Writing The Education Section
The education section is the other part of your resume where the reverse chronological order needs to be used.
For example, if you have a Ph.D., list that first, along with the university, the field of study, and the year you earned the degree. Follow that with the same info on where you obtained your masters degree, and below that do the same for your bachelors degree.
If you have a postsecondary degree, its generally not considered necessary to mention where you went to high school, although if you have room, it does no harm.
The education section can also be used to mention any certifications in your field, for example if you are a certified nursing assistant or a certified public accountant . Participation in job-relevant continuing education classes, seminars and workshops can also be listed here, as well as membership in honor societies, clubs or extracurricular activities related to your field. If you had a stellar grade point average or graduated with honors, you can also say so here.
Add An Education Section
Generally, the education section comes right after work experience.
If, however, you have just graduated college and want to create a chronological resume to start applying for jobs, the education section can replace the experience section that youd be lacking.
Either way, the education section should be brief but jam-packed with information that can communicate your values and skills to the recruiter.
Heres what the education section consists of:
- Program Name: E.g. MA in Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies
- University Name: E.g. University of Greenwich
- Period Attended: E.g. 08/1214 – 05/2018
- GPA: E.g. 3.9 GPA
- Academic Achievements: E.g. Papers you might have published, or awards received.
- Minor: E.g. Minor in Political Science
The Structure And Format Of A Chronological Cv
A chronological resume should follow this basic structure and format:
Header: Contains your name, occupation, address, email and phone number. Summary/profile: 3-4 lines at the top of the page summarizing what you do and why youre good at it. Employment history: A listing of your past jobs , with bullet points on what you achieved at each one. Education: Your formal educational experience and any certifications in your field. Skills: A short list of the hard and soft skills that make you good at your job. Optional sections: Membership in professional organizations hobbies and interests references
Here is how a chronological resume should look.
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How Would You Summarize Your Resume
Next up, include a brief summary of your skills, work history, and career highlights. This section can be called a resume summary, professional profile, or resume profile. This is different from a resume objective, which we don’t recommend using.
Think of this section as your resume’s âelevator pitchâ–a short and simple pitch to capture employers’ attention and make them want to read on.
The elevator pitch is a concept from the sales industry. Sales professionals should be able to sum up their product in 30 seconds or less: roughly the amount of time you might share an elevator ride with someone.
Similarly, your resume should quickly convey why you’re a great fit for your job target. Your work experience section will support your claims.
Example of a summary on a chronological resume:
Tips from a resume expert:
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Start your resume summary with a headline. This can be as simple as the job title you’re targeting, or include your top certifications, skills, or accolades.
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This section should generally stay between 4 and 6 lines. Be selective about what you showcase here!
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Keep this section employer-focused. Try to check all the boxes the employer is looking for by using keywords from the job description and examples of how you add value.
Tips For Making The Most Of The Chronological Format
Strive for visual balance and distribution in your resume, so that, for example, you dont have one huge section and several tiny sections.
Remember that a resume/CV should almost always be one page only, so you need to be judicious about what to include. If you have extensive job experience, or if youre highly educated, it may be impossible to list all your achievements and credentials.
Bullet lists, in particular, can take up a lot of vertical space. Consider arranging bullet lists in side-by-side columns, or simply summarizing your accomplishments in one text block .
If youre still having trouble fitting everything onto one page, avoid resorting to formatting tricks like using a tiny font size or making the margins too small. Look for widows on your page, which is where one or two words spill onto a second line, making your resume one line longer. Thoughtful trims can usually eliminate these space-eaters.
If you experiment with different resume templates, you may also find that simply choosing a different template will make your resume fit onto one page.
Read Also: How To Write Job Objective In Resume
When To Use A Chronological Resume Format
The three main types of resume formats are the chronological, functional/skills-based one, and a combination resume format of the two. What you choose to use will depend on the type of job you are applying for and your experience level.
In the majority of cases, the obvious choice is the chronological resume. It is common, it highlights just the right sections, and job recruiters prefer it over the other formats.
Nonetheless, this doesnt mean you should just cross the other options off your list, especially if your work experience doesnt amount to much.
Consider these other two formats, taking into account their advantages and disadvantages as well:
Outline Your Work History
This is the main component of your resume. It should list your professional experience in reverse-chronological order, meaning you start by listing your current or most recent job and work backward. Each work history entry needs to include your job title, company name, location of the company and dates of employment.
Recruiters will be looking for more than just a list of tasks and responsibilities, but rather concrete examples of accomplishments, relevant skills and qualifications and quantifiable achievements for example:
- The type of people and the number of people with whom you interacted, including customers, managers and contractors.
