For Best Resume Results, Choose the Right Resume Format
Whether
you are a new college graduate, a seasoned executive or career changer, your
resume is a vital tool in opening doors of employment opportunity. If your resume isn’t generating interviews
for you, you might be it using a less-than-effective resume format.
In
today’s electronic job market, the term “resume format” has two meanings:
This article deals with the second meaning, how the textual
content is arranged within the document of your resume.
Basically, there are three standard resume formats:
·
Chronological
·
Functional
·
Hybrid
Once you understand which format best
supports your career objective, you’ll know which format will be most effective
for you.
The chronological
is the best known format and is one of the easiest to write. It follows the reverse historical outline of
your work experience.
Its strengths are:
· Allows the
reader to quickly identify the “what” “where” and “when” of your work
experience
· Shows
effectively the progression of responsibilities through your chosen industry or
profession
Its weaknesses are:
· Does not
promote the ability to move into a new industry or occupation
· Hides early
accomplishments at the end of your resume
· Highlights employment
instability
· Highlights
gaps in employment
In response to the shortcomings of the chronological format,
the functional resume format was
developed. This format focuses on
clustering information around categories of transferable skills and minimizing
the historical aspect of your work experience.
Its strengths are:
· Highlights
transferable skills, which promotes career changes between industries or
occupations
· Minimizes
unfavorable aspects of job history, such as employment instability and
employment gaps
· Highlights the
best accomplishments at the beginning of the resume regardless of when they
took place in your career history
Its weaknesses are:
·
Is not a popular format among recruiters and HR candidate
screeners
·
Makes it difficult to connect accomplishments to employment
history
·
Doesn’t promote steady career growth within a given industry
or occupation
The functional format should be used with caution. If not carefully crafted, the resume can be
confusing and cause the reader to believe the candidate has something to hide.
A solution to the sometimes confusing functional format and
the often limiting chronological format is the hybrid format, which combines the best of both.
Its strengths are:
· Showcases
transferable skills and accomplishments at the top of the resume for maximum
first-impression impact
· Receives high
approval from recruiters and HR candidate screeners for ease of reading
· Displays a
clear bottom-line impact approach, which is appreciated by executive hiring
managers
· Promotes the
ability to transfer between industries or occupations
Its weakness:
· Is challenging
to write effectively
While
the hybrid resume format is certainly the best format for job seekers of all
levels, it is also the most difficult to write. It requires the ability to identify and illustrate transferable
skills with strong accomplishments that demonstrate bottom-line impact to
organizational objectives.
While
competition for the best jobs remains high, give your resume a boost by
presenting your work experiences in the format that best promotes your career
objective. Re-thinking—and
revising—your resume can lead you to new job opportunities and get you hired.
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Deborah
Walker, CCMC
Resume
Writer ~ Career Coach
For
more in-depth information on resumes, job-search strategy and interview skills,
check out the article archive at my website: www.AlphaAdvantage.com
Email:
Deb@AlphaAdvantage.com
Toll-free
phone: 888-828-0814
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