Chronological Resumes Emphasize Your Work History
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2004-07-02 15:24:00-04:00
Do you have a long-term, steady work history? Do you want to stay in the same field? A chronological resume is usually a good choice for your new job search.
A chronological resume tells people what you have done, where, when, and for whom. If you are changing fields or have a sparse work history, consider a different resume type.
List of Work Experiences
A chronological resume lists your relevant work experience in reverse chronological order. Begin with your most recent job. List your job titles, employers' names, and dates of employment (in years only). Under each job, describe what you did and what you accomplished.
If you have a long work history, you may want to select those jobs that most reinforce your current work goal. You can omit earlier periods of your work history entirely. However, if you have relevant experience that is not recent, list the experience, but not the employment dates.
Include titles, dates, and descriptions of major volunteer work experience, if it applies to the type of job you are seeking. You don't have to label it as volunteer.
Skills and Accomplishments
Under each work experience, choose your most important accomplishments. State what you did, briefly and clearly, by using action verbs. Give the results or the impact of your achievements, using numbers when possible.
Write statements that show how you solved problems. Employers are looking for how your skills can help them.
For example, if you are seeking a job in customer relations, describe the time you effectively communicated information about a 150-item product list to customers. Also, include the fact that as a result of this communication, returned orders decreased by 20 percent.
- Communicated extensively with customers inquiring about a 150-item product list. This communication decreased the number of returned orders by 20 percent.
For a job managing computer operations:
- Initiated and implemented a strategy for consolidating computer operations from three centers to two centers, saving $500,000 without interrupting processing.
For a job fund-raising:
- Planned and supervised five community events that raised over $300,000 for the Falls Church Homeless Shelter.
These three examples explain the situation, the action you took, and the results.
You can include other information such as education and training, publications, awards, and hobbies if they are relevant to your job search.
Sample Chronological Resumes
(Adobe Acrobat Required)
Sample chronological resume #1
Sample chronological resume #2
Book
Find these books online at Barnes & Noble.com
Damn Good Resume Guide: A Crash Course in Resume Writing, Yana Parker, Ten Speed Press, 2002.
Outlines ten easy-to-follow steps for writing a great resume. Very straightforward, with real-life employer feedback on sample resumes.
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