Most resumes set dates in the same proportional face as the text, which means every date has a different width and the right edge of the page ends up ragged. Ledger sets them in a typewriter face instead: every digit is the same width, so "Mar 2022 – Present" and "Jun 2019 – Feb 2022" line up character for character. A reader checking tenure can scan the column alone.

The cream bands do the other half of the work. They mark where one section stops and the next starts without a single extra rule, which keeps a page with six sections from turning into a stack of horizontal lines.

The tabular date column depends on dates being short. Entries with long date strings, or roles with no dates at all, leave the column looking half-built. And the paper tint is deliberate — if you print on an office laser that renders light fills as gray mud, use the PDF, which holds the tone properly, or pick a template with no fills at all.