HTML Preview Entry Level Chronological Resume page number 1.
UCO Career Development Center NUC 338 (405) 974-3346 [email protected] http://careers.uco.edu/
RESUME WRITING GUIDE
PURPOSE OF A RESUME
The purpose of a resume is to give an employer a quick overview of your skills and experience so that they can
determine if there is potential for a successful candidate/position match. Employers may spend as little as six seconds
glancing through a resume to determine if an applicant has the qualifications necessary to do the job. Since you only
have a brief time to impress an employer enough to be called in for an interview, it is important that you tailor the
resume very specifically to the job you are applying for and that you make sure your resume is concise, organized and
easy to read.
This guide will provide you with many tips and examples to help you create a resume that fits these guidelines; however
it is always important to have others look over your resume, such as a professional like one of our staff members in
Career Development Center, to get another perspective and to catch any mistakes that you might have missed.
RESUME FORMATS
There is no perfect resume. The goal is to choose a format that best highlights the skills and experiences that you have
that most relate to the position in which you are applying. The following are the different types of resume formats you
can choose from. You will find examples of them at the end of this guide:
Reverse Chronological: This is the most traditional and, still, commonly used format. It lists your education and
experience with the most recent items in each section listed first.
Reverse Chronological with a Skills/Profile Section: This is similar to a traditional reverse chronological resume, but in
addition to your education and experience sections, it also has a summary of your skills/experiences that should be
placed just under your objective or in place of the objective, if you choose not to include one. This style of resume is also
sometimes referred to as a combination resume because it combines features of a reverse chronological and a
functional resume.
Functional: This style of resume focuses more on skills, which you may have obtained from work experiences,
educational experiences, and/or other activities. Functional resumes are less common, but are best used when:
You have gaps in dates/work history. If you are a current student or recent grad, this is less of a concern
because employers can see you were in school for the last few years.
You have an extensive work history with many jobs that had similar responsibilities. Functional style
summarizes skills obtained from professional experience so it reduces redundancy in job responsibilities.
You are making an extreme career change where past job titles are no longer as relevant.
You have little to no applicable work history.