FORMATS
There are many resume formats, but the most common are reverse chronological and skills-based.
Reverse Chronological:
A straightforward resume that lists work experience and achievements from most recent backwards. It
focuses on details of employment and education including dates, employers, titles, job descriptions. This
is the traditional, conservative format focusing on WHERE you have been. The goal of this format is to
show progression, positioning you for the next upward career step. Be sure to focus on areas of specific
relevance to your target position or career field.
Skills Resume:
This resume is oriented to what skill sets the job seeker can bring to the employer, rather than narrating
history. This is the non-traditional, modern format where the focus is on what skills you possess. The
goal of this format is to show your transferable skills. Education and experience sections are still
included, but the focus is on the skills section. It is a good format for college graduates with little
relevant work experience because it allows emphasis of skills gained through related and unrelated
employment, volunteer experiences, class projects, and campus activities.
REFERENCES
References should be printed separately on paper that matches your resume.
Include your resume heading at the top and at least three references listed below. Include the
person’s name, title, employer, address, phone number, email address.
Make it available to the interviewer only when asked for.
BE SURE TO ASK PERMISSION BEFORE USING SOMEONE AS A REFERENCE!
It is not necessary to use the words "References available upon request” at the end of your
resume.
ELECTRONIC RESUMES
Many employers prefer to receive resumes electronically, via email or through online search methods.
When they do receive resumes via fax or postal mail, they may scan the resume into a database from
which they pull matching candidates. In some cases, your resume will no longer be initially reviewed by
a person, but rather by a computer. Computers read resumes differently than people do. To make sure
that no important information about you is lost in the scanning process and to increase your chances of
being electronically selected, we suggest the following guidelines for writing an electronic resume.
Emailing Resumes, Online Formats, etc.
It is important to follow whatever instructions the employer requests for submitting electronic resumes.
If sending as an attachment, save your resume as rich text format (.rtf). This will allow
employers to open your file even if they use a different version or program than that which you
used to create the resume.