Resume Formats

Each resume is customized and unique. However, to make it look more professional and presentable, you can choose various formats of resume. Selecting the format that best prioritizes your skills, experience and achievements, forms a brief document that proves you fit for a certain role. At the end, it is all about how well you sell yourself to get in this competitive world. There are namely three types of resume formats used:

Chronological
The chronological resume format is aimed to emphasize on your consistent professional development and expansion. It highlights the details of your employment history, educational qualifications and trainings. Depending on the level of your experience or if you are a fresh graduate, your educational details would be updated either on the top or at the end of your resume. Your career journey is presented in a reverse sequential order, beginning with the latest employment position. This format is mainly appropriate in following scenarios:

• You are searching for a position in a field where this format is anticipated.
• Your job history has been consistently progressive and advancing.
• Your heading has been remarkable and you have been recently working with the top most companies on the list.

Functional
The functional resume format focuses on your proficiencies, qualifications and achievements in short. Your experience history is placed at the bottom of your resume, highlighting your above mentioned features. However, many employers don't prefer this format as it is considered to be used to hide your draw-backs or lack in your employment history. Regardless of this fact, the functional resume format can be efficient in the given circumstances:

• You are a fresher or a recent graduate.
• You have taken a break from your profession for some time and want to re-start.
• You are switching to another career path.
• You carry an experience in distinct positions.

Combination
The combination resume format is a mixture of both chronological and functional formats. Alike functional format, a summary of your most inspiring skills, qualifications and capabilities are mentioned at the beginning of your resume followed by an experience section which is written in the chronological format. This format is included in various formats of resume after discovering the employer's expectations and an employees worth. The Combination resume format is very widely used and recommended mostly in the below situations:

• You posses a stable and developing career growth.
• You are targeting a specific designation and need an effectual approach to cope up with the job demand.
• You are seeking for a role in a field that expects chronological format. However, you wish to spotlight your achievements or additional qualifications.

All the three various formats of resume are distinct and helpful in their own way depending on the circumstance one is facing. Interviewers hardly take 30 seconds to go through your resume and in such condition you need to prove your worth by keeping your resume up to the mark. Hence, before writing a resume, choose one that best represents you and crack the interviews.