Font choice affects both ATS parseability and human readability. Using the wrong font can cause ATS to misread characters, while the right font ensures clean parsing and professional appearance.
Top ATS-safe fonts ranked by recommendation: 1. Calibri — the gold standard. It's the default font in Microsoft Word, renders cleanly across all systems, and is universally ATS-compatible. 2. Arial — clean, modern sans-serif that's been an ATS-safe choice for years. 3. Helvetica — professional and widely available, especially on Mac systems. 4. Georgia — excellent serif option for a more traditional/formal look. 5. Times New Roman — universally compatible but increasingly seen as dated. 6. Garamond — elegant serif alternative that's ATS-safe. 7. Cambria — modern serif font included with Microsoft Office.
Fonts to avoid: Any decorative or script fonts (Papyrus, Comic Sans, Brush Script), fonts requiring custom installation (custom brand fonts), very thin or very heavy weight fonts (they may lose legibility when parsed), and icon fonts (Font Awesome, etc.) used for icons.
Size recommendations: Body text should be 10-12pt — 10pt for one-page resumes where space is tight, 11pt as the ideal balance of readability and space efficiency, 12pt for maximum readability (if space allows). Section headings should be 12-14pt, 1-2 sizes larger than body text. Your name at the top should be 14-16pt. Never go below 10pt for any text — smaller fonts may not parse correctly and are hard for humans to read.
