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• 1. Self Assessment
• 2. Research
• 3. Decision-Making
• 4. Networks & Contacts
  • 4.1 Work Search
    • 4.1.1 Traditional Methods of Finding Openings
    • 4.1.2 Internet Sites Listing Job Advertisements
    • 4.1.3 Creative Methods for Finding Work
    • 4.1.4 Researching Employers
    • 4.1.5 Networking, Developing Leads and Making Contacts
    • 4.1.6 Networking Contacts
    • 4.1.7 Networking Diagrams
    • 4.1.8 Create a Job Seeker's Calling Card
  • 4.2 Resumes
    • 4.2.1 Preparing to Write Your Resume
    • 4.2.2 Major Sections of a Resume
    • 4.2.3 Types of Resumes
    • 4.2.4 Functional Resume
    • 4.2.5 Additional Resume Tips
    • 4.2.6 Action Verbs that Describe Skills
    • 4.2.7 Preparing an Electronic Version of Your Resume
    • 4.2.8 Resume Templates
    • 4.2.9 Resources on Resume Writing
  • 4.3 Letters
    • 4.3.1 Cover and Broadcast Letters
    • 4.3.2 Comparison of Cover and Broadcast Letters
    • 4.3.3 A Process to Develop Letters
    • 4.3.4 Creating Thank You Letters
    • 4.3.5 Sample Letter Format
    • 4.3.6 Resources on Letter Writing
  • 4.4 Interviews
    • 4.4.1 The Core of the Interview Process
    • 4.4.2 Selling Your Benefits
    • 4.4.3 Understanding Verbal & Non-Verbal Communication
    • 4.4.4 Approaches to Interviewing
    • 4.4.5 The Employer's Evaluation
    • 4.4.6 Tips for Effective Interviewing
    • 4.4.7 Your Rights in the Interview
    • 4.4.8 Resources on Interviewing
• 5. Work
• 6. Life/Work Planning

Step 4.2.3: Types of Resume's

There are three basic types of resumes: chronological, modified chronological and functional. The decision to use a particular style depends upon your past work experience and your current objective.

Chronological Resume

• Organize jobs in reverse chronological order, stating:

1. Role Title: create an accurate one if you had none.

2. Name of Company or Organization and Location (city/province). Do not include supervisor's name or employer's street address or telephone number.

3. Dates, beginning and terminating (for full-time, on-going positions of at least one year, it is not necessary to include a reference to the months).

• In point form, talk about what you contributed to or accomplished on the job

• Indicate the level of responsibility you were entrusted with (e.g., depositing cash or managing department during absence of supervisor)

• If appropriate provide evidence of your having been promoted

• Begin each entry with an action verb (see the list below), listing accomplishments, tasks performed, skills developed, or, if appropriate, specialties learned

• The amount of specific detail will be determined by the relevance to the job you are applying for (e.g., report writing - more information about literature search and computer analysis of data would be included only when the reader needs to evaluate the relevance of your past experience)

• Write in the past tense for former positions and present tense for current positions

• If your work is not directly related, emphasize transferable skills (e.g., if you worked as a server and now want to work in an administrative role, use points such as ability to work under pressure/stress, communicative/interpersonal skills, attention to detail, etc. when describing the server position)

• Do not use personal pronouns, such as "my", "their", or definite and indefinite articles, such as "a", "an", "the"

• Prioritize the points when you are describing your work as they relate to your job objective, not to the job you are describing

• For jobs you want to include but not in detail, add a sub-section at the end of Work Experience called Other Work Experience (dates if you wish, e.g., 20__ - __) with job titles, or job titles and type of work environment if helpful (e.g., camp counsellor, waiter in fast-paced truck stop, stock clerk in automotive store)

• If you started/ran your own business, refer to it by its proper name and your official title. For example, if you are John Smith, you could write:

• Owner/Manager, ABC Window Cleaning

• Toronto, Ontario or

• Proprietor, John Smith, Toronto, Ontario

• Residential Window Cleaning Service

Modified Chronological Resume

• The difference between this type of resume and the Chronological one is the section on work experience

• It enables you to feature related experience, or to move to the top of the section those jobs which would ordinarily be listed after less relevant ones

• Replace the words ‘Work Experience’ with a description about the type of experience (e.g., Research Experience, Business Experience)

• Collect in one section all jobs of similar type and list them in reverse chronological order

• Be sure that the theme word you use to describe each Experience section is descriptive of aspects of the job you stated in your objective

To continue with Step 4.2.4, click here.