ask the expert
By Amy Rossi
In this month’s Ask the Expert, we are going to tackle the subject of “Not so helpful tips.” As a career coach and trainer, I often run across outlandish articles and receive absurd questions about supposedly helpful tips given to hopeful job seekers. These tips can range from silly information to downright simplistic suggestions like one I recently received about resume fonts.
The Advice: Although I am currently employed, I subscribe to a few email lists that offer daily tips to job seekers. As a part of the employment industry, I like to keep an eye on the information that is out there so that I know what my clients may be reading.
Sometimes these emails provide interesting information—or at least information that does not harm, and can do some good. This resume font email, however, was not of that variety.
The unidentified job guru began the email by enticing that this change would take no time at all—under a minute, believe it or not. After a cursory statement that stressed the importance of a resume in general (to which I say, “Yes, your resume is
important. Don’t neglect your resume!”), this tip quickly got down to business.
And the business at hand was … Times New Roman font.
The email job guru explains that Times New Roman is not “the best,” as we’ve all assumed. No, no, no, Times New Roman is generic, boring, and worst of all, implies to an employer that you are not interested in the position because you couldn’t even summon the energy to change your default font to something with more panache (Poor TNR, it did the best it could).
Our guru then cites “researchers” who believe that TNR "telegraphs that you didn't put any thought into the typeface that you selected.” To be clear,
after further research here at The MSEJ, we’ve found that the original quote comes from a Mental Floss article; while the quoted individual is an expert in that he’s a Creative Designer, he did not in fact do research to prove that hiring managers view TNR in this light. The author then advises that we try a “modern” font, like Helvetica,
Now, to be clear, I wouldn't recommend this font.
Not built in a day.