Resume Format – How to format your Resume?

When you are writing the resume, it is important to present the details in an attractive manner. A properly written resume with well presented details will always attract more number of employers and increase your job opportunities. It is important to format your resume in a proper way rather than just including the job related details. The format of a resume you choose must go with the position you are applying for. For this, you must be familiar with the resume writing tips. You can also overview the sample resume format and know different ways of formatting your resume.

All of us know that resume is the basic marketing tool for convincing the employer about your suitability for the position. It is your prime responsibility to make the document more effective and grab the opportunity.

Formatting a Resume

Formatting a resume includes choosing an appropriate resume format for presenting your details and presenting the details in an effective way in your resume. First we discuss about the resume formats. There are three major resume formats used for writing the resumes. They are

  • Chronological
  • Functional
  • Combinational

Chronological resume format is the most popular and widely used resume format for writing the resumes. It is generally used by the candidates those who are changing their careers or those with minimum work experience. This format is also best for the fresher applicants. In this format the details are presented in the reverse chronological order. In the experience section, most recent experience is listed in the beginning followed by the next recent experience. Same procedure is followed in the education section. Your most recent degree is listed first, then the next recent and so on. This is generally a skill based format. Skills possessed by the individual are mainly focused in this format instead of the experiences.

Functional format is another popular resume format after the chronological one. It is used by the applicants having gaps in their employment history. In this format you don’t have to mention the dates of employments and hence your employment gaps will automatically be hidden.

Combinational resume format is the combination of above formats. It is becoming popular these days and used by many job searching individuals.

How to format a resume?

Following are the resume sections to be included in your resume.

  • Contact Details
  • Career Objective
  • Summary of Skills
  • Educational Details
  • Employment History
  • Personal Profile
  • References

Contact details are always on the top of the resume. You can place it in the center, right or left on the top. Make sure that the details in this section are clear and complete as this is the address where the employer will be contacting you. Follow the sequence of the sections and present the corresponding details in it.

  • Do not give ‘tab’ when writing the details in career objective or career summary section
  • Use the bulleted points when discussing the skills. This will make your job specific skills easily visible to the prospective employer
  • You may or may not list the references in your resume. When not listing them, write them on a separate sheet of paper and carry it along with you at the time of the interview
  • Do not include your hobbies  in your resume unless it is related to your applied position

Choose the appropriate resume format for presenting the details and make your resume stand out by proper formatting and listing accurate details.

Kasturi Sharma is a good resume writer. She is professional in resume writing.She has written different types of resume.She is expertise in choosing the resume templates like education resume template, customer service resume template etc.

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