Write a Chronological Resume

A well-crafted, clear and concise resume is very often the first impression you make on hiring personnel and can make or break your chances at a job. The chronological resume is one of the most commonly used resume formats, which lists your work experience in chronological order from your most recent job to your earliest. Use this format if you have a solid work history and ideal experience for the job to which you are applying, and no major gaps between employment. A chronological resume's simple and straight-forward approach divides your information into separate sections, which all should fit onto one page. This article will guide you through the process of writing a chronological resume.

Steps

Sample Chronological Resume

Doc:Chronological Resume

Preparing to Write

1. Decide that a chronological resume is right for you. There are several alternate resume formats, including a functional resume or a targeted resume. Only use a chronological resume if:
   • you have a solid work history that has improved over time on a clear trajectory (example: first barista, then shift supervisor, then store manager). As its name suggests, this format will emphasize the timeline of your work history, with your most recent job listed first and thus emphasized. If your most recent job is not your best or most relevant job, this is not the format for you.
   • you also have ideal experience for the job to which you are applying, and no major gaps between employment.
   • If you're still uncertain what type to use, consider asking other professionals in the field to which you are applying what type of resume they used (preferably people who have successfully navigated the job market in the past few years, since norms for these types of things change rapidly). You can also ask people who have served on hiring committees, staff at your college's Career Services office, or professors or teachers who have prepared you in your field.
2. Familiarize yourself with the company to which you are applying. Depending on how many positions you are applying to, you can spend more or less time on this task. In general, the more time you spend learning about the company, the better prepared you will be to write a compelling resume.
   • What are the priorities of the company? What types of people work there? What are their educational and work backgrounds? Much of this research can be done online: look at the company's website, read reviews of their services, read staff profiles on LinkedIn, or (if it’s a large company) read articles about the company from reputable business websites like Business Week at http://www.bloomberg.com/businessweek or The Wall Street Journal at http://www.wsj.com.
   • The dynamics, organizational leadership, and mission of the company should affect the contents and tone of your resume. For instance, a resume to a small, local charity organization that is family operated and not motivated by profit would look very different from a resume to a large corporate firm.
3. Familiarize yourself with the details of the job ad. Job advertisements are often lengthy and written in very industry-specific lingo, and it's important to familiarize yourself with the format and contents of job ads to find the ones you are most qualified for.
   • What are the specifics of the job ad? What type of position it is, and what are the requirements for education, experience, and skills? A close reading of the job ad should give you insight into the position and requirements and give you a hint as to what types of information the job search committee will be checking resumes for.
   • For instance, if a job ad says "we seek a sales associate fluent in Spanish," and you don't speak Spanish, this isn't the job for you. If you do speak Spanish, you know from this ad that you need to indicate that skill in a prominent place on the resume, or it might be discarded after a quick once-over by a tired search committee.
   • Highlight every specific skill, duty, or requirement listed in the job ad. When you've completed your resume, come back to the job ad and be sure you've addressed every point listed in the ad in a clear way on your resume.
   • Sometimes job ads mention soft skills which can be tricky to demonstrate on a resume. Think of concrete ways you have displayed those skills in your education or career. For example, if an ad lists "leadership skills" as a qualification, you can describe how you managed a group of workers or supervised a successful project. If it lists "self-starter," they want someone who can work without a ton of direct supervision and who shows initiative; be sure to mention any successful projects you have spearheaded or ways that you have exceeded expectations by completing major projects in advance of your deadlines.
   • Remember that many times job ads are written in an industry-specific lingo and might say more than they appear to say if you know how to "read between the lines." Ask a friend or mentor in the profession to look over the job ad with you.
4. Outline your resume and organize your information. The chronological resume is typically divided into sections.
   • Objective or Career Objective; some applicants with major career accomplishments use a Career Summary section instead. Usually 2-3 sentences, this is a brief statement of the type of position you are seeking.
   • Employment History (or Work Experience): List your most recent or current position first, followed by the one that preceded it, and so forth until you've reached your first job. If you have too many positions to list, consider listing the most relevant, and adding a line at the end of the section specifying that you have held XX other positions.
   • Education: List your most recent or highest degree first, followed by any degrees that preceded it, including high school. If you attended college or high school but did not graduate, just put the years that you attended. You do not need to note that you did not graduate.
   • Professional Memberships and Awards: This category is optional and should only be included if you have memberships and/or awards that are relevant to the job ad. For instance, you probably wouldn't list "President of Future Farmers of America" in a resume for a tech job, but you might list it in a resume for an agricultural job.
   • Special Skills: This is the place to include any skills you have that are specified in the job ad as required or preferred for the position, as well as any remotely relevant skills that set you apart from the competition. Examples can include languages spoken or read, computer software, skills in specialized areas like accounting or statistics, and special skills certifications (for instance, if you have a Certificate in Microsoft Excel from previous job training you might mention that here). Where relevant, also include your level of proficiency. You can also include "soft skills" like listening, conflict management, motivational skills, etc., but be sure these are relevant to the job.

