Formats chronological resume format

The chronological resume format is the most popular. This format requires you to list your educational background and employment history in reverse chronological order (by date), starting with your most recent schooling and job. This format makes it easy for a potential employer who reads your resume to quickly see a summary of your qualifications. This resume format also allows you to demonstrate a progressive work history. 

Using the chronological resume format. Exhibit 3-1 is an example of what one of the listings might look like under the Employment section of your resume. 

If there s only one gap in your employment history, you can still use a chronological resume format, but don t make it obvious that there was a period of time you were out of work. Never include a line within your resume stating, "Unemployed" or "Out of Work" along with the corresponding dates. For the time being, pretend it never happened. 

For job seekers whose career path thus far doesn t fit nicely into a chronological resume format, the functional resume format is probably the next best thing to use. This resume format works best for ... 

If you re using a chronological resume format, simply by looking at your job titles, the reader should be able to see career advancement. Because your most recent work experience will be listed first, your highest job title should be the one described first. So, if that job title was Marketing Manager, for example, other job titles listed on your resume (as the readers work their way back in your... 

Although this is definitely a favored resume format among HR professionals, if you fall into one of the following categories, you should strongly consider using a format that better showcases your skills, capabilities, and potential, as opposed to your weaknesses. Don t use the chronological resume format if ... 

Most HR professionals prefer to see chronological resumes, because this format allows them to evaluate someone s entire career path in a matter of seconds. When an applicant doesn t use a chronological format, the reader might assume the applicant is trying to hide something about his or her past. When reading a functional resume, it s harder for a potential employer to put together an applicant s employment history or career path. To compensate for these potential drawbacks, it s critical that the information included on your functional resume be extremely relevant to the reader and to the job. 

Format your resume content so it fits the selected resume style (chronological, functional, targeted, etc.). 

Exhibits 4-1 and 4-2 are two sample resume formats available to you as a job seeker. The first is the most widely used—the chronological format, and the second is an alternative—the functional, which you might use instead in order to focus on your skills as opposed to your employment history. As you look over these sample resume formats, think about how you will plug in your own information. 

It doesn t matter which resume format you decide to adopt (chronological, functional, targeted, etc.). When creating a traditional printed resume, how the document appears on the page is the first thing a reader notices. 

The majority of online resume templates you will encounter on the various career-related websites and sites hosted by individual employers follow the same basic format as a traditional chronological resume. You will be prompted to enter each piece of information in separate fields, and you will most likely be limited in the number of fields you can fill in order to convey your information. 

Another mistake is that people don t choose the best resume format to meet their individual needs. If you choose to use a traditional chronological formatted resume, each previous job you ve held should help convey that you re qualified for the job you re applying for. 

As you ll soon discover, there are many different resume formats and types of resumes you can create. If you need a traditional printed resume, you can choose to follow a chronological, functional, or combination format there s also a keyword-based resume format, which is becoming more popular as many employers currently use applicant-tracking software to evaluate resumes. As a job seeker, you will also need to determine if your resume should be scannable or if you need an electronic resume so you can easily apply for jobs online. 

The chronological format is the most popular out of all the different formats for traditional printed resumes because it s extremely easy for an employer to quickly see a summary of your work experience, skills, and education. The majority of job seekers use this format, especially those who have a consistent employment record and at least some work experience to showcase. 

If you are using a recruiter in the industry where your experience lies, always use the chronological format. It s difficult to highlight your actual job experience in a functional format. You might miss out on a wonderful job opportunity if you don t seriously consider the format of your resume."... 

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