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Resume margins and spacing
Standard resume margins are 1 inch on all sides; anything from 0.5 to 1 inch is acceptable. Narrower margins buy space, but the gain is smaller than most people think, and the page loses its frame.
Use: 1 in by default, 0.75 in if you need a little room, 0.5 in as the floor. Keep left and right equal, and top and bottom equal. Line spacing 1.0–1.15, with a little extra space between sections.
See what a margin change actually buys
63%
of the sheet is usable text area (6.50 × 9.00 in)
0%
more text than with 1-inch margins
Within the safe 0.5–1 in range.
The dashed line marks 0.25 in from the edge, roughly where many office printers stop printing.
Why narrow margins gain less than you expect
Going from 1-inch to 0.5-inch side margins widens each line by about 15%, but line breaks do not scale evenly: short lines (dates, titles, one-line bullets) do not get shorter. In practice a resume gains a few lines, not a sixth of a page. Top and bottom margins are more efficient: every quarter inch there is about 1.5 extra lines of 11 pt text.
Resume spacing
- Line spacing: 1.0 to 1.15 within paragraphs and bullets. Word's default 1.08 is fine.
- Between sections: 8–14 pt of space, or one blank line, before each heading.
- Between jobs: about half the section gap, so jobs group visually under their heading.
- Bullets: keep a hanging indent so wrapped lines align with the text, not the bullet.
Resume paper size: Letter or A4?
Use US Letter (8.5 × 11 in) for the United States, Canada, Mexico and the Philippines, and A4 (210 × 297 mm, 8.27 × 11.69 in) for most of the rest of the world. A4 is taller and narrower; a resume that fits on Letter usually fits A4 too, but check line breaks. The builder switches between both and re-measures instantly.
Questions
What are standard resume margins?
1 inch on all four sides is the standard. Between 0.5 and 1 inch is acceptable.
Are 0.5-inch margins okay on a resume?
Yes as a minimum, especially top and bottom. Below that, the page looks crowded and may clip when printed.
Should resume margins be the same on all sides?
Keep left and right equal and top and bottom equal. Top/bottom can be slightly smaller than sides without looking off.
What line spacing should a resume use?
Single spacing (1.0–1.15) within sections, with extra space before each section heading.