Writing Your Resume

1. Provide your contact information as a heading on the top of the page. This is the only section of the resume that does not have a special heading (that is, it should not say "Contact Information").
   • Be sure to include: your full name, email address, permanent mailing address, telephone number, and website or fax number if you have one.
   • Be sure that your email address is professional and simple, like firstname.lastname@gmail.com. Do not use your college email address if you're a recent graduate; it will likely expire soon. Also avoid email addresses that are funny or silly, as these will seem unprofessional.
   • Do not use abbreviations and remember to include your area code.
   • Consider centering the contact information and drawing attention to your name by typing it in bold or making it slightly larger than the rest of the text.
   • The contact information is the first thing the employer will look at, and it sets the tone for the rest of your resume. You want it to be eye-catching, but not too busy or hard to read. Generally, unless you are in a creative industry or are very familiar with the culture of the company to which you are applying, its best to make your resume conservative in appearance. Choose a standard font that is easy to read.
2. Formulate your objective. The objective follows your personal information and is strongly written, but brief. In 2 to 3 sentences, highlight your best attributes that make you a match for the position.
   • Objectives are your best sales pitch for how you can help the organization reach its goals, not the other way around. It should clearly and specifically state your career direction or goal while simultaneously showing that your goal is synchronous with the description of the job to which you are applying and/or the organization's mission or goals.
   • Avoid using generic or cliché sounding objectives, like "To achieve a position in my chosen field that allows me to use my skills."
   • Consider writing a "user-centered" objective, which names the organization to which you are applying.
   • Example of a user-centered objective, which clearly describes a job seeker's background, relevant skills, and career goal with a specific employer: "Experienced social science researcher with five years experience in research and public speaking skills at a nationally recognized university seeking to utilize background in ethnography, survey research, and report writing as a user experience researcher with ABC Social Media."
3. List your employment history. This section will chronicle your experience beginning with your most recent position and continuing in reverse.
   • For each position, include dates of employment, name of the employer, title of position held, and your responsibilities (summarized in 1-2 sentences)
   • You can also list additional details about your responsibilities in a bullet list. Start each bulleted point with an active verb, like "Supervised construction of a major roadway" or "Drafted two successful grant applications for a combined $1 million in federal funding" (see http://career.opcd.wfu.edu/files/2011/05/Action-Verbs-for-Resumes.pdf for a complete list). Use this section to detail responsibilities and accomplishments that will resonate with the search committee at the job to which you are applying.
   • The most recent position should have the most information with less description given for the older and/or less relevant jobs.
4. List your education information. This section will chronicle your education beginning with your most recent degree or diploma and continuing in reverse.
   • Starting with your highest degree earned, list the name of the school, its location, the date of graduation, the specific degree earned, and perhaps your GPA if it was over 3.0. Whether or not to include a high GPA is generally industry specific; technical fields generally place a premium on a high GPA, while many other industries don't care as long as your experience is strong. Ask a Career Services counselor or a mentor in the industry to which you are applying if you're unsure.
   • When you write a resume, you do not have to list your high school if you have a college degree, but it is often common to do so. Consider the advantages or disadvantages, particularly if your high school is a local one to the job for which you are applying and might have either a good or bad reputation.
   • Whether or not to list the dates you attended or graduated is a personal decision. Although age discrimination is illegal in many cases, it still happens sometimes and may be a concern if you are older or younger than the typical hire for the type of position to which you are applying. Some people choose not to list their graduate dates, particularly if they are over age 45, while others consider their age an asset and choose to include the dates.
5. List your professional memberships and awards. This is your chance to show that you have excelled in your area of expertise.
   • Include professional organization memberships, additional licenses or certificates, scholarships or academic honors, and community service positions.
   • Brainstorm a list, then choose the most relevant and/or recent to include. Try not to include anything that does not relate to the job or make you stand out as a candidate. You should also consider the values of the company, and think in terms of what types of memberships or awards would be appropriate to discuss in that context.
   • If it is not obvious, be sure to specify how each membership or award you list might make you an asset to the company to which you are applying.
6. Highlight special skills. List any skills, experience or associations that further demonstrate how competent and dedicated you are, but were not acquired in a professional setting.
   • Be sure this section includes any skills that are specifically mentioned as required or desirable in the job ad, such as language skills or computer programs that are proficient with.
   • Impress employers in this section by informing them of any fundraising, volunteer work sports or clubs in which you participate in your time off from work.

