Choosing the best resume fonts in 2018 means balancing professionalism with readability across both screen and paper. The right font pairing helps hiring managers scan key details quickly while signaling attention to detail.
This guide highlights practical options, common pitfalls, and layout considerations tailored to 2018 hiring workflows and applicant tracking systems.
| Font Family | Best For | On Screen Readability | Print Clarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lato | Modern, neutral tech roles | Excellent | Very Good |
| Roboto | Digital, design, and engineering | Excellent | Good |
| Open Sans | Corporate, cross-industry | Excellent | Excellent |
| Calibri | General office compatibility | Good | Excellent |
| Georgia | Traditional industries, conservative fields | Good | Excellent |
Optimal Font Pairing For Resumes
Font pairing matters because it defines the first visual impression of your professionalism. In 2018, pairing a clean sans serif for headings with a highly readable body font improved scan speed and reduced misrendering in older ATS platforms.
Use tools like Google Fonts or system equivalents to test combinations before exporting your final PDF. Aim for harmony rather than contrast, ensuring both fonts share similar x-heights and stroke rhythms.
Sans Serif Fonts For Digital Readability
Sans serif faces dominated best resume fonts 2018 choices due to their clarity on screens and compatibility with online application portals. They typically rendered consistently across Windows, macOS, and applicant tracking software.
Designers favored Roboto and Lato for their modern character shapes and sturdy numerals, which kept data such as dates and phone numbers precise at small sizes.
Serif And Hybrid Options For Traditional Sectors
Candidates in law, finance, and government sometimes preferred subtle serif accents to convey formality. Georgia and carefully paired serif headlines with sans body text helped bridge tradition and readability.
The key was avoiding decorative serifs in body text, which could confuse ATS parsers and slow down manual reviewers who needed fast access to your core achievements.
Formatting And Compatibility Considerations
Beyond the typeface itself, formatting choices such as line spacing, margin width, and file export method determined whether your resume stayed visually consistent across devices.
In 2018, PDF exports with embedded fonts and simplified layouts minimized the risk of character substitution, while still allowing limited stylization like bold and italics for emphasis.
Industry Specific Recommendations
Different sectors responded to distinct visual languages, so adjusting your font strategy by industry increased the perceived fit between candidate and role.
Technology and startups leaned toward geometric sans options, while education and public service often respected conservative serif styling that aligned with institutional branding.
Key Implementation Takeaways For 2018 Resumes
- Prioritize readability on both screen and paper by testing your font at actual resume size.
- Limit your document to two fonts, one for headings and one for body text, to maintain visual coherence.
- Choose simple, neutral characters without extreme stroke contrast to avoid rendering issues in older ATS.
- Export as PDF with embedded fonts to preserve spacing, glyphs, and overall layout across devices.
- Align font choices with industry expectations, favoring conservative options in traditional sectors and cleaner styles in tech.
FAQ
Reader questions
Will using a non standard font hurt my chances with applicant tracking systems in 2018?
Stick to system safe or web safe fonts for body text, and avoid script or decorative faces, since many ATS in 2018 struggled to interpret unusual letterforms.
Is it acceptable to use two different fonts on a single page in 2018?
Yes, if you maintain a clear hierarchy, limit contrast, and test rendering, combining one heading font with one body font improved readability without confusing parsing engines.
How do I ensure my resume fonts display correctly when emailed or uploaded in 2018 terms?
Embed fonts during PDF export, keep line spacing and margins generous, and avoid text boxes or tables that break parsing, which preserved your intended typography across platforms.
What font sizes and styles worked best for mobile screen viewing in 2018 hiring workflows?
Use a minimum 10 to 11 point size for body text, reserve 14 to 18 points for names and headings, and rely on bold rather than italics or all caps for emphasis on small screens.