- The tools and software used such as ERP systems, databases.
- Work produced: Depending on your role, this can vary between tangible products, analytical reports, applications, plans, presentations, negotiations, lessons.
- Promotions to different job positions within the same company. Separate these roles, so the growth is more evident.
- Compelling achievements. Try, for example, âDesigned strategic budget plan, which saved $50,000 in the first quarter of 2017â instead of âInvolved in the strategic budget plan for the year 2017.â Just as in the career profile, your achievements get more attention when they are quantified.
Look at how this example of a work history excellently features the candidates top accomplishments.
Work History
Esthetician | 03/2019 CurrentSelf-Employed Atlanta, GA
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> What You Must Include In A Chronological Resume
The date: the main objective of this kind of resume is to show the order of your experiences, depending on the industries that you have worked with in the past. If your resume doesnt show the date, then only one word can describe it: outdated. It cant be stressed enough just how significant the date is. So, even if you forget to say how golden you were in your previous company, save yourself a cup of frustration and save the date. Write theresume templatelike a pro, even if you are not good at it. Make it read well. At the end of the day, you want to be sure that you are going to get the job.
Professional Work Experience In A Reverse Chronological Resume
This section plays the most important role as chronology is first defined in this section.
Here, you have to put your current or recent work experience first, followed by previous work experiences placing the last experience in the end.
As a general rule, keep all the information as one-liner to save space and give ample white spacing.
To make it easy for the recruiter to understand your work, bucketing and bolding of the work experience would come handy.
Refer to the reverse chronological resume example:-
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Free Chronological Resume Format Example
Here youll find a free downloadable example that you can use to help write your chronological resume.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, though! JobHero has hundreds of resume examples that are industry and job-title specific.
They can help you see how to phrase or include work experience on your resume!
Why The Chronological Resume Template Works Best
Now that you understand what a chronological resume is, here are a few standout reasons why its the best choice.
1. Hiring Managers and Recruiters Prefer It Over Other Formats
The best way to impress a hiring manager or recruiter is to make your resume as easy to follow as possible. It makes their job easier, quicker and gives them a feel for your work experience right off the bat. Formatting your resume chronologically will most likely improve your chances of landing the job, as it offers dates, titles, and essential information that will give the reviewer more context.
2. Applicant Tracking Systems Can Scan It Easier
Many companies, especially larger corporations, use applicant tracking systems as a streamlining mechanism to sift through the thousands of resumes they get on a daily basis. It screens and tests potential hires and can even do other administrative tasks such as scheduling interviews, checking references, etc.
These systems are created to intentionally search for keywords and specific backgrounds in order to find the right, qualified candidates. Chronological resumes are easier for these systems to scan.
3. It Makes For a Neat and Organized Document
The chronological nature of this resume makes the document look put together and organized. It adds a nice flow, so whoever is reading it can clearly see when you worked and where. The secret is in the structure.
4. Its Universally Accepted by the Job Market
5. Its Easy to Change
10. Its Transparent
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Craft A Strong Summary Statement
The summary statement should concisely summarize your professional experience, skills and accomplishments. Here you should underline the key points in your work history and focus on your most relevant achievements.
Start with the number of years of work or internship experience, your area of expertise and your primary job duties. Then specify important facts and accomplishments with quantified information. Continue with objective skills and abilities that will be useful in your new position. Also include relevant awards, degrees or certificates you hold.
To have a better understanding of this section, letâs compare two professional profiles. Here is a bad example of a corporate real estate executiveâs profile:
Summary StatementExecutive with the ability to develop real estate strategies. Five-plus years of experience, highly motivated, results-oriented and a team player. Keeps up-to-date with fluctuations in the industry through ongoing professional development.
In the example above, its unclear what the executiveâs specialty is. Of course, every company would like to hire someone âhighly motivated,â but just using the phrase alone doesnât show itâs true. The last sentence could also be improved by describing âongoing professional developmentâ in more detail.
Now letâs have a look at this great example:
How To Format A Chronological Resume
A resume is a formal document, with fairly set guidelines for how it should look. If your resume looks different from the usual format, you should have a very good reason. For instance, a design-focused role might offer more freedom to deviate from the norm. Here are some formatting strategies to keep in mind:
- Consider using a template: Resume templates, which are available through word processing software such as Google Docs and Microsoft Word, can help you cut down on the labor to create the document. A template can be a very helpful starting point as you create or update your resume.
