A resume is a brief profile of your accomplishment and your qualifications. A resume should be short and concise; you highlight your skills, experience, career goals, and knowledge. There are three basic types of resumes. A chronological resume, a functional resumes and a combination resume, a hybrid resume is a combination of the functional and chronological resume.
The chronological resume style emphasizes education and academic-related experience, past employment and extracurricular activities. Using this style, you list the most recently held position first, followed by your next most recent position, and so forth.
The functional resume emphasizes your specific work accomplishments and the experience you have acquired on the job, and de-emphasizes where experience was gained and/or dates of employment. Unlike the chronological resume, the functional resume is a good resume style for those who have a wide range of experience or are changing career direction.
The combination resume, utilizes parts of the functional and chronological styles to create a well tailored resume. The combination resume is a good style for someone who is seeking a position in which he or she will benefit from accentuating both their on the job experience, caliber of companies worked for and strong educational background.
When possible, your resume should be one page. For those with more extensive experience, this might not be possible; however, your goal should be to make your resume very concise. The key is to create a positive impression in the employers mind within 20 seconds or less. Considering the number of resumes that are typically reviewed by employers, your resume should be written in a way that conveys your strongest points using the least amount of words.
The header of your resume should contain your contact information. Include your full name, permanent and local addresses, phone number and email address.
You should start your resume with your objective. Your objective should be a brief statement summarizing the type of work you want to do and a career field in which you are interested. Let the reader know your specific interests; provide a focus for the rest of the resume. Focus on skills; begin with active verbs such as "Seeking," "Desire" or "To obtain."
List your educational achievements. Start with most recent degree awarded and work backward in time. Do not list high school or earlier education unless it is exceptional or relevant in some way. Include any additional training that is relevant to the position you are applying for, this should include certifications, significant courses attended etc.
List any experience relevant to your stated job objective, whether paid or unpaid.
Include full-time or part-time work experience, volunteer jobs, internships or cooperative education placements. Begin with your most recent experience and work backward. Focus on transferable skills (communication, analysis, teamwork, research, leadership and writing) and accomplishments.
Emphasize any significant activities you participate in outside of work, include community service or extra-curricular activities. List activities that demonstrate your leadership ability, initiative, good communication skills, and perseverance. Highlight any leadership roles you have held, the languages you speak and your fluency level. Also list any hobbies that you have.
Listed below are some helpful hints for writing a resume that is sure to capture a potential employer's attention:
1. Place the most important (relevant) information first.
2. Choose headers to highlight your individual strengths.
3. Begin sentences with action verbs.
4. Stress results, skills, and accomplishments rather than duties performed.
5. Avoid personal pronouns (I, me, my).
6. Use the correct tense when describing past/present activities.
7. Proofread your resume for misspelled words and grammatical errors.
8. Avoid using abbreviations, slang, or jargon.
9. Be concise and truthful.
10. Make your resume professional, attractive, and easy to read.