With so many different resume formats, it can be hard to know where to start when crafting your resume. From deciding on a layout to choosing which sections you need and what order they should appear in, the process of writing and formatting a resume can be overwhelming.
The Different Resume Formats
There are two distinct resume builder formats, chronological and functional.
- The chronological resume format is a traditional method of organizing a job seeker’s work history in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent experience first. This resume format provides an employer with a clear understanding of your career trajectory.
- The functional resume format organizes one’s qualifications by skill set or accomplishment, rather than by past employment history. The functional resume often focuses on skills such as leadership, communication skills, teamwork abilities, problem-solving abilities, and other transferable skills.
In general, employers will prefer to see either the chronological or the functional resume because they give a clearer picture of an individual’s work history. For those without current employees who have gaps in their work history, the functional resume format may be more suitable for highlighting strengths and experiences that may not come across in chronological job history.
What ToInclude In Your Resume
The first step in writing an effective resume is to ensure you include everything a hiring manager needs in your resume.
Your resume should include your name and contact information, your skills and qualifications, any past job experience and the dates of employment, your educational history, awards or honors received, any volunteer work you’ve done, hobbies or interests you have outside of work, languages you speak fluently and why that’s important for the job you’re applying for.
A lot of people think that including the salary range they expect would be helpful for a potential employer. If a company is looking for someone who makes $60k per year and the applicant has a salary expectation of $78k per year – that can be a red flag for the company.
The company might assume that if they offered $60k per year then the candidate wouldn’t take it because it isn’t as much as what they want. Keep this in mind when deciding whether to include salary range on your resume or not.
Tips For Avoiding Mistakes
It can be easy to make mistakes when you’re writing a resume. One of the most common errors is typos or grammatical errors. It’s important to have someone proofread your resume before you send it in. Also, avoid using any special characters or symbols that could confuse the hiring manager reading it.
Another common mistake is forgetting to include your contact information at the top of your resume. When applying for a job, it’s important to provide this information upfront so that the hiring manager can contact you easily if they want to set up an interview with you.
One more thing to remember about resumes- don’t use negative words like “won’t” or “didn’t.” Hiring managers will take notice of these words and think less of you. Instead, write in a positive tone so that they know what you did accomplish and how successful you were at doing those tasks.