When applying for a new job it is important to make a good first impression. Most of the time the resume is that first impression. Resume paper will help enhance that first impression when a recruiter takes a look through a stack of resumes.

Material

Thomas Northcut/Photodisc/Getty Images

Resume paper is made from a variety of material, including cotton, fine linen, parchment and bamboo. Though these papers are fancy and intended to make an impression, many job recruiters are just as impressed by the plain white paper with a great resume imprinted on it than what the paper is made out of. But both elegant paper and an outstanding resume can be doubly impressive.

Colors

Creatas Images/Creatas/Getty Images

Resume paper comes in a selection of colors, including granite, ivory, white, blue, grey and blue-grey. Through colored resume paper will help it stand out among others, many recruiters do not appreciate colors besides white and ivory. Those recruiting for artistic jobs may be more likely to appreciate a blue or grey colored resume than one working at a law firm.

With the best choice for resume paper color in white or ivory, if looking to have the resume stand out in a pile of other applications choose ivory. This is because white is more commonly used and the different color, that is still accepted by recruiters, will stand out just enough without being obvious.

Recycled

Jupiterimages/Pixland/Getty Images

With the world focusing on saving the environment, many of the resume papers sold today are made from recycled paper and/or materials. Manufacturers are also making resume paper out of more eco-friendly materials such as bamboo, which is a natural resource that rapidly replenishes itself.

Thickness

Brand X Pictures/Stockbyte/Getty Images

All paper is sold by thickness, including everything from copy paper to card stock paper. The most common thickness sold in resume paper is 20 lb. and looks bright and crisp. Some job seekers are turning to a 24 lb. thickness because it holds up better and feels thicker in a pile of resumes, helping it stand out.

Watermark

Digital Vision./Digital Vision/Getty Images

Most resume paper manufacturers will put their company logo as a watermark somewhere on the sheet of paper. This does not really help or lessen chances of impressing a recruiter, just as long as it is not too prominent on the paper and distracts from the contents of the resume printed over it.