Chronological Resume

A chronological resume is one of the three main types of resumes used today. The other resumes include the functional and combination style. It's common for individuals to be uncertain about the type of resume they should use when looking for a new job. Fortunately, we have information that can help with that decision.

Choosing the Right Resume

Because a resume is like an advertisement for your services, you want to use a resume format that best highlights your job skills, and accomplishments. That's the reason there are three different types of resumes used today. Each resume format has a distinct set of advantages and disadvantages, including chronological resumes.

Additional Resources

Choosing the right resume, or picking the right resume, comes down to two factors:

The amount, consistency, and depth of work experience you have accumulated so far in your career.
How well the job you're seeking is aligned with your past work experience.

As you'll see later on, as we look at the advantages and disadvantages of the chronological resume that we've outlined below, they're all related to the two factors mentioned above.

The Chronological Resume Format

At the end of this article, we provide you with links to a chronological resume sample that you can download for free. But first we'd like to review the main sections of information appearing in a chronological resume:

Name / Contact Information

Like most resumes, the chronological resume starts off with a banner that includes your name and contact information. This includes street address, telephone number, and email address.

Education

The next section you'll find in a chronological resume is a table of your educational background. Many jobs today list a "required" or "desired" educational background. If it's that important to someone screening a resume, it might as well be right up front in the resume. You're either qualified or you're not qualified for a job.

Honors / Certifications / Licenses Held

The third section in a chronological resume contains a bulleted list of the certifications, educational honors, or professional licenses you might hold. For example, a certified public accountant would include that certification in this section of the resume.

Work Experience

This fourth, and final, section of the chronological resume really helps to define this particular resume format. In the work experience section of this resume, you will include the reverse chronological listing of your work experience. But as we will see later on when we look at the example we've provided, there are some advantages and disadvantages of showing this information in this manner.

Advantages of the Chronological Resume

The list below details some of the strengths of a chronological resume:

If your recent work experiences are aligned with the job that you are seeking, then one of the advantages of the chronological resume is that these job descriptions, and job titles, are highlighted in the chronological format.
The progression of your career is easy to follow, since the chronological resume lists jobs in a timeline sequence. The sequence of jobs listed in this resume format is a reverse chronological order.
A chronological resume highlights not only your job position or job titles, but also the organizations you've worked for in the past.
Since the chronological resume has a built-in timeline, it is believed to be more fact based. The advantage here is that the chronological resume carries with it additional credibility in the eyes of the hiring manager or recruiter.

Disadvantages of a Chronological Resume

The list below details some of the weaknesses of a chronological resume:

Your work experience is listed in reverse chronological order if you use this resume format. If there is a gap or break in your work experience timeline, then the chronological resume makes that gap stand out.
The chronological resume allows potential employers to figure out if you've been switching jobs every couple of years. This is something they might not like in a job candidate.
A chronological resume makes it nearly impossible to hide your age from potential employers. This can be a big disadvantage for both younger and older job seekers.
If your career path might seem somewhat illogical to the reader, then a chronological resume would highlight that fact.

Career History Section of a Chronological Resume

The chronological resume format arranges the applicant's career history section into a timeline sequence that runs through what they've accomplished in their careers. Shown below is an example demonstrating how that format appears on a resume:

ABC Manufacturing Corporation, Some City, Kansas 2006 - 2010
Plant Manager
Responsible for managing the operation of a 150,000 square foot plastics manufacturing facility operating on a 24 x 7 work schedule. Maintained the quality of product, while setting annual records for production quantities at the facility.

CBA Laboratories, City Harbor, Maine 2004 - 2006
Laboratory Supervisor
Managed plastics research laboratory responsible for replicating small scale extrusion operations. Developed several low temperature techniques that later became the primary patent under which second generation plants were constructed.

Chronological Resume Sample

If you've been looking for samples of the chronological resume format, then we can help. Now that we've explained the strengths and weaknesses of this resume, you can download a free sample here - Chronological Resume Sample. You can use this sample as the starting point, or template, when writing your own resume.

Functional and Combination Resumes

If you're not sure the chronological resume is the correct format to use in your situation, don't forget there are two other resume formats that you can choose from. In fact, we suggest that you read our information on both the functional resume and combination resume formats before starting to prepare your own resume.

You might also want to take a look at many of the other resume writing resources we have on this website, including additional free resume examples for you to download, as well as resume writing tips.

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