The part of developing an effective resume is choosing the right format to tell your personal story. But a few people always consider how to format a resume in a way that showcases their specific skills and experiences. This blog will give you some simple resume format tips that you can use to update and improve your resume.
Basically there are 3 types of Resume formats:
- Chronological Resume format
- Functional Resume Format
- Combined Resume Format.
1. Chronological resume format:
This is the Best choice for most job seekers. It is also the most simple resume format and recruiters see the most, which can make a reverse chronological resume seem ‘ordinary’. With this type of resume format the work experience section receives the most emphasis, with items listed in order of most recent to oldest. The resume layout gives the work experience section before skills and education.
2. Functional Resume Format:
This resume format is known as skill-based resume format. It is a less popular format for a resume being used today. A lot of recruiters are not familiar with this format because the emphasis does not fall on work experience. Instead, the layout gives more space to skills that are relevant to the role being pursued.
3. Combination Resume Format:
You guessed it, this resume format combines the chronological and functional resume formats. Call it the best of both, or a happy medium, this format places equal emphasis on skills and work experience. If you want to give a lot of attention to both, you may not have much room left for other sections, such as a resume summary, volunteer work, interests, etc.
The recruiters want your entire resume to fit on one page, but a maximum of two pages is acceptable for those with an extensive work history
How one should choose the Best Resume Format?
Now that we have seen the different types of resume formats, I will help you pick the right one for your circumstances. As already mentioned, you want to choose a resume format that is suite to your personal profile. Here’s a small matrix for choosing a resume format based on your level of work experience Keep in mind that work experience isn’t the only factor to consider when selecting a format. You should also consider the position, company and industry that you are pursuing. Formatting is just one way that you tailor your resume to a specific job or company, and an eye-catchy resume layout can your job application to stand out amidst hundreds of others. So, if you are applying for a job in a more creative industry, like marketing or design, then you probably don’t want to use a traditional resume format.
Conclusion:
The reverse chronological resume format is a classic. It is the ‘vanilla’ of resumes, so people choosing this format should think hard about how to make their resume standout using different layout elements. This type of format is great if you’ve got plenty of work experience that you want to showcase. A skills-based resume format is not advised. Even for people in very creative industries,companies want to know who you have worked for in the past and what your contributions were. The creative jobs often require a portfolio, which is how you will provide tangible proof of your skills. For people who lack work experience or want to make a career change, the combination format is a better choice. The combination of both resume format is great if you have plenty of skills and experience you can draw from when creating your resume. It will allow us to highlight a mix of both, but you will need to be strategic about where and how to list information. Also, if you are switching careers, this format will let you play up skills you have that are relevant in the industry where you wish to work.
Regardless of the format you choose, keep in mind that the layout of your resume should be such that it makes it easy for recruiters to extract key information about you. A layout with well-defined sections will make your resume more readable and help you get your message across.
Using a resume builder gives you the advantage of customizing your resume to your own profile and the position you are hoping to get.
It will give flexible resume template to work with, while guiding you through the process of creating, altering or moving resume sections. So, whether you follow a reverse chronological,functional or combination format, it will look great.
Submitted By: Ajay Kumar| Sakshi Gupta
(PGDM Batch 2019-21)
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