Welcome to Career Development Guide
Best Resume Format Article
This is a selection made from among articles on Best Resume Format. For a permanent link to this article, or to bookmark it for future reading, click here.
I'm Changing Careers - How Do I Format My Resume?
from: Ann Baehr
The best resume format to use is the combination resume. This resume format is not chronological nor functional. It combines both! It is extremely flexible and allows you to use strategies in a way that would normally be considered wrong.
The difference between the combination format and the chronological format is that the chronological format resume is very easy to follow. The hiring manager will typically start to read the chronological resume at the bottom of the work history or professional experience section (heading depends on your career level) and will continue reading his or her way up towards the top to trace your career history. If there are employment gaps, it will be obvious because it is difficult to hide breaks in employment using this resume format. This is why most hiring managers prefer the chronological resume format. It is easy to read and leaves little to the imagination. This can be a great advantage (marketing tool) if you have been in the same type of position because it shows continuity and progression in your industry.
But what happens when you've held different types of positions across several industries? Some reasons for gaps in employment or holding too many/unrelated jobs include raising children, caring for a family member, illness, returning to college, corporate downsizing or merger, joining the military, and difficulty finding work for long stretches of time because of a tight job market or weak resume! Hey, things happen. That’s life! You can’t worry about the past. It’s time to think about the future. So, the first thing you will need to do is toss your old resume. It will not help you to change your career. It’s time to make a fresh start!
First, create a resume that clearly indicates at the top what type of position you are seeking.
Include a career summary section that highlights where you've been in your career, being careful to only mention what would be of most interest to this particular company. Emphasize your transferable experience and skills that match the qualifications of the position (if there is a job ad, study it and do your best to make a connection between the position's requirements and what you've done. Do not use the exact wording!).
Use a keywords section to list transferable skills so the reader can find them immediately. This is also important if the company uses resume scanning technology. This will ensure your resume is retrieved from the company's database in response to a keyword search.
Under your Professional Experience section or Work History (again, depends on your background), present your experience in functional sections such as General Management, Sales Management, Staff Training and Supervision, Budget Planning and Tracking , etc.
Take ALL of the experience you've gained over the years and categorize it into skill/functional areas that the new position requires. If the company is seeking someone to manage budgets, and you managed budgets ten years ago and four years ago, but not in your last two jobs, then list the collective experience under a Budget category. Continue this formula until each respective category has a minimum of four bulleted sentences or two two-lined sentences to support the name of the heading. It is a good idea to have at least three categories to show how well rounded you are.
Below this section, list the companies, locations, job titles, and dates. You can either create a separate section named Work History if you've already called the above section Professional Experience, or simply list the section without a main heading as part of the main section. It will be understood. Or, you can start the section off with the company names and dates followed by the functional categories. In other words, flip it.
The most common problem with this resume format is identifying where your experience was gained. But, that's the whole idea. If they are interested in what you can do, they will call you in for the interview. It is at that time you can explain the how, when, where, and why of it all. It will make for great conversation-- which by the way, a job interview should be. A meeting between two people with a common interest (the position) who engage in conversation in a professional manner.
About The Author
Ann Baehr is a Certified Professional Resume Writer and President of Best Resumes of New York. Notable credentials include her role as former Second Vice President of the National Resume Writers' Association and published contributor to over twenty resume and cover letter books by McGraw-Hill, Jist Publishers, and Adams Media. To learn more, visit Best Resumes of New York at www.e-bestresumes.com.
Related Articles for Best Resume Format
Best Resume Format News
Format favors Tigers - KUsports
Format favors Tigers KUsports The 75-60 loss to Nebraska in the opening round of the Big 12 tournament by no means was a resume builder for the Missouri basketball team. ... |
College grad job search strategies - Boston Globe
College grad job search strategies Boston Globe Use a clean and easy-to read-format for your resume. Consider using bullets rather than a paragraph-type format. - Make sure that your resume scans well and ... |
New directors take Rep in new directions - OnMilwaukee.com
 OnMilwaukee.com | New directors take Rep in new directions OnMilwaukee.com The piece was written to celebrate the multiple talents of Australian singer-dancer-actress Caroline O'Connor, whose lengthy resume includes a featured role ... |
Around the Rim Guerrero Defends Treatment of Mid-Majors - Basketball Prospectus (blog)
Around the Rim Guerrero Defends Treatment of Mid-Majors Basketball Prospectus (blog) In that format, the top four teams would play the first day, then get a day off if they won and advanced to the quarterfinals while the No. ... |
Every School Every Thursday - West Des Moines, Clive, Waukee - DesMoinesRegister.com
Every School Every Thursday - West Des Moines, Clive, Waukee DesMoinesRegister.com The Happy Bear program is a safety program presented to young children in a play-presentation format. The Happy Bear play entertains while delivering a ... |
A Look At The Professional Advantages Of Using A Resume Template - International Business Times
A Look At The Professional Advantages Of Using A Resume Template International Business Times It may be your skills that set you apart from the stacks, but a resume template can be the best way to showcase ... |