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The Chronological Resume

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This is the traditional format of a resume. It gives clear and unambiguous information about   the job titles, the dates (beginning and end) and places of employment. Under each of the major job headings you can expand your accomplishments. You have to be careful that you maintaining the relevance these have to the job you apply for.

Submitting a resume in chronological format is appropriate, when some of the following is the case:

	You are looking for a job in the industry, sector or field, you are presently working
	You have a coherent and continuos work history without any unexplainable gaps.
	Your current position or the recent work history is, where you achieved something and where you see your future career.

Chronological Resume: An Example

The chronological resume is the preferred format by recruiters and employers. It is especially good for job seekers who

• have a coherent (without "unexplainable gaps") job history and
• who wish to make a vertical or horizontal career move.

Write your resume on plain white paper without any fancy embellishments. Use an easy to read font such as Ariel, Helvetica, Times Roman, Verdana.

Some further points to the above resume outline

Note above, the further you go back in your job history, the fewer points are made about your job achievements. Keep your resume that way, because employers are not interested in your achievements ten years ago, however brilliant they were.

Objective or Job Objective: You should in one short sentence write the job title you apply for and what you hope to achieve, as a goal, in that job. Don't make it too elaborate and be careful not to overstate your potential impact on the organization you are intending to join.

Qualification Summary: Give a short overall summary of what you bring to the job. But, make it specific!

Work Experience: You can also call that Professional Experience

Job Title, Company Name, City, State: Those are the minimum details you will have to give on any job you had in the past. There is a "school of thought", that maintains you should also give Reporting to: (with the Job Title of the Person your reported to). That would be logical, since the reader of your resume, can then place you into the job hierarchy (the level), or the organizational structure of your former employer. Some people also like an item called Responsibilities: A very short outline of the things, which were clearly your responsibility in your former job. If you select this option, the individual job description would look like that:

There are different trends and ideas about the way you present the job content of your previous work. Some people and resume writers think you should "load" your resume with achievements and the results of the direct impact you had on your former company.That might all be okay, if you had a job, where the results of your work could be measured directly, for instance in accounts receivable, as warehouse manager, or in customer service as a key account manager, etc.. But if you were the bank teller or the receptionist or had a staff position as a financial analyst, the impact you had, if any, is far more difficult to estimate. You maybe make up things and "force past event" that then produce "achievements".

But you should remember, human resources managers are not fools, and they see and read hundreds of resumes. Another resume with "achievements" that are really "fluff" will not impress them.

Education and Training (including Languages): Some resume writers think that you should only mention the subject of your degree if it is relevant to the job you apply. Others think, education has its own value and should always be shown. Only mention GPA's (Grade Point Averages) or that you were "number one in a class of 285", if this is your first job after undergraduate college or graduate school.

Languages should be shown, though, if they are not required in the job minimize the information to some statement like Spanish - fluent spoken and written, without further details.

Desperate times, and in terms of employment we are in those, sometimes ask for desperate measures. Setting yourself apart from the rest, is a good thing and may bring results. But, think hard, when you write the content of your individual jobs, your personal achievements and the effect they had on the fortunes of your former employer, within the realms of reality!

Remember your Goal

Your resume is the first step and, at the same time, the key to getting an interview. It needs to be the best you can produce and show you in the most appropriate light for the job you apply to. Make sure your content is relevant to the job description for the job you apply to and has accurate information about yourself!

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