Resume format

When it comes to resume formats there are so many different types but in general they all fall into one of two categories. Functional or Chronological.

Each format contains all of the relevant information pertinent to a resume and will contain sections such as;
Education, Work Experience, Achievements, Objectives, Personal information etc.

The difference between the two formats is that in the functional resume, the most relevant information for the job being applied for will be presented near the top where as the chronological resume contains the information in the order that it happened.

The chronological format is great for employers who need to see exactly what you have studied and who need to follow the development of your education and work history in order to be able to make a decision.

On the other hand there are employers with little time who need to know instantly what you can do and by looking at a functional resume will see at a glance your most relevant experience first.

The Chronological resume is the more structurally formatted of the two. Here experience section is the key, the jobs should be listed in detail with no focus of skills or achievements at beginning of resume. They are used generally when remaining in same job or career and caters more to conservative type positions especially in the legal and academic professions. They nearly always have an Objective section and Summary section.

The functional resume showcases achievements and major skills from the top. It clearly states your strong suits so that an employer does not need to read through boring job details. It should state (through a summary) all that you will bring to the table. The functional resume only briefly mentions company names and positions held.

As I have stated on many occasions before, there are no fixed rules when it comes to writing your resume! The only thing that matters, apart from being accurate is that it gets read and makes perspective employers want to call you in for an interview to get to know more about you.

The actual format you use should be dictated by the type of job you are applying for and the type of person who will be reading the resume or doing the pre scanning. Many people create a totally new resume for each job they apply for which makes a lot of sense, You can highlight and give more importance to your achievements and qualifications most pertinent to that particular job

Using pre-made resume templates can save you a great deal of time and can convert your resume writing process into little more than filling in a form. By using pr made templates you are giving yourself a starting point. Once completed you have all of your information there in the document and you can re-format it and re-arrange it at will. You will find that you can send out individually tailored resumes for each job applied for.

At our web site we have put together a collection of pre-made resume templates for you to download which cover the different resume formats available.