Pick a clean, professional template that puts your finance numbers front and center. Use a reverse-chronological layout so hiring managers see your recent, relevant finance roles first. That layout also parses well for applicant tracking systems.
Keep length to one page if you have under 10 years of relevant experience. Go to two pages only if your extra roles directly show finance impact, like led audits or managed budgets across divisions.
Choose ATS-friendly fonts such as Calibri, Arial, Georgia, or Garamond. Use 10-12pt for body and 14-16pt for headers. Keep line spacing at 1.0–1.15 and use clear margins to create white space.
Structure your sections with standard headings: Contact, Summary, Experience, Education, Skills, Certifications. List experience with company name, title, dates, and 3–6 bullet achievements per role. Start bullets with strong verbs and include numbers when you can.
Avoid fancy columns, images, or text boxes. Those elements often break parsing in ATS and distract human readers. Stick to simple bolding, italics, and a single color for headings if you want contrast.
Common mistakes include tiny fonts to fit more text, inconsistent date formats, and mixing too many resume styles. Also avoid vague statements like "responsible for"; focus on actions and results instead.
Proofread for alignment, spacing, and consistent punctuation. Use a PDF for submissions unless the job asks for plain text or a Word file.