Formatting Your Completed Resume

1. Ensure the resume is one page to two pages in length. Traditionally, resumes were expected to stick to a strict one-page rule, but today's standards have shifted.
   • A one-page resume is still standard, particularly if you have less than ten years of experience in relevant work or if you have not held many different positions.
   • You might consider using a two-page resume if you have more than 10 years of relevant experience to list or if you have technical skills that need to be listed in detail.
   • Your goal is not to tell your whole life's story or to seem like you're bragging about irrelevant accomplishments, but to concisely list all the relevant information about yourself.
2. Type the resume in a standard font. The hiring manager will spend only a few seconds reading your resume before deciding whether to discard it or continue reading. The font should be easy to read and pleasing to look at, but should not be distracting. While the right font is not likely to earn you any points with a hiring manager, a distracting choice could definitely cost you.
   • It must be easy to read and relatively conservative in appearance, such as Arial or Tahoma. The type should be 10-12 point in size, depending on the style you choose (some styles like Arial run larger, so choose 10 if that is the case).
   • The entire document should be in the same font, with the exception of your name and perhaps the section headings, which can be a different font but should still be very clearly legible.
3. Edit, edit, and edit again. Grammatical, spelling, or formatting errors on a resume is a bright red flag to a hiring manager, telling them that you do not pay attention to details and that you can't be bothered to take your time on this very important document.
   • Spell check using your word processor's spell check program along with a through visual edit, since spell check is known to miss certain grammatical and spelling errors
   • Check for errors in your information, such as the spelling of former employer's names or dates of employment. Most importantly, ensure that your contact information is accurate so a hiring manager can contact you if you make the short list.
   • Ask a friend to give it a once-over for errors, since you are less likely to find errors in your own writing.
4. Design the resume to look sophisticated and appropriate for your industry. The overall aesthetic of the document can make a lasting first impression.
   • Consider tying the aesthetic of the resume to your cover letter, using the same fonts, sizes, and heading styles. This makes your letter and resume appear to be a package rather than two disparate documents.
   • Browse the internet for industry specific sample resumes or ask an industry mentor to look yours over, to ensure that it is well put together.

Tips

• If your experience and qualifications mirror the job for which you are applying, consider using a targeted resume. It takes a lot of effort, particularly if you are applying to many jobs, but shows a job search committee specific ways that you are ideal for the position.
• Prepare your references on a separate sheet with the same personal information heading and in the same font and style, but do not include references on your resume and only provide the list to potential employers if they specifically request it.
• If you have lapses in your employment or are a recent college graduate with little relevant work experience, or if you have a lot of different types of experience but no clear career trajectory, consider using a functional resume instead, which focuses on your skills and experience.

Sources and Citations

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