Friday, July 24, 2009

Which Resume Formats Are Better?

By Cynthia Penfold

If you are anything like me you probably never gave the subject of resume formats any consideration at all until you realized there was something on your resume that could be holding you back.

In my case, I had a number of gaps in my employment history that I wanted to minimize and I also wanted to find a way to shift the focus of the resume to my strong skills. Lucky for me I discovered the functional format for a resume which keeps the focus on skills instead of timeframes. With so many people currently unemployed there are likely many people who are in the same position as me. You seem to have no problem finding positions for which you want to apply but you feel as though your resume is not strong enough to be considered seriously for these positions.

For years, I gave up on even applying for these dream jobs because I knew I would not get them until I realized there are different formats for resumes which could really help me. The first thing I did when I realized there were many resume formats to choose from was to really think about which of these formats suited me best. This decision was not made based on personal preference but was instead based on what highlighted my most marketable features. This involved some research. I had to first figure out how many formats of resumes where available.

Then I took a close look at each format and the benefits it offered. I also spent time searching for information on why each format is most useful.

Finally, I tried several different resume formats before committing to one. I created entire resumes each with a different format and reviewed these resumes critically. I looked at them as though I were an employer and tried to determine would I hire the person behind this resume. It was certainly a tedious process but it really helped me to make my decision. I chose the format that made me the most marketable.

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