Acceptable Color For Resume [8 Color Choices]

Resumes

Jan 31

One of the most common questions I get each year is, should my resume have color on it? And if so, what color? Well, if you’re wondering that same thing, you’re in the right place.

Most of the color advice out there is written by resume template companies trying to sell you on color and buy their fancy colorful templates. I’m not going to do that. I do have some free resume templates you can have if you want them, but today I’m going to shoot you straight on what I think about color and when to use it on a resume.

Should a Resume Have Color

Here’s the truth. The vast majority of people I’ve hired (outside of creative roles) have black-and-white resumes. That’s right, old school, plain black text on a white background. But…

Color can help your resume be more readable when done well. Now don’t mistake me, your content, the words you write, are the most important part of any resume. But if you’ve already checked off the good content box and you want to take it to the next level, adding some color could be an acceptable option.

But not because it looks pretty. With the exception of creative roles, no one is hiring you because your resume looks pretty.

If you choose to use color, use it because it helps make the resume more readable and use it to invoke subtle emotions. Yes, there’s a whole field of study about color theory, which I’ll talk about later.

Why Color Choice Matters

If you use color, I think choice matters. Sadly, I think most people pick a color because they think it looks pretty, usually on one of those fancy resume builder templates. Lucky for you, in this article, I’ll explain what colors to use for different situations in a moment.

But first, here’s why color matters:

Color Can Make Resumes Easier to Read

Color Can Help Others Find Important Details and Sections

Color Can Show Personality

Color Can Reflect Industry Standards

Color Can subconsciously Evoke Emotions and Ideas

Resume Color Theory

There is an entire study of how colors work together, including mix, contrast, and how they affect our perception. Anyone in a design role probably knows this, but for the rest of us (I didn’t realize this until I was nearly 40), let’s cover some basic colors and their perceptions.

Also, Canva has a really great (free) color exploration tool you can use for this too. It will give you hex codes for different colors and tell you about their meanings.

Red

Red symbolizes action, energy, and passion. Red probably draws more attention than any other color.

Orange

Orange symbolizes emotion, youth, optimism, and enthusiasm. If you’re writing a resume for a role that requires you to uplift, encourage, and stimulate others, this could be a good color choice.

Yellow

Yellow symbolizes happiness, optimism, positivity, and intelligence.

Green

Green symbolizes harmony, safety, growth, and health. Green is a good choice to evoke feelings of growth and stability.

Turquoise

Turquoise symbolizes compassion, calmness, clarity, and communication.

Blue

Blue symbolizes security, trust, loyalty, and responsibility. This color evokes feelings of trust and dependability.

Purple

Purple symbolizes mystery, royalty, imagination, and spirituality.

Pink

Pink symbolizes compassion, love, femininity, and playfulness.

Brown

Brown symbolizes reliability, stability, honesty, and comfort.

Black

Black is a classic choice, symbolizing protection, power, and sophistication. I don’t care what job you’re applying for, black is the traditional color of excellence.

Gray

Gray symbolizes compromise, neutrality, control, and practicality. A dark gray is a good accent color if you want to play it more conservatively and professionally.

Current Resume Color Trends

I’ve seen a lot of resumes over the years. Here are some color trends I’ve noticed by job and industry.

Sales

The most common color I see on sales resumes is a shade of red. My personal favorite is Chili Pepper which has a hex code of #E32227. It looks like this.

Marketing

Red is also the most common color I see on marketing resumes. Another good choice is Crimson which has a hex code of #DC143C. It looks like this.

IT

I see a lot of blue in IT resumes. My guess is because so many tech companies use it it’s a natural fit for someone who works in technology. As the saying goes, blue is always true. One of my favorite colors for these resumes is Blue Grotto with a hex code of #0476D0. It looks like this.

Customer Service

I frequently see both blue and orange in customer service resumes. A good accent color for customer service resumes is Tangerine with a hex code of #F28500. It looks like this.

Event Planning

I also see a lot of orange in event planning resumes as well as warm colors like Burnt Sienna with a hex code of #E97451. It looks like this.

Graphic Design

I can’t say there is one color I see more often in graphic design resumes. But one color I do like and have seen on these resumes is Teal or a similar color like Mint Blue with a hex code of #429E9D. It looks like this.

Writing

Writers often use a shade of yellow for accents in their resume. I guess it’s because we want to look smart! One color in this family that I like is Freesia with a hex code of #F6C324. It looks like this.

