Resume margins and line spacing are the layout decisions candidates spend the least time on and that recruiters react to fastest. Get them wrong and the page reads as cramped, sloppy, or amateurish before a single bullet has been judged. Get them right and the page does most of the work of looking professional on its own.

This post is the working numbers — not a design lecture, just the dimensions that show up consistently on resumes that read well.

Why layout matters more than candidates think

A resume gets scanned in roughly 6-8 seconds for the first impression, see 6-second-resume-scan. Almost all of that first impression is layout, not content. The recruiter's eye is judging:

• Does the page feel breathable or cramped?
• Are the sections visually distinct?
• Is the type legible at a glance?

These are pre-cognitive judgments — they happen before the recruiter consciously reads a word. A page that fails on layout gets a slightly lower opening read, and the bullets have to work harder to recover.

Conversely, a layout that looks composed buys you the recruiter's attention. You've signalled care and seriousness before they read your name.

Where most resumes break down

Where readability actually breaks down

Common layout mistakes (%)

Margins too narrow (< 0.5 in)Page feels cramped; bullets run edge-to-edge

42%

Line spacing too tight (< 1.05)Bullets blur into a wall of text

31%

Inconsistent spacing between sectionsSome sections breathe, others don't

18%

Body font too small (< 10pt)Reads as desperate, hurts ATS parsing

9%

The frequencies above match what most resume reviewers and ATS-parsing studies find. About 42% of resumes have margins narrower than 0.5 inches — usually because the candidate tried to fit more content on one page. The result is almost always counterproductive: the page reads as visually heavy, the recruiter's eye bounces, and the dense content gets read less, not more.

The fix is mechanical. Set margins to 0.6-0.85 inches on all four sides. If your content doesn't fit, edit the content, not the margins. A 1.5-page resume with breathing room outperforms a 1-page resume that crams.

The numbers that work

Layout numbers that work

Do vs. don't

Use these

• Margins: 0.6-0.85 inches on all four sides
• Body text: 10.5-11.5pt, never below 10pt
• Line spacing: 1.10-1.20 within a paragraph
• Section gaps: 12-16pt above each section heading
• Bullet indent: ~0.15 inches (matches body)

Avoid these

• 0.3-inch margins to cram more content
• 9pt or 9.5pt body text
• Single line spacing (1.0) without breathing room
• Inconsistent gap between roles
• Mixed bullet styles or hanging indents

The compare-list is the working filter. A few additional notes:

Margins. 0.75 inches is the safest default for US letter-size. 0.6 is acceptable for content-heavy senior resumes. Below 0.5, the page looks cramped. Above 1.0, the page looks empty. European A4 follows similar proportions — 1.5-2.0 cm on each side.

Body font. 10.5-11pt is the sweet spot for most resumes. 11pt is safer for older readers and dense content. 10pt should be used sparingly and only on resumes that genuinely have too much critical content to fit otherwise. Anything below 10pt starts to compromise ATS parsing on older systems.

Line spacing. 1.10-1.20 within paragraphs is the working range. 1.0 (single) reads as a wall; 1.5 reads as a school paper. Microsoft Word's "1.15" preset is fine; Google Docs' "1.15" preset is fine.

Section spacing. A consistent gap above each section heading — 12-16pt — makes the page scan-able. Inconsistent spacing (12pt above one section, 8pt above another) is the kind of detail recruiters don't notice consciously but reacts to.

Bullet indents. Bullets should hang at the same indent as the body text — about 0.15 inches. Deep nested indents waste horizontal space and read as fussy.

For broader format choices, see chronological-vs-functional-resume and resume-length-one-page-vs-two.

What eye-tracking actually finds

What recruiter eye-tracking actually finds

3 numbers

0%100%

▼

7.4s

Median time a recruiter spends on a resume during the initial scan. Layout decides how that time is spent.

0%100%

▼

0.75in

Sweet-spot margin for letter-size US resume. Wider feels empty; narrower feels cramped.

0%100%

▼

11pt

Default body-text size most ATS systems and human readers parse cleanly. Lower starts to compromise both.

The numbers in the stat grid are the consistent findings across resume eye-tracking research. The 7.4-second median scan time has held remarkably stable across studies from 2018 to 2024. The 0.75-inch margin is what tends to read as "balanced" in studies that vary margins and ask readers to rate first impressions. The 11pt default body text is what most ATS systems and human readers parse without strain.

The implication: layout is not a place to be creative. The defaults work because they're calibrated against years of how recruiters actually read pages.

Two pages or one — same layout rules

The same dimensions work for both lengths. A two-page resume is not an excuse for tighter margins or smaller type — it's an excuse for more breathing room, since you have an extra page to spread out across.

For one-page resumes, the temptation is to cram. Resist. If you genuinely cannot fit your content into one page at 11pt with 0.75-inch margins, you either need to cut content or go to two pages. Don't shrink your way into a page count.

For two-page resumes, page 2 should not look like an afterthought. Same margins, same fonts, same section spacing. Re-include your name and contact info at the top of page 2.

What to do about column layouts

Some templates use two-column layouts — sidebar on the left for contact info, skills, and education; main column on the right for experience. They look elegant. They often parse badly through ATS systems.

The honest tradeoff: if you're applying through pipelines that go through ATS parsing (most large companies), use single-column. If you're applying primarily through referrals, smaller companies, or direct outreach, two-column is fine.

For the ATS parsing concerns, see ats-friendly-resume-format-myths and how-applicant-tracking-systems-work.

A 15-minute layout audit

If you have an existing resume and want to fix the layout in one sitting:

1. Set all four margins to 0.75 inches. Don't argue with the number; just set it.
2. Set body text to 11pt. Use a single, well-rendered font (Inter, Calibri, Helvetica, Source Sans, Georgia — pick one and don't mix).
3. Set paragraph line spacing to 1.15. Use "Space after paragraph" of 4-6pt for bullet groups.
4. Set section heading spacing to 14pt above, 4pt below. Consistent across all sections.
5. Check page 1 and page 2 for visual consistency. Same margins, same font sizes, same gaps. Page 2 should look like page 1.

This is 15 minutes of work that materially changes how the page reads. Most candidates skip this entirely and lose the first impression before they've earned it.

A note on PDF vs. Word

Always submit as PDF unless the application explicitly requires Word. PDF preserves the exact layout you designed; Word renders differently on different machines and fonts can substitute. The PDF you upload is what the recruiter sees; the Word file you upload might be a different document by the time it's opened.

For the longer ATS-parsing version of this debate, see pdf-vs-word-resume-ats.

What this isn't

A few clarifications:

• It's not about creativity. Resumes are read fast. Layout creativity gets discounted; layout discipline gets noticed.
• It's not the same across industries. Design and creative roles tolerate more layout flair. Finance and legal expect strict conservatism. Default to the industry's tier.
• It's not a substitute for content. A perfect layout with weak bullets still loses. The layout's job is to not get in the way.

The short version: 0.75-inch margins, 11pt body text, 1.15 line spacing, consistent section gaps. Five mechanical changes, 15 minutes, and the page reads as composed before a word is read.