SQL
Frameworks: React, Node.js, Django, FastAPI
Cloud: AWS (EC2, S3, Lambda), GCP, Docker, Kubernetes
The Sales Professional with 10 Years of Experience
Limit yourself to 3-4 bullet points per role for recent experience (last 5 years). Summarize earlier roles in a single line. Use 11 pt for body text to fit everything on two pages without compressing margins.
The Recent Graduate with Limited Experience
Use 12 pt for body text and 1-inch margins. Expand on academic projects, internships, and skills. A clean, well-spaced one-page resume is better than a compressed, unreadable one.
FAQ
Can I use Google Fonts in a resume? Yes, as long as you embed them in the PDF during export. If the font is not embedded, the reader will substitute a default font and your layout will break. To be safe, stick with the system fonts listed above.
Are online resume templates ATS-compatible? It depends on the template. Templates with columns, text boxes, and icons are generally incompatible. Choose a simple, single-column template with native heading styles.
Should I include my full address? No. City and zip code are enough. A full address is a privacy risk and serves no purpose for the recruiter at this stage.
Take Action
A polished, ATS-compatible layout is the foundation of an effective resume. FitMyCV generates resumes with a format optimized for ATS systems, following all the typography and layout rules described here. All you need to do is focus on the content.