Tuesday, January 29, 2008

3 Types of Resumes That Will Land You the Job

There are three main types of resumes: chronological, functional and combination. Of these types of resumes, the chronological is the most popular.

A chronological resume lists employment history in reverse chronological order with your current or most recent job first.

When using this format, include the name and address of the company, dates of employment, job titles within the company and a description of your responsibilities in order of importance or relevance. This format is excellent for people with strong employment histories that are relevant to the targeted position.

A functional resume is used to emphasize skills and experience as opposed to employment dates, employers’ names and job titles. This is an excellent format to use if you are seeking to change careers, have had gaps in employment or are not able to show a strong work history with career progression.

A combination resume has elements of both the chronological and functional resumes. It is a particularly useful format if you have a long work history and wish to only emphasize some of it or to summarize your skills and experience under functional headings while still providing basic details of employment history.

Since chronological resumes are the easiest to write and generally preferred by employers, it is the format of choice unless:

** You have a very long or erratic employment history.

** You are seeking to return to a former career.

** You need to emphasize a particular skill mix that is not likely to be apparent to someone scanning a chronological employment history.

** You have had gaps in employment due to caring for children or a family member, illness, extensive travel or other reasons.

** You have never worked full time before but you have gained skills and experience from other sources.

** You wish to change careers.

The functional format is best when:

** Your past employment is more impressive than more recent jobs.

** You are a recent high school or college graduate.

** You are seeking to re-enter the work force after a long absence.

** You are a mature worker and wish to take attention away from your age.

** You have worked in a number of unrelated jobs.

** You are changing careers.

The combination resume tends to be well regarded by employers and is an excellent choice when:

** Your employment history is steady and shows progressive development of your career.

** You are targeting your resume to a specific job and wish to effectively highlight skills that match the job specifications.

** You are applying for a job in an industry where the chronological format is expected but you want to emphasize experience, skills and qualifications that you gained earlier in your career.
There are three main types of resumes: chronological, functional and combination. Of these types of resumes, the chronological is the most popular.

A chronological resume lists employment history in reverse chronological order with your current or most recent job first.

When using this format, include the name and address of the company, dates of employment, job titles within the company and a description of your responsibilities in order of importance or relevance. This format is excellent for people with strong employment histories that are relevant to the targeted position.

A functional resume is used to emphasize skills and experience as opposed to employment dates, employers’ names and job titles. This is an excellent format to use if you are seeking to change careers, have had gaps in employment or are not able to show a strong work history with career progression.

A combination resume has elements of both the chronological and functional resumes. It is a particularly useful format if you have a long work history and wish to only emphasize some of it or to summarize your skills and experience under functional headings while still providing basic details of employment history.

Since chronological resumes are the easiest to write and generally preferred by employers, it is the format of choice unless:

** You have a very long or erratic employment history.

** You are seeking to return to a former career.

** You need to emphasize a particular skill mix that is not likely to be apparent to someone scanning a chronological employment history.

** You have had gaps in employment due to caring for children or a family member, illness, extensive travel or other reasons.

** You have never worked full time before but you have gained skills and experience from other sources.

** You wish to change careers.

The functional format is best when:

** Your past employment is more impressive than more recent jobs.

** You are a recent high school or college graduate.

** You are seeking to re-enter the work force after a long absence.

** You are a mature worker and wish to take attention away from your age.

** You have worked in a number of unrelated jobs.

** You are changing careers.

The combination resume tends to be well regarded by employers and is an excellent choice when:

** Your employment history is steady and shows progressive development of your career.

** You are targeting your resume to a specific job and wish to effectively highlight skills that match the job specifications.

** You are applying for a job in an industry where the chronological format is expected but you want to emphasize experience, skills and qualifications that you gained earlier in your career.