You better believe it; there is nothing more valuable than an effective resume than in an employment application process. A resume is read by an employer for the first time when he/she is shortlisting someone for the particular position that they are offering. Since so much depends on what is written into this document, it comes as no shock that a large number of applicants are interested in new strategies and new trends that will distinguish them from others. However, one of the tasks that often comes to question is the appropriate use of italics in a resume. This article discusses the effects of using italics appropriately in creating a resume and which part and, to some extent, whether it serves as a boon or bane to the resume applicant.
History and Development of Italics in Writing
However, let’s first explore what italics are and where they originated from before looking at their application in resume writing. Italics background began in the period called the Renaissance, as humanists in their studies tried to differentiate the Greek and Latin text. The letters of the text were slanted, allowing the printers to distinguish the two languages and picture the text.
In time, italics have become one of the basic types of typography, which can be applied to emphasize, cite, and even for other stylistic purposes. However, the functional use of italics is for artistic and aesthetic purposes, they have been laid out by artists like Leonardo da Vinci and Albrecht Dürer.
On the Typographical Choices of italics in the Professional Journals
For example, italics are used to indicate a book title or foreign word or emphasize the statement. However, their use is mainly limited as overuse of italics can be disruptive and rough.
Still, when it comes to resume writing, its usage is even less, as the following examples will indicate. Curriculums vitae, on the other hand, are usually short documents that cover the basic aspects of the applicant in employment. That’s why we should only ever italicize if it is called for, and it should only be done rarely, as it is something unprofessional.
Benefits of Using Italics in a Resume
Most career experts agree that italics should be used sparingly in resumes; however, there are exceptions where italics might be appropriate.
Emphasis on Key Achievements
An advantage of writing italics in a resume is that it allows one to highlight certain accomplishments or qualification. Adding italics to such elements can effectively make an applicant focus the employer’s attention on the most relevant parts of the application and emphasize his or her strong suits.
For instance, an applicant would apply italics to the name of awards attained as well as the percentage changes concerning a project. This way they can enable the employer to find the relevant information, in the shortest timeframe, and in the most presentable manner.
Making Texts Stand Out
The other possible benefit of employing italics in a resume is that one can guarantee that certain parts of the text will be underlined. To draw an example, the use of italics might be used to classify the resume of an applicant from “work experience” to “education” to “skills.”
This way, the applicant underlines two parts of the document using italics and the employer will be easily able to find the information he is interested in. When the resume is long and lots of information, it can be very useful if you condensed it down to what an employer especially needs to know.
How to stress your most important certifications and courses.
A third possible benefit resulting from the adoption of italics in a resume is that it allows for distinction of certifications and courses taken. In the case of job application, the noun of the course or certificate, as well as the institution’s name in italics connected with the job for which the candidate applies, can be used to highlight their work experience and work in the education field. It can be of particular use to those who may well have little work experience or a short list of accomplishments.
Limitation of Using Italics in a Resume
Despite the circular structures and programming having some benefits of using italics in a resume, there are also some negatives that might be useful in determining whether it is suitable to be used or not.
Limited Readability
There is also one of the biggest drawbacks of using italics in a resume: with their help, the readability of the text significantly decreases. Italics can be considerably less legible than normal text, especially in cases where italics have been used over large areas or at low levels of reference.
This can be especially wrong with resumes as the employer may get impatient or bored with attempting to read through the document. Besides, writing in italics on the resume implies that the document is not well polished, thereby affecting the applicant’s prospect of employment.
Overuse and Clutter
There is an additional drawback to using italics in a resume: over-enthused typesetters padding their items with too much character difference. As mentioned before, italics should not be used often in business writing since they may create distraction and look unprofessional.
Too often or in the wrong places, an applicant might be tempted to put the text in italics, and this also makes the resume look messy and untidy. In such situations, the conversion of selected words to italics is counterproductive and may be deemed as detrimental to the applicants’ employment prospects.
Difficulty in Consistency
Third possible downside using italics in resume is typing consistency issue All together, this cluster of prospects has great potential and keeping the consistency of italics requires careful attention that may frustrate some people. Just like with other formatting methods, you want to make sure that how italics are used is consistent for a clean look, assuming, of course, that the general use of italics will remain the same.
Nevertheless, achieving consistency using italics is somewhat problematic because different software tools and the choices available may differ somewhat. This is the irregular format of the resume, and the resume seems clumsy and unprofessional.
Not all employers or industries like using italics
It is also important to note that the latter may not be acceptable for some employers/industries. It is also worth acknowledging that some employers might think that italics are not very formal or stylish while others might like just plain and simple and do not like such formatting style.
Thus, applicants are advised to get acquainted with the habits and requirements of the certain industry and the definite employer. If, for some reason, italics are not often employed or are not well-understood in the industry, then it might be unadvisable to use them.
As a whole, here’s what one shall see: some benefits that can be had with italics in this sort of document, but there are also some things that should be taken into account in advance. Making something appear in italic will work well to make some of the accomplishments conspicuous and also make some parts of the resume stand out, but it implies the following: The use of italics can have a positive impact as it can be useful to highlight key accomplishment statements and make selected sections of resume exempted but:
While italics on a resume may not be frowned upon in general, you may not want to use italics all the time since it will be disadvantageous, especially for applicants who are also after the favour of the employer or industry that he or she is interested in.
Nonetheless, italics may only be used in a resume depending on the advantages and disadvantages of doing so at the time of resume preparation.
John Smith
Introducing John Smith: Your Expert Resume Writer, Cover Letter Specialist, and Career Coach. Meet John Smith, your dedicated partner in crafting the perfect resume, compelling cover letter, and charting your career path to success. With a passion for helping individuals reach their professional aspirations, John brings a wealth of expertise to the table as a resume writer, cover letter specialist, and career coach.
