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First impressions count, a lot. It may be superficial, but we humans form opinions of people and things almost instantly. The impression we form in those first few seconds can influence our opinion long after we have learned more information.

The dating app Tinder is based entirely on this aspect of human psychology. A quick glance at a profile picture and then swipe right on someone’s profile to indicate that you’d like to get to know more about them, or swipe left to pass and move onto the next person.

Reading resumes is similar. Studies have shown that recruiters spend just 6 seconds making a decision about a resume. That’s not enough time to read everything you’ve so carefully written, so a lot of it comes down to visual appeal.

Isn’t that a bit superficial?

You could say that it’s not fair and that we should all be judged on our skills and experience rather than on the design of our resume. But then again, you wouldn’t wear your comfy tracksuit pants to a job interview, would you?

There are a couple of reasons why nice design matters:

  • It will evoke a positive emotional response from the reader. As a result, they may give your resume 10 seconds instead of 6
  • Strong formatting allows you to guide the reader and ensure that they see what you want them to
  • Clear design, with plenty of white space, makes your resume easier to read
  • It shows that you put in a little more effort, which in turn suggests that you’re motivated and that you respect the reader

Don’t design your resume

The secret to a well-designed resume is not to try to do it yourself, unless design is a something that you enjoy and you’re good at.

Instead, use an attractive and professional resume template:

Take care to select a template that is appropriate for your field adapt it to your needs. You may want to reorganise or rename the sections, or edit the colours or fonts a little. Err on the side of caution and select a simple template rather than a flashy one.

Get some feedback

The best thing you can do to make sure that your resume makes a good first impression and survives a little longer than 6 seconds is to get some feedback from someone who knows what they’re talking about.

The Careers and Employability team are experts in resume writing and will have plenty of advice to help you get it right. Check out our website for details on how to find us.