Résumés

A résumé is your sales brochure – it is a summary of who you are, what skills you have, where you have worked in the past and what qualifications you have acquired. Your résumé is usually what creates your first impression with an employer. A strong résumé should capture your experience and highlight your accomplishments in one or two pages. It should make you stand out from other people applying for the same position.

 

There are different types of résumés and some are more effective than others. Learn the steps for building an effective résumés.

Types of Résumés

Chronological

• Lists your work history with the most recent position listed first
• Employers prefer this type because it’s easy to see what jobs you have held and when you worked at them. It is also easy to see gaps in your employment history
• This type of résumé works well for job seekers with a strong, solid work history

Sample: susanireland.com

Functional

• Focuses on your skills and experience rather than the order of your work experience
• Used most often by people who are changing careers, have gaps in work history or are re-entering the workforce

Sample: monster.com

Combination

• Lists your skills and accomplishments first
• Employment history listed next
• Allows you to highlight the skills you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for
• Also provides the chronological work history employers prefer

Targeted

• Customized to specifically highlight the experience and skills you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for
• Addresses the specific needs of the employer using relevant key words in a specific industry

Non-traditional

• Web-based version of your résumé
• May include photos, graphics, images, graphs and other visuals
• Infographic résumé
• LinkedIn profile résumés
• Online portfolios

Sent without any special formatting

• Eliminates bold, bullets, certain fonts
• Designed to be scanned by employers