Teaching

I often see shades of yellow, blue, or turquoise in teaching resumes. A good color choice for these resumes might be Tiffany Blue with a hex code of #0ABAB5. It looks like this.

Project Management

I frequently see blue in project management resumes; however, I also have seen colors similar to Cinnamon with a hex code of #D2691E. It looks like this.

Accounting

I see some green in accounting resumes, but blue is probably the most common color. One color I find professional and subtle for accounting resumes is Cornflower with a hex code of #9ACEEB. It looks like this.

Energy

I see a lot of green on energy resumes. One color I think looks good on a resume is Forest Green with a hex code of #228B22. It looks like this.

How to Choose The Right Color

First, don’t overthink this. As long as you avoid bright, neon, fluorescent colors, you’re probably not going to do too much damage to your prospects. Even then, if your qualifications are good, I’d like to think most people would look past your awful color choices. Here are some ideas to think about when choosing a color for your resume.

Stick With Industry Norms

You’re going to quickly find that when you look up companies in a particular industry, there’s usually a pattern of common colors they use in their logos and brands. Use those same colors.

Companies spend a lot of money, and I mean A LOT with a capital A, to figure out their brand colors. If they think those colors represent what they stand for, then it’s probably a safe choice to use them in your resume too.

This is probably the safest and surest way to pick a color for your resume.

Use Color Psychology

Earlier, I listed out what several colors represent and the emotions they tend to evoke. Use that to determine what you want your brand to stand for and what makes the most sense for you. Who do you want to be known as?

Best Colors for Resumes

Here is a list of my favorite color choices for resumes.

Colors to Avoid

There are some colors I think you should avoid when writing a resume. These colors can often be distracting or make your resume harder to read.

Avoid Neon and Fluorescent

Think bright, flashy colors. Avoid them.

Avoid Light Pastels

Think Easter. Avoid those too.

Avoid Bright Primary Colors

Primary colors like red, blue, and yellow are bad choices. You want a shade of those, but not the primary itself.

Avoid Multiple Competing Colors

Don’t get crazy with the color. I would pick one, or two tops.

Avoid Colors That Are Not Complementary or Monochromatic

If you use more than one color, it should be complementary or monochromatic. Those are color theory terms. You don’t need to know what they mean. You can use Canva’s color wheel and it will tell you the exact colors to use.

Microsoft Word also has prebuilt color themes that are complementary and monochromatic built into their word processor. In the menu options, select design, and then click on colors and they will give you a variety of them.

Avoid Dark Mode

Look, I get it, every app these days has a “dark mode” with black backgrounds and white text. It looks cool on many apps, but it doesn’t look cool on your resume. And heaven forbid an employer needs to print your resume for any reason in dark mode. If you really want to tick people off, dark mode is the way to do it.

How to Use Color Effectively in a Resume

Accent Colors

Use colors as accents. They should be used minimally. Sometimes I will write a resume with a bar of color to draw attention to highlights or the resume title as I like to call it.

Headers

Section headers are a great place to make use of color. You can change the font of section headings to your accent color. This looks good and provides a nice break. Your main text should always be black though.

Dividers

If you use dividing lines, use color. This is a great use of color.

Contact Information

I’m not a huge fan, but I have seen people style their contact information in an accent color. I would say this is an acceptable use of color.

Stick With One or Two Colors

I said this earlier, but I want to repeat it because it’s important. Stick with one or two colors. The majority of your resume is going to be black and white and that’s how it should be. But you could use one color for section headers and a complementary color for dividing lines.

Match Your Cover Letter

If you’re going to bother branding your career documents, you might as well brand them all. Match your cover letter accents to your resume ones.

The bottom line with color is that you don’t distract with it. The focus of your resume should be on the written words themselves, not the design (unless you’re applying for a design role). I truly don’t understand why some resume writers design these fancy resume templates; they’re focusing on the wrong things. Designs win resume writing awards - they don’t win interviews.

If you need more advice on color and formatting guidelines such as margins and headings, check out the Definitive Guide to Resume Writing.

Acceptable Color For Resume Recommended Reading

How Far Back Should a Resume Go [120 Hiring Manager Weigh In]

Resume Summaries for People With No Experience [Examples + Formula]

Evidence of Excellence [Examples and Descriptions]

How to List Temp Jobs on a Resume [5 Things You Should Know]

Cole Sperry has been a recruiter and resume writer since 2015, working with tens of thousands of job seekers, and hundreds of employers. Today Cole runs a boutique advisory firm consulting with dozens of recruiting firms and is the Managing Editor at OptimCareers.com.