Preparing for your job search senior year of college can be an anxiety-filled process but crafting your resume doesn't have to be. Follow my resume series for tips I have learned from Cal State LA's Career Center.
Your resume is basically your ticket to an interview. Oh, the pressure! Before we pull out those brown paper bags, I have learned that breaking concepts and tasks into smaller pieces, helps understand and complete tasks more efficiently and successfully. So in this resume series, I think it is best for us to start with understanding resume types, content, and organization.
There are Four Types of Resumes
(But Really There are Three)
Chronological
This type of resume is the traditional resume. A chronological resume lists your work experience in reverse-chronological order starting with your most recent experience at the top. This resume emphasizes the dates and your career trajectory.
Typically, the chronological resume will include:
Contact information
Work experience (most recent positions)
Education
Skills relevant to the job position
Your choice of additional information, if space permits. Additional information includes volunteer work, organizations, awards, and languages.
This is a good choice for anyone who's work experience (including internships) show a progression in skills learned and career advancement. If your experience so far matches your career interest/field of choice, this is also a good fit for you. However, if you have multiple gaps in employment or have not had experience in your new career choice, you might want to choose the next resume type.
Functional
Unlike the chronological resume which emphasizes career development and work history, a functional resume emphasizes your skills.
Typically, the functional resume will include:
Contact information
Career objective
Skills relevant to the job position with examples of that skill in action and an outcome grouped by themes
Work experience
Education
Your choice of additional information, if space permits. Additional information includes volunteer work, organizations, awards, and languages.
Themes for your skills if you have retail experience might include: Interpersonal Communication, Conflict Resolution, Leadership, Problem-Solving, and Product-Based Selling. All these skills and more can be honed from working a customer-facing role. Highlighting your skills will de-emphasize your role or limited work history and give you greater flexibility to demonstrate that you have the skills necessary to land this new job.
If you have some work experience in your career of choice such as an internship or two, you might consider the next resume type.
Combination
A combination resume is a blend of a chronological and functional resume. This is the most flexible resume format as it allows you to emphasize both your work history and your skills. This is the resume option that I am currently using because there are skills that I have learned while obtaining my degree and during private study that I would like to emphasize along with my work history. However, as I develop my career, I will definitely transition into a chronological resume. A combination resume is the perfect option if you did not acquire all of your skills on the job but they are relevant to the position you are applying to now.
Typically a combination resume will include:
Contact information
Work experience
Relevant skills
Education
Your choice of additional information, if space permits. Additional information includes volunteer work, organizations, awards, and languages.
Now, some say that there is a fourth type of resume: Tailored. But as my career center advisor pointed out, and I completely agree, you should always tailor your resume to the role you are applying for with relevant skills and work experience. So, depending on the role, you might want to emphasize your education first, skills, or work history. Including volunteer work might even be beneficial in some roles.
Now, this seems like a huge task when you are applying to many jobs per week. So, the next post, Resume Series: Making it Work for You, covers how to go about it in an efficient and effective way. Again, knowledge courtesy of Cal State LA's Career Development Center!