Resume Formatting Tips Checklist

This resource is part of the PhD Resume Book and Master’s Resume Book.

General Formatting

  • A resume should be 1 page for most positions.
  • Use .5 inch margins.
  • Use a readable font and size. We encourage you to use sans serif fonts like Calibri and Arial, for reasons of accessibility.
  • Standardize your use of capitalization, bolding, underlining, italics, alignment, and other design decisions.
  • Begin with a blank page: do not use a template, as applicant tracking software (ATS) can have a difficult time accurately parsing information from resumes built in templates due to tables, text boxes, and other design elements. (In almost all job application processes, ATS reads your resume and filters submissions before they are read by humans.)
  • Align dates to the right margin. Generally speaking, don’t include months of employment, only years—it looks cleaner that way. If your term of employment was less than 1 year, then include months.
  • Use numerals (e.g. 2) instead of writing out the number (e.g. two)—employers take an average of 7 seconds to read a resume,1 and numerals jump out at the hiring manager.
  • Include section headers (Education, Experience, Skills, etc.). Instead of using the generic header “Experience” or “Professional Experience,” tailor your header to the job in question. For instance, if you’re applying to an engineering position, try using the header “Engineering Experience.”
  • Tailor your resume for each application you submit. Use wording from the job posting in your bullet points and include experiences that are most relevant to the job in question.

Page Heading

  • Make your name larger than the rest of the words on the resume.
  • Include a line below your name in a smaller font than your name, but bigger than the rest of the resume, that lists your phone number and email (pick an email that you check frequently). Depending on your field, other information such as your GitHub (clean & annotate it first!) may also go on this line. You are welcome to include your LinkedIn if it is professional and up-to-date.

Education

  • When you list our university, list it as “University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).” Every time you refer to the institution after the initial instance, simply refer to it as “UCLA.”
  • If you are in the middle of your program provide your expected graduation date (i.e. Expected June 2025).
  • Only include your capstone or thesis title under your current program if the title is extremely relevant to the position you are applying for. Including the title is more appropriate for a CV than a resume. Do not include your committee members.

Experience

  • Use only relevant experiences. Do not list every position you’ve ever held: be strategic and pick experiences that demonstrate relevant information for the job in question.
  • Start each bullet point with an action verb, show the results of your work, and quantify it when possible.
  • You can include your laboratory, thesis, or capstone research as experience. Simply list the position title as “Graduate Researcher,” the employer as your UCLA department, and describe your work and skills gained in bullet points. Avoid using academic language and focus on using terms the employer will appreciate.
  • Experience can include unpaid labor, such as leading student organizations or planning conferences.

Skills

  • Format language skills with the language capitalized and the proficiency level in parentheses, e.g., Languages: Spanish (fluent), Japanese (native), Portuguese (reading). Levels are: fluent, reading, writing, conversational, basic. Do not include English in this section.
  • If you are unsure whether or not to include a skill because you haven’t used it in a while, or you’re not confident in yourself, please include it! You’re probably more proficient than you think, and you can pick things up quickly if necessary

What NOT to Include

  • Your complete physical/street address.
  • A section for research interests
  • Hobbies, likes, dislikes, and irrelevant achievements