The Chronological resume is done in reverse time-order-most recent work first, then the work just prior to that, then the work prior to that and so on. If your education goes much beyond one college degree, consider using the reverse-time order for that, too. If you have a college degree, don't list your high school education.
A disadvantage of the Chronological resume is that most employers' application forms request the very same information. You may therefore say the same things twice and miss the chance to tell what is really special about yourself.
Other types of resumes are designed to bring out the special things about you. The Accomplishments resume is what you would likely use when you have been in your work long enough to have a record of success. In an Accomplishments resume, you put emphasis on numbers, facts-anything that is objective evidence of success. Increases in sales dollars, decreases in expenses, higher productivity, lower employee turnover and greater percentages of repeat orders are all examples.
The Special Skills resume may be right for you when you have mastered several parts of a job or have completed training that prepares you for more responsibility. Mechanical skills, budgeting skills, communicating skills and managing skills, for example, should be written about. Very often, the person who is ready for promotion but hasn't yet received one should write a Special Skills resume. Also, the person who has been sent to company-sponsored workshops or to coUege classes should consider writing a Special Skills resume.
The Functions resume is often the best for the unrecognized person. Probably the job title reveals very little about how important the work is. Workers whose titles end in "coordinator" may be in this category. They should describe accurately which pieces of work they carried out for their boss, such as "Gathered and checked all common stock registrations. Had errors corrected by persons responsible for them. Filed report with Securities and Exchange Commission."
You'll find examples of each type of resume on the following pages and information on how to choose one that's best for you in the Questions & Answers section following the examples.
If you choose to write an Accomplishments, Special Skills or Functions resume, be sure to include an employment summary so the employer can see where you have spent your working time. Nearly every employer wants at least a listing of your work history on your resume. The employment summary can go at the end of your resume and can look like this;
The Most Common Resume Errors
- Poor appearance. Sloppy typing, misspelled words, uneven margins, irregular spacing, absence of headings.
- Too lengthy. Keep it two pages or less except in the most unusual circumstances. If you need more than two pages, consider writing a two-page resume that has attached pages for details or extensive lists.
- Too short. Not enough information, particularly in describing what your duties were on various jobs. Sometimes a job title is enough, but if you have any doubt whether it is, go ahead and tell the reader what your duties were.
- Unnecessary, irrelevant information. ("Divorced. Like deep sea fishing. A Giants fan. Have traveled to India.")
- Sending the same resume to all prospective employers regardless of the particular needs of the situation. A petroleum company that needs a chemical engineer isn't interested in the same things about you as a chemical firm that seeks a sales engineer. Tailor your resume to the position you seek.
- Putting a date on your resume. (Why reveal that it is six months old if the content is still appropriate?)
- Leaving out important directory information-your address, weekend or evening phone numbers, your name. (Yes, some people do forget to put their name on their resume.)
