What exactly is a resume? Hopefully if you found this page, you already know the answer to this question. In case you don’t, I will include a short description now. A resume is a document that is used to describe a person’s career background. Included sections are a Summary/Objective Statement at the top, followed by Skills, Work History, Education, etc. These are not in any particular order and can vary depending on one’s particular situation. Once you have prepared a resume, it is then submitted to a potential employer. The most common method today is usually by email or via a job board website. This is due to the widespread use of the internet and availability of new technologies that have take the place of traditional “paper” methods. However, submitting a hard-copy (paper version) is still extremely effective, and in some cases even more effective. It is important to understand the type of job and company you are applying to, and use that understanding to properly submit your resume the way they would like to see it. Otherwise, it may get tossed in the trash pile.
Ok, enough about what a resume is. You should already know if you have gotten this far. Here I will talk about the different types of resumes and when you should use them.
Types of Resumes:
1. The Functional Resume: Functional resumes are intended to focus more on your skills/qualifications rather than your actual jobs that you’ve held in the past. This is a perfect format if you are say a Teacher or Administrative Assistant with the same duties in every company that you have worked for. The functional resume removes the redundancies associated with similar job titles and tasks and instead, transforms them into a unique set of skills in a separate section of the resume.
2. The Reverse Chronological Resume: In prior years, a “chronological” format may have been used to create a resume for a job seeker who wanted to show off their previous employers from oldest to newest. However, in recent times, this style is no longer used. Instead, employers want to see your most recent position (newest to oldest) and want it to be more concise than traditional resumes use to be.
3. The Targeted Resume: This format is used to target one specific position or job announcement. Here you would create a resume that focuses on your “relevant” key strengths and qualifications that the available job requires, making the resume more targeted to the job rather than just a generic presentation of your background.
4. The Hybrid-Combined Resume: We often like to use this format because many job seekers have so many different achievements, skills, and abilities that should be shown on paper. Combining all of these attributes into a resume while still targeting the job requirements is the hard part. This may be a more difficult approach, but it has been proven to be a more effective one for seasoned professionals and executives with a long history of accomplishments.