Is Arial Narrow Good for a Resume? Sizes, Spacing & ATS Tips
Last reviewed by the ArialNarrow.com editorial team
Short answer
Yes, if you use it with care. Arial Narrow is clean, easy for ATS software to read, and fits about 20% more text per line. Set body text at 10.5–11 pt with generous line spacing, and send a PDF so the font survives on the recruiter's screen.
Settings that work
| Your name | Arial Narrow Bold, 16–18 pt |
|---|---|
| Section headings | Arial Narrow Bold, 12 pt, all caps, +0.5 pt spacing |
| Job titles | Arial Narrow Bold, 11 pt |
| Body and bullets | Arial Narrow, 10.5–11 pt |
| Line spacing | 1.1–1.15 |
| Margins | 0.6–0.75 inch (1.5–2 cm) |
| Dates and locations | Arial Narrow Italic, 10 pt, right-aligned |
When Arial Narrow helps
- You have ten or more years of experience and a single page keeps overflowing by a few lines.
- Your job titles or company names are long and keep wrapping onto a second line.
- You use a two-column layout and the sidebar is too tight for regular Arial.
When to pick something else
- Your resume already fits comfortably. Regular Arial or Calibri will read more easily.
- You apply through Google Docs. Use Archivo Narrow instead, as explained in our Google Docs guide.
- You work in a design field. A more distinctive typeface shows off your taste better.
A quick before-you-send checklist
- Print it once. Text that looks fine on screen can feel cramped on paper.
- Check bold text. If it looks smudgy, the bold file is missing, and our Arial Narrow Bold guide shows how to fix it.
- Export to PDF and open the PDF on your phone to check it reads well at a small size.
- Copy all the text from the PDF and paste it into a plain text editor. If it pastes cleanly, an ATS can read it too.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Arial Narrow ATS-friendly?
Yes. Applicant tracking systems read the text inside your file, not the shape of the letters, and Arial Narrow is a plain, standard font. Problems come from tables, text boxes, headers and images, not from the font. Keep the layout simple and save as .docx or a text-based PDF.
What size should Arial Narrow be on a resume?
Use 11 pt for body text and do not go below 10.5 pt. Because Arial Narrow is condensed, it can look smaller than other fonts at the same size, so it needs that extra half point. Use 14–18 pt Bold for your name and 12 pt Bold for section headings.
Do recruiters dislike Arial Narrow?
Most will never notice it. A few career coaches warn that condensed fonts look crammed, and they have a point if you use Narrow just to squeeze in more words. Use it to buy breathing room, not to fill every gap.
What if the recruiter does not have Arial Narrow?
A Word file will switch to another, usually wider, font, and your one-page resume might spill onto two. Always send a PDF unless the job post asks for .docx.