I’ve recently met a couple of young adults that don’t know what a reverse-chronologic resume is, they only have experience with a functional/skill based resume. So I’m going to give a quick template about what a reverse-chronologic resume is and best practices. For the record, this is the *preferred* format for 95% of all jobs. The reason for this is that hiring manager want to see what you did, when you did it, and a progression of your skills.
Some things to keep in mind. 1) Objectives are relatively passe. A short summary of qualifications is better. This can be a paragraph about you and your skill set and what you are looking for. It should also list (generally in bullet points) your relevant industry skill such as classes (I’ve got plenty of entries on what is appropriate for new grads on your resume) or computer programs you are proficient with. If you are out of school *with a degree* for less than a year or in progress (ie you are still taking classes toward it), your education goes at the top after your summary. This section should take up no more than 1/4-1/3 of the top section of the first page. If you are taking a break from school or have not finished your degree, it goes at the end of your resume before the interests/affiliations section.
After the "who am I" section, launch into your experience. Start with your current/most recent job. Include the company name, location, your dates of employment, title, *a short description of the company (including industry and size* if it isn’t self-explanatory or a "household" name), an overview of your "roles and responsibilities" as it relates to the job/s you are applying for, and any accomplishments in the role. Finally, additional activities should be included after your work history. This includes professional affiliations, social/civic activities and volunteering. (See my entry on what to not/use for this area.)
Name
email/phone
City/state of residence (street address not necessary)
BR />Jane Doe
425-555-1212 /jane-doe@gmail.com
Marysville, WA
Professional Summary:
Recent college graduate with a Bachelor of Business with an HR concentration. Four years of retail customer service and office administration including: cashiering, sales, stocking and merchandizing; reception (10 incoming lines with up to 50 extensions) and conference room scheduling; filing, mailing, faxing, preparing powerpoint presentations, Word documents and Excel spreadsheets.
PC skills: Windows-based POS; Mac OSX; Microsoft Office for Mac (Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Outlook); internet savvy
Education: University of Washington, Seattle WA
Bachelor’s of Business Administration with an HR concentration – May 2011
Experience:
B />
Cascade Clinic
Bellingham, WA
B >Intern in patient billing services – January-April 2011
Cascade Clinic is a 15-physician practice for low income families.
File Clerk, Administrative Support – May-August 2010
Clutterbuck Consulting provides outsourced Human Resources for realtors in the Pacific Northwest. I was responsible for converting all paper files more than three years old into digital files, as well as providing lunch support for the receptionist and one of the office administrators. During my tenure I decreased the paper load by over 12K files.
B >
Nordstrom
Seattle, WA
Summer Associate (floating) May-August 2010, 2009
Work 20 hours a week at the Nordstrom flagship store in downtown Seattle during the summer in various departments in the evenings and weekends. Cashiering, customer service, merchandizing.
BR />Interests/Affiliations
UW Women’s Soccer Team – 2008-2011
President of the Human Resources Student Activities Council – 2010-2011