Before you sit down to being writing your resume, it can be very helpful to learn about the different formats for resume writing. While there are many different formats you could pursue, there are some which are more common than others. These are always a safe choice to make since they are so common and you know that many other people will be using them. The companies you are applying for will be used to seeing them as well. All of this works in your favor when you do a proper job of writing the resume, too.
Once you understand what the common formats are, you can learn to use them and then create your resumes in this manner. This will help you ensure that your resume goes to the potential employer in the best possible method available. This automatically gives you a bit of a heads-up on the competition.
Here are some of the common formats for resume writing:
• Functional – A functional resume can be helpful in a wide variety of situations. For example, when you have a weak work history and you want to highlight more the skills and abilities that you have rather than the positions you have held, the functional resume is a good choice for you. Your work experience and educational history will come at the bottom of the resume, allowing you to highlight what you can do at the top.
• Chronological – In this format, your work history is listed first. This is the most common format to see and it involves listing the professional and educational history in a reverse chronological order. Your most recent experiences will be shown first and so on down the list. Interviewers are familiar with this method which looks good in your favor and if you have a strong track record, you want to highlight it in this manner.
• Combination of the two – Another option that you have with your resume is to use a combination of the two approaches. If you feel that you are restricted by having to choose just one of these resume formats, you might choose instead to combine the methods to make them work best for you. You can select the most relevant jobs and experiences and also highlight your skills and abilities.
Now that you know these common formats for resume writing, you can do what it takes to use them in your own resume as needed. You should use whatever experiences you have to help reflect your skills and abilities and show why you are right for the job.
Your resume is your first impression on the potential client or company looking to hire you. There are so many resumes coming in that you need to find a way to stand out, while also maintaining the guidelines that are expected in the industry. When you use these common formats for resume writing, it will increase your chances of getting noticed right from the start because this is what they are used to dealing with.