Resume II: Chronological Resume

A chronological resume (where items are listed in reverse chronological order and emphasizes your steadily progressing work history and skill attainment) is by far the most popular type of resume. We'll now take a look at what information should be included in a chronological resume.

The essential pieces of a simple, chronological resume are: contact information, objective/summary, education, work experience, and references.
Contact Information: In this section you will need to include your full, legal name, permanent address, telephone number, and email address. If you decide to list your cell phone number, make sure your voicemail message is professional. While having a song play at the beginning or in the background of your voicemail greeting is fun, it is not appropriate when employers will be listening. Similarly, if you include an email address make sure it is a professional one. FYI boomboomgirl@gmail.com is not acceptable; janedoe08@gmail.com is acceptable.

Objective/Summary: This section includes a simple statement about the job you’re trying to obtain, or the type of work you’re hoping to do. A sample objective statement might be, “To obtain an entry-level position utilizing my strong customer service and organizational skills.” If you are sending resumes to multiple employers, make sure you change the objective so it is tailored to each employer.

Education: If you are a recent graduate, or if you do not have a lot of work experience this section should be listed before work experience. Otherwise, list work experience first. Include the degree obtained, the institution attended, and major. You may also use this section to include any academic honors.
Work Experience: Include the dates of employment, name of organization, your job title, and describe your work responsibilities. Be sure to emphasize specific skills and achievements and use action words when describing job duties. For example, saying “I worked in the sales department” is not nearly as strong as saying “I increased sales by 25%.”Because this is a chronological resume, be sure to start with your most recent job and work backwards.

References: If you are trying to get your first job or two you may want to include your references on the resume. Otherwise, stating “References available upon request” is acceptable. Always ask permission before including someone as a reference.

What are your thoughts? Do you have resume tips or advice? Feel free to share them by leaving a comment.

Hope Harris-Gayles, M.Ed

Resumes: Part I

Resumes. Most people know you need one, but the vast majority are confused about its purpose. "What do you mean--the purpose of a resume is to get you a job, right?" Wrong.
A resume is a snapshot of your education, work experience, and skills; its purpose is not to get you a job, but to get you an interview. So, a successful resume is one that gets you an interview--a successful interview gets you a job. If you're a student a resume is also relevant to you. As you ask for letters of recommendation for college or scholarship applications, a current resume will make it easier for individuals to craft a relevant letter for you. In addition, you may be seeking employment while in school, and a resume is a needed asset.

There are several different types of resumes that may be used at various points in your career: chronological, functional, combined, and curriculum vitae (or CV).

A chronological resume is by far the most popular type of resume. When using this resume items are placed in reverse chronological order. This type of resume showcases your steadily progressing work history and skill attainment. This popular resume type will be covered in more detail in Part II.

Functional Resume: This resume focuses on skills, credentials, and accomplishments across all jobs held. The emphasis therefore, is on what you did not necessarily when you did it. If you have gaps in your job history, this type of resume may work well for you.

Combined Resume: As you may imagine from the title, this type of resume is a combination of the chronological and functional resumes. Relevant skills and experience are listed followed by a reverse chronology of educational and work experience.

Curriculum Vitae (CV): The CV is most often used for positions in science and education. It emphasizes works published, research projects, lectures, teaching experience, honors,etc. It can be a lengthy document with as many as 20 pages for a mid-career professional.

Now that the basics of resumes have been covered, the next post will give specifics on crafting a chronological resume.

Hope Harris-Gayles, M.Ed