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Formatting Your Résumé
This document is designed to help you format your resume in Microsoft Word, as well as formatting that can be used in other documents.
- Adjusting page margins
- While page margins can be set via file > page setup, it is also possible to adjust them using the rulers at the top and left side of the screen. Simply grab the edge of the grey area and drag it left or right, the grey area represents how large the border is.
- Adjusting paragraph margins
- The easiest way to adjust your paragraph margins is to use the ruler at the top and left side of the screen. You can hold down the “alt” key to see the exact amount of each margin. The small gray triangle can be moved to adjust different parts of the margin. Moving the top triangle will designate a first line indent. This is an indent that will only show up on the first line of the paragraph. Moving the bottom triangle will designate a hanging indent which will indent the entire paragraph. There is a triangle on the right side of the ruler that can be used to adjust the right paragraph margin. You can also click on the ruler to cause a small, black L shaped symbol to appear. This is your tab indent. It controls how long the space is when you press the “Tab” key.
- These options can also be accessed by going to Format > Paragraph.
- Using borders with paragraphs
- You can apply a border to a paragraph by highlighting the entire paragraph with your cursor, and then going to Format > Borders and Shading. From here you can select box, and then choose a border style. For a resume, you will want to use simple, non flashy borders. This can be very useful if you want to cause a part of your resume to stand out.
- Using tables to present information in a effective manner
- Tables are a powerful tool if you need to present rows of information in an orderly manner. Using a three column table to show your work experience is a good example. To achieve this, you would start by click Table > Insert > Table. At this dialogue you can select rows and columns. Pick the desired amount of columns (3 in this case) and set rows to one, since it will automatically add another row if you tab through your current one. Now that you have your table, you can adjust the row width by dragging the border left or right. It’s best not to have table borders on when using tables in a resume, so clicking Format > Borders and Shading and setting the border to “none” is the best approach. Now you can fill information into the table and keep it lined up. Enter the name of the position in the first column, and then perhaps the dates that you worked that job in the second column and then information about the job in the third column.
- While you have your curser inside of a cell, you can adjust the margins of that cell using the rulers at the top and left side of the screen the same way that you adjust page and paragraph margins outside of the table.
Page Updated
08.21.2006
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