Four Standard Resume Formats
Get to know the four standard resume formats to decide which one will work best for your current job search.
The types of resumes are the
The Chronological Resume
The chronological resume is best used when your career direction is clear and your work history matches or supports your job target. This type of resume:
- Is the most popular and recognizable type
- Is experience-focused with jobs listed in reverse chronological order
The Functional Resume
The functional resume is best used for career changers, re-entry or entry-level job seekers. This type of resume:
- Focuses more on what you can do rather than what you have done
- Emphasizes your skills, capabilities and accomplishments
- Helps to shift the emphasis away from positions and titles that do not support your job goal
The Electronic/Scan-able Resume
More and more, organizations or career-search Web sites may ask you to submit your resume electronically. This type of resume:
- Is designed to be e-mailed, scanned or up-loaded
- Uses the same content as your hard copy format
TIPS for Formatting Your Electronic/Scan-able Resume:
- Keep formatting plain and simple
- Keep margins left justified
- Stick with New Times Roman or Arial font at 11 or 12 pt
- Don't use bold, italic or underlined type
- Replace your bullets with asterisks (*); bullets don't always convert well
- Be sure to include keywords and phrases
- Do not use tabs, instead use white space to separate sections and headings
- Don't go over 65 characters per line
- Save your resume in plain text format
to remove all formatting
- Before sending your resume out to a potential employer, always e-mail yourself or a friend a copy to edit and to see how it will look once you send it!
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The Federal Resume
The Federal Resume is distinctly different from a private sector resume. This type of resume:
- Is highly detailed, chronological and usually requires more personal information than the traditional chronological resume
- Templates for the federal resume can be found on USAjobs.com