Resumes are like advertisements on your job search. You submit it to hiring companies in order for them to know that you are interested in filling out the job vacancy. However, just because they need new employees doesn’t mean you are already hired. There are still processes that must be taken into consideration in order to choose the best candidate suitable for the job. Hence, having a great resume would really mean a higher chance of employment. There are actually a lot of tips to improve your curriculum vitae which have been proven to be useful in getting to the next stage of employment. There are also resume samples online which you can use as your guide in building up a good resume.

However, before you create your resume, it is important that you should also consider which type of resume you should use. Knowing the different types of resume can help you in standing out among other applicants. There are actually a lot to choose from which will however depend on what type of job you are applying. The four major types of resume are Chronological, Functional, Combination, and Targeted.

  • Chronological Resume
  • This type of resume is the most commonly used format. The listing of your work history will be your most recent job followed by your other job experiences which are in reverse chronological order. This format is preferred by employers to have a quick picture of your recent work history hence this is more applicable to those applicants with great work experience. Nevertheless, if you are still a newbie and is still starting to build up your career, you might just consider another format to use.
  • Functional Resume
  • This format emphasizes your skills and experiences. Unlike chronological resume, this type of resume set your employment history under the details of your skills developed over the years. It sometimes include a resume summary that highlights your skills and achievements. This format is used mainly by candidates who got gaps in their employments history since they have still no clear career path and therefore changes career habitually.
  • Combination Resume
  • This type of resume is the combination of chronological and functional wherein at the top of the resume lies the list of your skills and qualifications. It will be followed by the chronological order of your work history. Thus, this format emphasizes all the relevant skills you have which can be very useful to the job you are applying and providing your employer the background of your employment history as well.
  • Targeted Resume
  • This resume targets the specific qualifications needed for the job. You only put vital information such as the skills and experiences which are needed in the position you’re applying. This can however be time-consuming but it’s well worth the time and effort. It can generate the best results since you are already mirroring the prospective job. Just make sure to be accurate though and try not to decorate much your career highlights.

By Robert Smith

John Smith: John, a former software engineer, shares his insights on software development, programming languages, and coding best practices.