A resume is a professional document to present your academic and professional background, skills, and achievements. It is your Marketing tool to get you Interview calls in your target companies for your specialized field. Understand that the recruiters are diving in an ocean of resumes for each job opening, so your Resume has got only 6 seconds in hand to prove that you are worthy.
A resume is incomplete without a compatible cover letter, a resume helps you display your capabilities and convince employers you’re qualified for the job and can be called for the interview.
3 Main Categories in which Resumes can be broadly divided are as follow:
- The Chronological Resume- The chronological resumes are the most commonly used ones. It usually contains a career objective and summary. With a sequential listing of all your employment history in previous organizations beginning with your recent job to your earliest one. Educational Summary, Skills, and certificates can be mentioned thereafter.
Who can use it: If you have a well-framed career graph without any brake and your skill sets are compatible, you can use this format.
- The Functional Resume- Functional resumes highlight your skills and abilities, more than your chronological work history. Your summarized work history will be at the bottom of your resume.
Who can use it- If you have changed multiple companies in a short period, Or have some gaps in your Career, Or having experience in multiple industries and profiles this format is for You.
- The Combination Format-Combination resumes demonstrate both your skills and experience, with a detailed chronological listing of employment history. Using this format you can brilliantly describe your capabilities and get short-listed for the interviews.
Who can use it – It is the most flexible format and can be used to create a great career statement that will make you more worthy for the job requirement.
The 3 Major Resume Formats-
| S. Number | The Chronological Resume | The Functional Resume | The Combination Format |
| 1 | Most Popular | Focus more on skills | A mix of Chronological and Functional Resume Formats |
| 2 | Easily scanned by ATS and HR | Work experience at the bottom of the Resume | Flexible and highlights Skills with experience in sequential order |
| 3 | List most latest position first | Can be used if you want to change industry or profile | Can be tailored efficiently to match your skill sets with Job requirement |
| 4 | Work experience in sequential format | Often used by people with carer gaps and diverse experiences | Gives complete information to the Employer |
Choose the resume format carefully as per your qualifications, skill set, experience, and the job you are applying for.
Targeted Resume: Last but not least is the Resume Format that can be customized according to the target job opening; you can slightly mirror the job requirement. You can specifically highlight the experience and skills that are most relevant to the job you are applying for. One should try to customize the Resume every time applying for some Job.
Also, be realistic and careful, do not mention any false information on your Resume just to mirror the Job Requirement.
Your resume, along with a cover letter, is the most important part of the hiring process, and is an elementary document to be considered for an open position.
