WHAT IS THE RESUME FORMAT FOR YOU?
A personal marketing package is a personʼs first introduction to a prospective employer. Therefore, it must make a great presentation. It should be accurate, neat, attractive, error-free and as professional as one wants to be perceived. This article provides the job seeker with the methodology for preparing a professional looking and sounding package that is representative of oneʼs background and skills.
The next important decision to be made for your resume is which format will work best for you? Which resume can encompass all your experience, skills and abilities and put them in the best light? We are going to go through three different types of resumes:
> Chronological,
> Functional, and
> Combination.
Once youʼve determined what kind of resume format you want to use, you will need to gather your employment information, education information, skills, accomplishments and references and prepare them for presentation.
Regardless of which format you decide is right for you, be sure and create a Summary of Qualifications at the very top of the resume. This Summary of Qualifications needs to include your most valuable information with regard to education, experience, skills, abilities and accomplishments. Also include some personal traits and characteristics. In most cases, employers have approximately 15-20 seconds to review resumes due to the large number of resumes that they get. With all your important information in your Summary, the employer can review this in that small amount of time and if he/she sees something that intrigues them in your summary, then, they will be compelled to read your resume in more detail. However, if you do not put anything interesting in your Summary, they will just lay your resume aside.
The chronological resume format will list your work history, with the most recent position first. Your jobs will then be listed in reverse chronological order. In other words, you will list your current or most recent job first. Then you list the rest of your jobs in the same order, most recent jobs first. Ordinarily, employers like to see this type of resume because it is quite simple for them to see what jobs you have held and how long you have worked there. The chronological resume format works best for those job seekers who have a strong and solid work history with no breaks between jobs. The following is an example of a chronological resume format.
I hope this has helped you decide which resume format works for you. If one of these three formats does not work for you, you may also want to check out these other types.
Some of those are:
Targeted Resume — This is a resume that is customized to fit the qualifications and requirements of a particular job. It may take you a little more time to prepare it, but it could well be worth it if you are targeting a particular job, one that fits your pertinent skills and experience.
Mini Resume — A mini resume is very much like the Summary of Qualifications on your regular resume. This can be used when you are networking or when someone requests a summary of your qualifications and accomplishments.
Non-traditional Resume — A non-traditional resume is a web-based version of your resume that may include your photo or certain graphics, images, pictures of various things and maybe even a video.
Good luck in determining the best resume format for you!