Choose the Right Resume Type
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2004-07-02 15:24:00-04:00
What's up with resumes? You know you need to write one, or update an old one. You're wondering what the latest trends are. You've even heard that employers aren't that keen on resumes anymore.
Despite rumors you may have heard, resumes continue to be an important tool in a successful job search - in every job field. A resume alone won't get you the job, but it can help get you that all-important interview. In fact, many job-search experts view this as the main purpose of a resume - to get you an interview.
Emphasize Skills
Today's resumes are different from the ones you've done in the past. If you have one, your old resume is probably a "summary of work history." Today's employers are interested in your skills not just your previous work experience. They want to know what you can do for them now and in the future. So, make your resume show how you can help an employer meet their needs.
What to Stress
As a mid-career or older worker, emphasize the positive aspects of your age and experience, including:
- Experience, maturity, judgment, perspective, increasing responsibility, consistent success
- Ability to contribute immediately (as opposed to a younger job seeker's untested potential)
- Willingness to work on a short-cycle, project-oriented basis
- Flexibility to adapt to new ideas
- Training in and familiarity with relevant computer software and other technology
What to Leave Out
As a mid-career and older worker, minimize dates and years by:
- Omitting dates of your degree(s)
- Omitting earliest jobs
- Inserting time frames for relevant past work experience, rather than the dates of employment. For example, write "five years" rather than "1965-1970."
The Basic Elements of Your Resume
There are five types of resumes. No one resume format is best for everyone. However, all formats include some version of:
Contact Information – At the top of your resume, clearly state your name, current address, telephone number, and e-mail address.
Summary – A good summary statement encourages the reader to continue reading your resume. Highlight your strengths, skills, knowledge, and achievements related to your job objective. A summary statement is important for experienced workers because it displays your major strengths.
You can also add a brief statement of the kind of work you are seeking.
Experience – In this section, document your skills and accomplishments. As a mid-life and older adult, you have accumulated a wealth of skills and abilities.
In listing your accomplishments, state what you did, briefly and clearly, by using action verbs. Show the results or the impact of your achievements. Use numbers when possible. Write statements that show how you have solved problems. Include the valuable skills you acquired while raising a family, volunteering, or managing a household.
You can list your accomplishments by area of expertise. Or you can list them under the jobs you've held.
Education and Training – List your relevant education and training in reverse chronological order, starting with your highest degree. Remember, you do not need to include the dates of your degree. Be sure to list special courses, seminars, workshops, or training that relate to your job objective. List these before your degree or formal education if they are more relevant.
Additional Information – Include other kinds of information, if it is relevant to your job objective. You can include information such as professional memberships, publications, community activities, military service, and foreign languages.
Choosing the Right Resume Type
Base your resume format on your background and type of job or career change you are seeking. There are five basic types of resumes, each with a specific style:
| Type of resume | When to use | Tips for writing |
|---|---|---|
| Chronological | You have a steady record of employment. You've worked mostly in one field or industry. You want to stay in the same line of work. |
Include only those jobs that most closely relate to your current work goal. Don't include a very long list of jobs. List your relevant work experience in reverse chronological order. Begin with your most recent job. |
| Functional | You're thinking of returning to a field you used to work in. You want to change careers. You have large gaps in your work history. You have extensive achievements in your volunteer work or hobbies. |
Emphasize your work objective, skills, and accomplishments. Highlight your transferable skills, the skills you can use in different settings. Leave out anything that doesn't relate to your job goal. |
| Combination | You want to emphasize your unique skills and accomplishments. You want less emphasis on other parts of your employment history. |
More emphasis: As in a functional resume, divide your experience into several areas of expertise. Show what you've accomplished. Less emphasis: As in a chronological resume, list your employers, job titles, and work years - briefly. |
| Modified letter or broadcast | You're making a career change. You are reentering the job market after an absence. You want your lack of direct experience to be less visible than in a traditional resume. |
Write a one-page letter to the employer. Emphasize details about your accomplishments and skills that will help the employer meet their needs. Persuade the employer to give you an interview. Then, you can speak about how your experience really does qualify you. |
| Electronic | You want a version of your resume that can be read by database or e-mail technology. | Prepare a simple, text-based version of your resume. Use no special formatting or graphics. Include 10-20 keywords from the job field and the job announcement. Send this version when you apply for a job through a jobs bank database, or when the employer requests it. |
Other Resume Tips
- Write clearly, concisely, and positively.
- Double- and triple-check for grammar and punctuation. Get another reader to help you.
- Use short sentences and paragraphs.
- Present strongest points first.
- Omit salary requirements.
- Use white or light-color, high-quality paper.
- Use standard size paper - 8 ? inch x 11 inch.
- Select an easy-to-read style and size of type.
- Balance content and white space.
- Limit yourself to two pages.
Try the three-feet test. Hold your resume out in front of you. Or set it down on a table or the floor. When you glance over it now, what do you notice first, or the most? Is this what you want an employer to notice? Revise as needed!
AARP Resource
7 Fundamental Rules for Crafting a Rock-Solid Resume
Seven key rules for a dynamic resume.
Additional Resources
Resume Tutorial
Create a great resume, step by step. From the U.S. Department of Labor's Career InfoNet.
The Damn Good Resume
Find answers to job seekers' most common resume questions and problems. Use resume examples and self-help quizzes.
Books
Find these books online at Barnes and Noble.com
Building a Great Resume: For Job Hunters, Career Changers, Consultants, and Freelancers, Kate Wendleton, Career Press, 1999.
Create a powerful statement of your accomplishments and show how your previous work will benefit a new employer. Sample resumes, before-and-after examples, and wise guidance on how to present yourself.
Best Resumes for People Without a Four-Year Degree, Wendy Enelow, Impact Publications, 2003.
Powerful advice on how not to let your lack of a four-year degree affect your career progress. Many examples show how to present your accomplishments and handle age issues.
Expert Resumes for People Returning to Work, Wendy S. Enelow, Louise M. Kursmark, JIST Works, 2003.
Learn how to show the skills you've gained through activities like volunteering and family care.
Other Expert Resume books in this great series focus on Manufacturing Jobs, Teachers & Educators, Managers & Executives, Health Care, and Computer & Web jobs.
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