Three Resume Formats – Which One Is Best For You?
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CHRONOLOGICAL – The chronological resume is an excellent choice for those who have steadily progressed on their career track, with few bumps along the way. If each position you’ve held has built upon the one previous to it, thereby demonstrating growth in knowledge and responsibilities, this style of resume will work best for you.

A chronological resume is the one most preferred by hiring managers, as it allows them to easily see for whom you’ve worked and how long. EXAMPLE – chronological

FUNCTIONAL – A functional resume categorizes your core qualifications into neat little paragraphs and allows you to expand on each qualification. If your career track has experienced a few rough patches – for example, you were unemployed for an extended period of time OR forced to accept a position of lesser responsibility – this style of resume will diminish focus on employment gaps and/or backward steps, and instead showcase your overall capabilities.

I do not recommend this style of resume as a “stand-alone” format, simply because it omits important information relevant to your work history, including the names and locations of past employers, as well as dates of employment. Failure to include important information on a resume raises questions in the minds of hiring managers. Questions lead to concerns, and concerns can get your resume thrown into the “Do we really want to investigate further?” pile. Inundated with hundreds of resumes each week, the answer to this question is a hard and fast no. Hiring managers do not have time to play guessing games with your resume, so be sure to give them exactly what they need at first glance.

COMBINATION - The combination resume is just as it’s name suggests; a combination of the chronological and functional formats. Typically, qualifications are indicated at the top of the page, with a line-item work history provided below. This style of resume is a great option as it allows for a bit more creativity in it’s layout, and thus scores points for visual appeal. Every second counts when trying to capture and hold the attention of a hiring manager, so be sure that each section of information is well-organized and easy to read. EXAMPLE – combination