Formatting Tip for Your Resume

Here's a pro tip for your resumes, because this honestly drives me bananas when it's not done properly.

If you are lining up dates or locations or any other info along the right margin of the page, like this...

FormattingDates.jpg
 

then you MUST use a "right tab stop" in the ruler so that the information lines up precisely against that right margin. Otherwise the information tends to snake around a bit as you read down the page.

Another problem: If you just hit the space bar to move the content to the right, then all the spacing will be thrown off if you add or remove even one character in the same line. Tab stops avoid all that.

I prefer Word for anything that involves heavy editing or formatting (as do law firms — you can get a head start), so here are the instructions for tab stops in Word, but any good word processor should give you a ruler with tab stops.

Here’s a screenshot of a right tab stop inserted in the ruler:

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And here are the complete Word instructions in case you need them.

First, make sure your ruler is visible at the top of your document. There should be a little checkmark next to it in the View menu.

Then…

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That way, when you hit the tab bar, the cursor jumps to that right tab stop and you can start typing the information. Problem solved.

Once you have mastered tab stops, you're more proficient than 99% of law school applicants. And your resumes will be easier to edit and will look much, much better.