By | Stav Ziv | www.themuse.com
It’s not easy to take years’ (or decades’!) worth of your work history, skills, and accomplishments and wrangle it into a one-page document that’s optimally organized to convince a stranger to give you a job and the salary and benefits that go with it. But it is possible.
While there are endless decisions you could make about your resume (font! colors! number of bullets!), the biggest one is simply: What format should you use? Here’s everything you need to know about the three most common resume formats and how to pick the right one for you.
- The Chronological Resume
- The Functional Resume
- The Combination Resume
- What to Know About Resume Formats and Applicant Tracking Systems
The Chronological Resume
When someone says the word “resume,” the image that comes to mind is probably a chronological resume, since it’s the kind that job seekers use most frequently and therefore the one recruiters and hiring managers see most often. Also known as a reverse-chronological resume, which is a slightly more accurate label, it puts the spotlight on your work experience listed from most recent to least recent.
What Goes Into a Chronological Resume?
A chronological resume contains the following components, roughly in this order:
- Name and contact information
- Summary statement (optional)
- Work history (or relevant work history) including the role, company, location, and dates as well as details about your accomplishments in that role, with your current or most recent job listed first
- Education
- Skills
- Hobbies, interests, activities, volunteer experience, awards, and/or any other relevant section (optional)