- Choose a readable font: Make sure to choose a standard font that’s easy to read. Don’t make the size too small because you’re looking to include lots of information on a single page.
- Make sure it’s easy to read on the screen and when printed out: Few people want to read a document with cramped margins and a tiny font. Try to make your resume easy to scan by using bullet points, strategically bolded text, and incorporating plenty of white space.
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Who Should Use A Chronological Resume And Why
The chronological format is the most commonly used format and the one recruiters recognize the most. Using the chronological format will give your resume the upper hand in that aspect however, not every candidate will benefit from it.
Because the focus of chronological resumes is the work history, only candidates whoâve had a lot of experience thatâs been consistent and relevant to the desired role should use this format.
If you want to make sure you’re the right candidate for a chronological resume, make sure you tick off all these requirements:
- 10 or more years of formal work experience.
- Steady employment with no gaps or breaks between jobs.
- Stayed at each of your jobs for more than one year.
- Demonstrate career growth with promotions or increased responsibilities.
Training & Certifications In A Reverse Chronological Resume Template
Certifications form an important part of your career journey as they increase your skills, knowledge and bargaining power.
Literally speaking, a resume looks incomplete without a list of certifications due to the high increase in competition for each job.
An operations manager resume is incomplete without a six-sigma certification, a digital marketing expert’s resume is incomplete without a social media marketing certificate, and so on.
How to add certifications in a resume, please visit our Guide on Certifications in a Resume
Honestly, recruiters don’t care what certification you pursued 10 years ago.
We tend to forget what we learnt a few years ago.
Heck, we tend to misplace the certificates too.
Also, too old certifications tend to become invalid with changing times.
Don’t eliminate them from the resume but simple placement in the reverse chronological order will take you to your dream interview!
Refer to the reverse chronological resume example:-
Refer to the reverse chronological resume example:-
Incorrect placement of Certifications
As seen in the image above, recent awards and accomplishments are stated first followed by the later ones.
For more sample chronological resume templates, visit our resume builder.
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Premium Options For Simple Chronological Resume Templates
Let’s check out five top premium resume templates chronological format designs. They’re a mix of Elements and GraphicRiver designs that you can use for your own resume with minimal work required.
Minimalism is more popular than ever. When you’ve got fewer design elements, the key details in simple chronological resume templates really shine. This design is the perfect example and is sure to bring focus to your most important career moments.
What’s The Difference Between Chronological Resumes And Other Resume Formats
The primary alternative to the chronological/reverse chronological resume is the functional resume format, which focuses on your experience and skills rather than a time-based narrative of how you acquired them. The hybrid resume format uses a combination of these two approaches.
For example, you may be a professional accountant who is looking for an exit strategy to pursue your longtime passion for photography. If youre preparing a resume to promote your experience doing wedding, event and real estate photography, it would make little sense to provide a detailed chronological list of your past jobs as an accountant. In this case, a functional resume emphasizing your photography experience would be a better choice. Lets dig a little deeper into the chronological resume to see if its the best choice for you. What this guide will cover:
- When to use a chronological resume
- Advantages and disadvantages of a chronological resume
- The format and structure of a chronological resume
- Writing the employment history and education sections
Do resumes have to be chronological?
Most resumes are chronological, but you can also use a functional resume or hybrid. It depends on your experience and what would suit best based on whether your career has been seamless or you have embarked on a career rollercoaster
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Web Developer Chronological Resume
As you can see in the example, the candidate has chosen to place his courses and training above his education. When you have followed courses or have been trained in the exact field of work where youre applying, it makes sense to rank the field-specific courses and training higher than your university education.
This article has more information on how to perfect your Web Developer Resume.
When Is A Chronological Resume Not Advantageous
A chronological resume is not advantageous for candidates with employment gaps or job seekers with little work experience. A chronological resume will only magnify those periods of unemployment.
If you have less than two years experience, a better choice is the functional resume because it emphasizes your skills and abilities rather than your work history.
For those going through a career change, a chronological resume is also not the best choice. Instead, use a hybrid/combination resume, which will showcase your skills as well as your work history. The combination resume merges the best of both chronological and functional resume formats.
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> What Does The Term Chronological Resume Mean
Do you remember the days when you were in grade two and your tutor asked you to write a list of your ten favorite foods in ascending order? You used numbers. That is a perfect example of a chronological order. But that doesnt answer the question properly, right? In simple terms, a sequential resume is the job application document that outlines your experience in an ascending order or otherwise. This kind of resume example is quite common these days. Do you know why? Because employers are looking for industry-focused applications, not random ones.