The Chronological Resume - The Pros And Cons

Your resume should be able to convince a person within the space of about half a minute that you are a person they need to meet with; that here is a person that deserves an interview. So this half minute of attention from a prospective employer that you have, is what you have to use to get across as much information about your abilities, experience and skill as you can, by way of your resume. The two main examples of resumes that people use are chronological and functional. Understand the virtues of each and then decide which one will work the best for your set of circumstances.

A self written resume is essentially a free resume sample, so it is important to understand what exactly writing a chronological resume entails. A chronological resume is one that sets out chronologically or time-wise the kind of jobs one has had and the position and duration of each. Such a resume tries to convince an employer that here is a person who has been consistent in his chosen field, has done well and has made some progress reflected either by promotions, changing job descriptions, or increasing job responsibility. A chronological resume is usually written in reverse chronological order, by stating the most recent position first and the least recent last and so on.

Who is it for?: A chronological resume is most suitable for a person who has had a focused career path with consistent growth or advancement, since it sets out a sort of time line for a person's career hitherto. If there have been no gaps in employment a chronological resume will flow smoothly and create a good impression. This is particularly for someone whose career graph shows a steady increment or betterment; in other words one who has moved up in his career steadily. If a person’s career path has shown recent significant achievements or improvements, particularly in well known or reputable companies, then a chronological resume will set these out right in the beginning and are therefore even more advisable.

For whom is this resume format not suitable?: If however a person is fresh out of college, with little or no work experience, this may not be the right resume sample for them. A person who has had a rather checkered working life; one that has different or varied work patterns, will not find this resume format suitable. Also a person who has been out of the work force for a while, such as a homemaker who has taken some years off to bring up children, may find that a chronological resume shows up big gaps in the person’s career.

Sometimes a chronological resume is actually expected by a particular employee. Internet job sites and head hunters also are more apt to expect and to accept a chronological resume. Also a chronological resume format makes a person come across as straight forward and above board; one who is willing and able to set out all relevant details of his career without wanting to hide anything. So overall, a chronological resume may end up creating a better impression in those 30 seconds than would another kind of resume.