Posts Tagged ‘resume format’

Choose the right resume format through Resume Builder

Sunday, November 8th, 2009

Today being employed is one of the most crucial achievements of life. With the world submerged into high unemployment rate, its becoming tougher and tougher to find a job, irrespective of which part of the globe you belong to. Every person who applies for a job and gets rejected, pose the same old question, “why was i rejected”? Most of the times, people overlook certain very small factors that might have led to them getting expelled from the interview process.

The first and the foremost factor that plays a major role in giving an impression to the employer is your Resume. This is the first thing you send to the employer, who after going through it, calls you for an interview. Even during interview, your resume is scanned completely by the employer, mainly posing questions based on what you mentioned in it. Therefore, it is very important to have a very effective and impressive resume.

So how do you go about making a resume? What is the correct and most effective format? Do I use software like Resume Builder to create my resume format? These are some of the questions that most of the people have in their mind. Let us go through different formats of resume and try to understand what effect each has.

First of all we will discuss the “Reverse Chronological Resume format”. This resume format is best for those who did not have gap in their work experiences. Someone who did not sit idle in between their jobs. This resume is also generally preferred by most of the employers because of its ease of presentation of the candidates work experience history. In this kind of format, the work experience is presented in a chronological order, starting from the most recent one and going back into the past. If you strictly want to stick to the norms of “Reverse chronological resumes”, then you will have to start from the last professional or educational happenings in your life going way into the past. Resume Builder can be used to make this format.

Second type is the “Combination Chronological resume format”. It is also known as Hybrid resume format. In this type, a small summary of job experience is provided just before the reverse chronological work history. This summary talks about the functional skills and abilities of the candidate. After this summary, the work experience is presented starting from the most recent ones going backwards. After this comes the educational information and other details. This format can also be easily developed in Resume Builder.

Third type of resume format is the “Functional Resume format”. This type of resume is generally preferred by those who have less experience or those who have gaps in their jobs. Through this type of resume, one can easily bring the employers attention towards the skills and what the candidate can do towards achieving goals. The work experience and its history are left far towards the end of the resume. This format is commonly used by the fresher’s and is the first option in the Resume Builder.

Fourth type of resume format is the “Alternative Resume format”. These types of resumes are generally not used by the regular job seekers. This format is mostly used by those who advertise themselves and want a brochure type of resume built. Professionals use this format for marketing purposes and develop such resumes via Resume Builder.

So choose the best resume format as per your profile. Someone has rightly said “First impression is the lasting impression”.

What every resume maker needs to know

Friday, October 2nd, 2009

Let’s be honest: the U.S. job market isn’t what it was even a few years ago.  The competition is fierce and for the active resume maker, even getting an interview feels like winning the Boston Marathon.

If you plan on landing a job with that shiny new resume you’re working on, there are a few things you must know.  Without this information, kiss your chances of winning that well paying new job goodbye.

Let’s start from the top:

About format

Your dreams of a new gig begin and end with the format of your resume.  This is also where the untrained resume maker is must likely to fumble.  Here’s a basic guideline; stick to it and you’re already ahead of the game.

  • There are plenty of common formats out there.  Stick to the known winner: Chronological
  • Enter promotions as new entries under your “job experience” section.  Flesh out any additional responsibilities this title entailed.
  • Keep the format streamlined and to the point. Who you are – What you’ve done – Unique Qualifications – References is a safe bet.
  • Don’t get funky on the font and character size.  Keep it professional… this is your first impression. If you’re in IT, this may not apply.
  • Keep the flowery language in your journal.  Everything you write should be specific (i.e. managed 100 employees in various departments vs. showed spectacular coordination in the allocation of manpower.)
  • Please… use quality paper for your resume.  The photocopied OfficeMax paper doesn’t speak so well for your personal brand.

About “Resume maker” services

There are a myriad of services, both offline and online, that you can commission to write your resume for you.  There are both pros and cons for this approach, both of which are beyond the scope of this article.

However, if you of the following descriptions apply to you, I would suggest getting a writer:

  • If you are applying for a job outside of your native language, hire a writer.  Don’t argue with me about this. Just do it.
  • If you’ve been applying diligently and can’t land an interview, hire a writer. Chances are it’s not you they don’t want to meet, but how your resume projects who you are.  Or it could just be you… but it makes sense to spend a few bucks to find out.
  • If you suck at writing (be honest with yourself), then hire a writer.  The cost is well worth the piece of mind that your resume is truly your “best foot forward”.
  • If interview begins with or alludes to “well, despite what I thought of your resume…”, then hire a writer.

Make sure to do some price shopping before hiring anybody.  Some writers charge exorbitant fees simply because they market better.  If you do the legwork of searching beyond the yellow pages, you’ll be rewarded with comparable quality at a much more agreeable price.

On a sidenote – many resume maker softwares available online are fantastic alternatives to professional writers. I would suggest exploring both options and weighing the pros and cons.


About grammar

This technically would fall under the bullet point about “if you suck as a writer”, but it’s important enough for me to rehash it here.  I’ve reviewed a mountain’s worth of resumes with grammatical errors, so make sure to check before you send it.  Then check again.  This isn’t necessarily a deal breaker for employers (depending on the position) but you’ll fair much better if your resume is immaculate.

To wrap it up…

Those that know these things get their foot in the hiring manager’s door. Those that don’t get left out in the rain.  So keep these things in mind when you’re crafting that knock-em-dead resume.  Otherwise, it might be time to get your umbrella ready.