How to write a resume? It shoudn’t be a difficult question to answer and yet it’s a question many are left asking as they find themselves staring intently at a blank sheet of paper or an empty computer screen.

You have skills that employers want. But those skills won’t get you a job if no one knows you have them. Good resumes, applications, and cover letters broadcast your abilities.

They tell employers how your qualifications match a job’s responsibilities. If these paper preliminaries are constructed well, you have a better chance of landing interviews; and, eventually, a job.

Modern technology has added a new twist to preparing resumes and cover letters. The availability of personal computers and laser printers has raised employers’ expectations of the quality of resumes and cover letters applicants produce. Read the full story

Popularity: 100%

There are three main resume formats with each format serving it’s own purpose. These different formats are traditionally known as chronological resumes, functional resumes, and a mixture of the two, creativly titled the combination resume.

Each is defined by the way it organizes your experience. Choose the one that shows your experience to its best advantage.

Chronological Resume format

This resume type is the most common. It organizes your experience around the jobs you have held. This format is an excellent choice for people with steady work histories or previous jobs that relate closely to their career objective. To create a chronological resume, list each position you have held, starting with the most recent and working backward. For each position, give the title of your job, name of the organization you worked for, and years you worked there. Read the full story

Popularity: 78%

You will create a good impression if your resume is attractive and easy to read. An inviting style draws attention to your qualifications. If you take pity on the reviewer’s eyes, chances are better that he or she will spend more time reviewing your resume—and will remember it better.

To make your resume easier to read and copy, print it on white or lightly coloured paper. Loud, garish colours may attract attention, but they risk creating an unprofessional impression.

Also, use a laser printer and keep the font size at 10 point or above. The reviewer shouldn’t have to struggle to read your words. Read the full story

Popularity: 64%

A long resume is difficult for a reviewer to digest and retain; and, given the volume of resumes many reviewers receive, long resumes are often ignored. This is why, no matter what the length, your resume must capture the attention of the reader on the first page, preferably the first third of the first page.

Although rules about the length of your resume are more flexible than they once were, general guidelines still exist.

Most students and recent graduates use a one page resume, other workers use one or two pages, and the very experienced use two or three pages. Read the full story

Popularity: 64%

Resumes can be formatted for e-mailing, posting to Internet sites, or scanning. These digital resumes include the same information other resumes do, and they come in the same varieties chronological, functional, or combination.

But digital resumes use simpler, technologically friendly formatting, and they emphasize keywords. This section describes two types of digital resumes: Plain text resumes that can be e-mailed to employers or posted to databases and scannable paper resumes that can be read by computer optics.

Plain text resumes

Resumes that are e-mailed or posted to Internet databases are designed for computer use. These resumes must be written using the American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), also known as plain text. Read the full story

Popularity: 66%

Many large companies, and a growing number of small ones, use computers to sort the hundreds of resumes they receive. These companies scan paper resumes into a computer database.

When managers need to fill a position, they program the computer with keywords that describe the qualifications they want in a candidate. The computer then searches its database for resumes that include those keywords.

The resumes with the most matches are forwarded to the managers. This new technology is good news for jobseekers. Now when these companies put your resume on file, your qualifications are ready and waiting to be electronically retrieved, not languishing in a desk drawer. Read the full story

Popularity: 61%

Download our free Chronological Resume template in Microsoft Word Format

The Chronological CV is the  most widely used format of Resume and is classed by some as being a more traditional and widely used approach to CV writing.

It places an emphasis on your employment history, where you worked and for how long. Your job titles, accomplishmetns and the results that you attained whilst being in this position.

Your jobs are listed in reverse chronological order so make sure you put your most recent job first.

When detailing your previous roles, a  complete record of your career history is required along with a complete education record. Aim to keep your chronological resume to 2 – 3 sides  of A4 in length. Read the full story

Popularity: 63%

Download our free Functional Resume template in Microsoft Word Format

This Functional Resume is designed to to emphasise your main skills, competencies or expertise that you may have in a specific area (e.g. IT, Finance, Project Management) rather than concentrating on employers and dates.

In a lot of cases it would be used to demonstrate your expertise in a particular skill, functional area or field of business.

Functional CVs are a lot more adaptable to certain circumstances, such as a lack of specific experience in a particular field, or gaps in between job changes which you may find difficult to explain.

You need to be aware however that because of these reasons functional CVs are often viewed with suspicion by many recruitment personnel because they often appear to hide some information which often has the effect of making them difficult to follow. Read the full story

Popularity: 55%