The Career Doctor’s Cures & Remedies:
"What’s the best resume format for me?"

by Randall S. Hansen, Ph.D.

This article is part of a series from The Career Doctor's Cures & Remedies to Quintessentially Perplexing Career and Job-Hunting Ailments. Read more.

There are basically two kinds of resumes: chronological and functional.

Chronological resumes, the more typical style of resume for job-seekers following a single career path, are organized by your employment history in reverse chronological order, with company/job titles/accomplishments/dates of employment. You can read more in my article, Fundamentals of a Good Chronological Resume.

Functional resumes, for job-seekers who have a varied employment history or are looking to make a career change, are organized by skills and functions; bare-bones employment history often listed as a separate section. Read more in our article, Should You Consider a Functional Resume?

Perhaps more important than the format is the content in your resume. Here are my suggestions for improving the quality and strength of your resume.

• Consider adding a key accomplishments/summary of qualifications section to your resume. This section should summarize (using nouns as keywords and descriptors) your major career accomplishments.
• Consider adding a career objective/job objective to your resume…but only do so if it will enhance your resume and not simply waste space. Read more in our article, Should You Use a Career Objective on Your Resume?
• Focus the descriptions of your experiences on accomplishments, not duties and responsibilities. Accomplishments, especially those you can quantify, are going to sell you to a potential employer. Read more in our article, For Job-Hunting Success: Track and Leverage Your Accomplishments.
• Showcase your transferable skills. Especially important for functional resumes, these are skills you have acquired during any activity in your life -- jobs, classes, projects, parenting, hobbies, sports, virtually anything -- that are transferable and to what you want to do in your next job. Read more in our article, Strategic Portrayal of Transferable Skills is a Vital Job-Search Technique.
• Tailor your basic resume to specific jobs, specific employers. There is simply no excuse for having one generic resume anymore. Tweak each resume you submit to the specific job you are seeking or to the specific employer.
• Include strategic keywords. Because of the likelihood that your resume is going to get scanned into a database, be sure to include powerful keywords -- noun phrases that include such rhings as job titles, education, skills, industry jargon, and much more. Read all the details in our article, Tapping the Power of Keywords to Enhance Your Resume’s Effectiveness.
• Take the time to tweak and polish your resume. There are numerous "litte" things you can do to improve your resume. Read our article, Ten Easy Ways to Improve Your Resume.
• Take the time to carefully write, rewrite, and edit your resume. Be sure to carefully proofread your resume for misspellings and typos.
• Consider having your resume professionally critiqued/evaluated. If you’re unsure about the strength of your resume, use a professional service such as our Quintessential Resumes & Cover Letters to critique your resume and offer valuable suggestions for improvement.

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