Most job seekers pick one font for their entire resume and move on. But pairing Times New Roman body text with a clean sans-serif heading font can make your resume easier to scan and more visually balanced. Recruiters spend an average of 7.4 seconds on an initial resume scan, according to an eye-tracking study by TheLadders. That means the font choices you make in your header, section titles, and body text directly affect whether a hiring manager reads further or skips to the next candidate.

Why would someone pair a sans-serif font with Times New Roman on a resume?

Times New Roman is a serif font it has small strokes at the ends of each letter. It's a familiar, professional choice for body text and has been the default in legal, academic, and corporate writing for decades. But when your entire resume uses the same font at the same size, nothing stands out. Headers, job titles, and section breaks all blend together.

A sans-serif font for headings gives your resume structure. Sans-serif typefaces have clean, simple letterforms without decorative strokes. They draw the eye to key sections like your name, job titles, and skill categories. The contrast between serif body text and sans-serif headings creates a visual hierarchy that helps recruiters find what they need quickly.

You can explore different font pairings that work with Times New Roman to see which combination fits your industry and style.

What is the best sans-serif font to pair with Times New Roman on a resume?

The top choices come down to a few reliable options that most systems already have installed, so your formatting won't break when a recruiter opens the file:

Arial The most common sans-serif font on Windows and Mac. It pairs well with Times New Roman because both are standard system fonts. Arial is clean, neutral, and widely accepted across industries.
Calibri The default Microsoft Word font since 2007. It's slightly softer and more modern than Arial. Many recruiters are already used to reading it, which makes it a safe choice.
Helvetica A classic design-industry favorite. If you're in a creative field, Helvetica headings give your resume a polished, modern look. It's pre-installed on most Macs but may substitute as Arial on Windows machines.
Verdana Designed for screen readability with wider letter spacing. It works well if your resume will mostly be read on a monitor rather than printed.
Lato A Google Font with a warm, friendly feel. It's a good choice if you want something slightly different without looking unconventional. You'd need to embed it or convert to PDF to keep formatting intact.
Open Sans Another Google Font that reads clearly at small sizes. Many tech companies and startups use it, so it fits well for resumes targeting those employers.

For a direct comparison between the two most popular options, see our breakdown of Times New Roman and Arial as a font pairing.

When does using Times New Roman with a sans-serif font actually help?

This pairing works best in specific situations:

Traditional industries Law, finance, government, and academia still expect conservative formatting. Times New Roman body text signals professionalism, while a sans-serif header keeps things readable.
Long resumes If your resume is two pages, visual hierarchy becomes more important. Sans-serif headers break up dense text and help hiring managers skim.
Applicant tracking systems (ATS) Standard fonts like Arial, Calibri, and Times New Roman are the safest choices for ATS compatibility. They parse correctly across systems, unlike decorative or custom fonts.

What are the most common mistakes people make with resume font pairings?

Even with the right font choices, small errors can hurt readability:

Using too many fonts Stick to two fonts maximum: one serif, one sans-serif. Adding a third font for bullet points or dates creates visual noise.
Choosing fonts that look too similar If your sans-serif heading font barely contrasts with Times New Roman, the pairing loses its purpose. Arial and Times New Roman have enough visual difference. Something like Garamond with Times New Roman, on the other hand, is too close in style to create useful contrast.
Setting font sizes too small Body text should be 10–12pt. Headings should be 14–16pt. Anything smaller gets hard to read, especially on screen.
Not saving as PDF If you send a .docx file, the recruiter's computer might swap your carefully chosen sans-serif heading font for whatever default it has. Always export to PDF.
Overusing bold and italics Bold your section headers and job titles. Don't bold entire sentences. Italics should be limited to company names or publication titles not used for emphasis in body text.

How do you actually set up this font pairing in your resume?

Here's a practical layout using Times New Roman for body text and Arial for headings:

Your name: Arial, 18–22pt, bold
Contact info line: Arial, 10–11pt, regular
Section headings (Experience, Education, Skills): Arial, 13–14pt, bold, all caps or small caps
Job titles: Arial, 11pt, bold
Company names and dates: Times New Roman, 10–11pt, regular or italic
Bullet points and descriptions: Times New Roman, 10–12pt, regular

If you want a step-by-step walkthrough, we have a full guide on how to pair Times New Roman with a sans-serif font.

Should you ever skip Times New Roman entirely?

Some job seekers wonder if they should ditch Times New Roman and go all sans-serif. For most corporate and traditional roles, Times New Roman body text is still well-received. It's expected and familiar.

But if you're applying to design, tech, or startup roles, an all-sans-serif resume using Roboto or Open Sans throughout might feel more aligned with the company's visual identity. The key is matching your formatting to the employer's culture not picking fonts based on personal preference alone.

How do you know which pairing looks best for your resume?

Print your resume or view it at 100% zoom. Ask yourself these questions:

Can I tell the difference between headings and body text within two seconds?
Does my name stand out at the top of the page?
Are the section breaks obvious without reading the text?
Does the overall look feel clean and balanced, not cluttered or mismatched?

If any answer is no, adjust your font sizes or try a different sans-serif option. The pairing should feel invisible it shouldn't call attention to itself. A good resume font pairing helps the content come through, not the design choices.

For more pairing ideas and side-by-side examples, browse our full collection of sans-serif fonts that pair with Times New Roman.

Quick checklist before you send your resume

Pick one serif font (Times New Roman) and one sans-serif font (Arial, Calibri, or another safe option)
Use the sans-serif font only for your name, contact info, and section headings
Keep body text between 10–12pt, headings between 13–16pt
Bold section headers and job titles nothing else
Save as PDF before sending
Open the PDF on a different device to confirm fonts render correctly
Print one copy to check how it looks on paper