A FONT OF WISDOM: The Experts Weigh in on the Right and Wrong Fonts for Your Resume

by Jared Solovay 
Director of Employer Relations
Administrative Director of the Honors Lawyering Program 
Law Career Services

Students occasionally ask me which fonts make a positive impression in a resume, and which do not.

My standard response is to invoke Justice Potter Stewart (“I know it when I see it”); when you have looked at enough resumes, you know what feels polished and professional, and what feels sloppy and informal.

I suspect that answer is too coy to be satisfying, so I was intrigued when I came across this analysis of the question.

The results from these “typography wonks” may surprise you.

This font is Times New Roman. It’s a popular choice among law students and lawyers, and as this video will show, it has its defenders, but according to one of the experts, it’s so unadventurous and reflects so little effort that it’s like “wearing sweatpants to an interview.”

This font is Courier, which is one of the fonts that trigger my Justice Stewart alarm bells when I see it. As one of the experts puts it, it too closely resembles a typewriter, suggesting a candidate who is out of date with technology. On the other hand, if you’re an aspiring screenwriter, apparently this is the font for you.

As one writer sarcastically noted about Comic Sans, “In certain situations, like a kindergarten teacher's resume, I might use it.” Or as one of our article’s experts put it, it should not be used “unless you are applying to clown college.”

This font is Helvetica, which our typography experts unanimously applauded, calling it “professional,” “business-y,” and “beautiful.” For those of you using Microsoft Word, the Arial font is described as a “Helvetica knockoff.” 

But as the last link also demonstrates, that famous quote that says you can’t please everyone all of the time also applies to fonts. The Helvetica font that achieved consensus among our “typography wonks” drives this writer mad: “As it spread over the graphic landscape like melted runny processed cheese, I suggested renaming it Velveetica. Its blandness and general horridness oozed out on all sides. It was neutral, but also tasteless and was taking over typography.”