Studies show recruiters spend on average 6 seconds reviewing a resume. Because of the brevity of time spent, a crucial part of applying for a job is highlighting yourself in your resume in the best possible light.
To do this, you want your relative experience, education and training to appear in the upper 1/3 of your resume – for a resume read on a computer monitor, this is ‘above the scroll.’
With that said, here are five of the most popular formats that do just that depending how your specific information fit the job posting:
Reverse Chronological
This is the best format if you have been consistently employed with no breaks in employment over two years. For recently discharged veterans or servicemembers transitioning out soon who have served for at least one enlistment period or more, this may be the best format because of your consistent work history. This format usually has the following sections:
- Contact information
- Resume summary or resume objective
- Work experience
- Education
- Skills
- Additional Sections
Functional
If you have had a significant break in employment, such as having been out of the military for two years or more, and going to school for example, highlighting your education, skills, abilities and job qualifications, and pushing your work experience down lower in the resume, can be a better format to use. Your recent educational experience would show up higher in the resume. Typically, the following sections (in order) are included in this type of format:
- Contact information
- Resume objective
- Education
- Skills Summary
- Additional Skills
- Work Experience
Combination
Just as it sounds, this format integrates both the chronological and functional formats into one. While trickier to write while keeping everything organized and easy to read, it shows off both your work history and education accomplishments better. When you have both, consider using this format with these section headings:
- Contact information
- Skills Summary
- Work Experience
- Education
- Additional Skills
Federal
Using this unique resume is best if applying for a job with the federal government. Typically, longer than a standard one or two-page resume, this format can run as long as four to six pages as it gets deeper into your work experience, education, skills and abilities. It even has a place above the scroll to put information about your security clearance, prior military or other federal government experience, and if you are claiming veterans preference.
Master
In today’s world of tailoring each resume to a specific job posting, it makes it easier if you have a master resume with all your information in one document – either on your computer or online. Then it is easy to cut and paste information into another format depending on the job you are applying for and how your work history, education, training and acquired skills fit that job posting. With a master resume, you are not always recreating everything each time to fit a specific job posting. Creating a master resume takes more work in the beginning, but it will save time in the end. Work smarter instead of harder!
The purpose of a resume is to get you to the next step in the hiring process – the interview. But with just six seconds to make an impression, it is important to use the right resume format to show you are the right person for that job.
