Resume Style Guides

There are several styles of resumes from which to choose, depending on your skills and experience.

All resumes are not the same. Depending on your personal situation and the job you are applying for, you may want to highlight your skills or the experience you gained in your career path. You can target your resume toward a particular position, and mention only those skills and experiences pertinent to that position. Be sure to use a clear font style and professional size like 10 or 11 point and keep consistent margins when preparing your resume.

Traditional

The traditional or chronological resume highlights your job titles and the organizations for which you worked. List positions you held in chronological order, with the last job listed first. The traditional resume works best if you have an uninterrupted career path with progressively more responsibility in the field relating to your career objectives. Place the dates in the left margin, and include the name, city and state of the company along with the dates you were employed there and a descriptive phrase about your experience there. You can place either the organization name or your job title first, as long as you use that format consistently throughout the resume.

Functional

The functional resume works best if you have gaps in your work experience, or if your position titles do not match your career objectives. List your position titles and the names of the organizations for which you worked in a separate section. For the functional resume, group your experiences and skills under several different headings. Under the heading "Communication Skills" you might include bullets like "acted as a liaison between the company and clients" and "gave presentations to train department employees." In a functional resume, you are emphasizing your skills, not the chronology of your work experience.

Combination

You can combine the elements of a traditional resume with the elements of a functional resume. This combination resume can detail your work experience in reverse chronological order like a traditional resume, and include a "Skills" or "Capabilities" heading to highlight skills. For a targeted resume, you may list only those positions that highlight skills and experiences for your chosen career path.

Electronic

If you are submitting your resume electronically, keep in mind that companies sometimes use scanning technology when reviewing resumes. Some companies conduct a keyword search to screen applicants. In this case, you might want include some "buzzwords" for the industry that relate to your experience. Look at advertisements for positions to see what skills and experience companies are looking for. Also, when you submit an electronic resume, find out if there is a particular requested format so the text is readable. Some companies prefer not to open documents in an attachment.

References

• SUNY Fredonia: Career Development Office
• Eastern Oregon University: Job Search Handbook