I'm using parcolumns to help design a resume but it's giving me some trouble by adding lots of extra space in the left and right columns.
Code (compile with XeLaTeX):
\documentclass[10pt]{article}
\renewcommand*{\familydefault}{\sfdefault} % Sans serif font
\usepackage{fontspec}
\defaultfontfeatures{Mapping=tex-text}
\usepackage{xunicode,xltxtra,url,parskip}
\usepackage{parcolumns}
\usepackage{lipsum}
\usepackage[usenames,dvipsnames]{xcolor}
\definecolor{lightblue}{RGB}{48,138,255}
\newcommand{\blue}[1]{\color{lightblue}{#1}}
\usepackage[margin=0.5in]{geometry}
\usepackage{hyperref}
\usepackage{titlesec} % Used to customize the \section command
\titleformat{\section}{\Large\raggedright\bfseries}{}{0em}{}[\titlerule] % Text formatting of sections
\titlespacing{\section}{0pt}{3pt}{3pt} % Spacing around sections
\titleformat{\subsection}{\Large\raggedright}{}{1em}{} % Formatting subsection
\titlespacing{\subsection}{0pt}{3pt}{3pt}
\begin{document}
\pagestyle{empty} % Removes page numbering
\begin{parcolumns}[sloppy,colwidths={1=0.28\textwidth}]{2}
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%LEFT COLUMN
\colchunk[1]{%
\par{\Huge \bfseries Joel \\ Hawkins}
\section{}
\begin{center}
\begin{minipage}{0.26\textwidth}
\lipsum[1]
\end{minipage}
\end{center}
\begin{center}
\includegraphics[width=0.28\textwidth]{square}
\end{center}
\begin{center}
Portland, OR \\
+1 (555) 555 - 5555 \\
\href{mailto:mail@domain.edu}{mail@domain.edu} \\
\href{http://google.com}{my webpage}
\end{center}
\null
}
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%RIGHT COLUMN
\colchunk[2]{%
%%%%Education
\section{Education}
\begin{tabular}{l l}
\textbf{Reed College} & \textbf{\blue{Bachelor of Arts in Physics}} \\
\textbf{\blue{Current}} & \footnotesize \textbf{Class of 2015} \\
\footnotesize Portland, OR & \\
\multicolumn{2}{c}{} \\
%------------------------------------------------
\textbf{Boise High} & \footnotesize \textbf{Class of 2011} \\
\textbf{School} & \small Recipient of Academic Achievement Award \\
\footnotesize{Boise, ID} & \\
\multicolumn{2}{c}{} \\
\end{tabular}
%%%%Work
\section{Work}
\begin{tabular}{l l}
\textbf{Reed College} & \textbf{\blue{Apple Certified Hardware Technician}} \\
\textbf{\blue{Current}} & \textbf{Computer Hardware Services} \\
September 2011 & Solve students' \& faculty's hardware/software problems \\
\footnotesize{Portland, OR} & Facilitate \& automate software deployment for all machines \\
& Repair machines \& provide support for students/faculty \\
\multicolumn{2}{c}{} \\
%------------------------------------------------
\textbf{PCS Learning Center} & \textbf{\blue{Assistant Teacher}} \\
Summer 2012 & Bolstered scientific skills in students (physics, robotics, code) \\
\footnotesize{Boise, ID} & Designed \& managed company website incl.~photo editing \\
\multicolumn{2}{c}{} \\
%------------------------------------------------
\textbf{AeroSpecialties Inc.} & \textbf{\blue{Machine Shop Assistant}} \\
2010-2011 & Operated CNC machines \\
\footnotesize{Boise, ID} & Assembled parts according to industry regulations \\
& Performed extended data entry for migrating computer systems \\
\multicolumn{2}{c}{} \\
\end{tabular}
\null
}
\end{parcolumns}
\end{document}
This gives the following (some unrelated code omitted):
Obviously there's WAY too much blank space in the left column between my name and also extra space between the Work and Experience sections which I didn't ask for. I think it's trying to balance the columns weirdly?
Maybe you see what I'm trying to do here and I haven't found another package that can effectively create two columns of uneven width (sort of like having two minipages displayed side by side?). I've tried using \vfill, \null, \mbox{} but none of those work. How do I get it to not add space and even the columns?
Best Answer
Just use two minipages and add the spacing you need manually.