3 Types Of Resumes You Need To Know

As you well know, a resume is how job seekers make a first impression on prospective employers. What a lot of job seekers fail to realize though, is that a single resume format will often not suffice for different employers.

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There are many different types of resumes that professionals use, and while the primary goal of all CVs is to present your work experience, skills and qualifications in a positive light so your chances of upward mobility are enhanced, different resume formats can affect just how effective that first impact is. 

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We’re going to introduce you to different popular resume styles, with a special focus on 3 types of resumes you need to know before you apply for your next job. 

3 popular resume formats

Essentially, a resume or a profile is the first tool you use to market yourself to potential employers. 

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The way your resume presents information about you to the people hiring is pretty much the only thing that guarantees you an interview. 

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This makes ensuring that your resume is well written and in a format that is easy to read as well as presentable of paramount importance.

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While you are bound to find plenty of great tips for resume writing online, we’re now going to introduce you to 3 popular resume layouts. 

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Each of these serve a unique purpose, as you will soon discover, based on which you can decide which one serves your purpose the best.

Chronological resume

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This is the most commonly used resume format, and is the one most employers are used to seeing. As its name suggests a chronological resume lists jobs in reverse chronological order, with your last held job, along with job title and tenure listed first.

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There are many reasons that make this the most widely used and popular resume format, especially if you are someone with a few years of work experience behind you. 

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For one, the format allows you to list your work experience in a way that showcases your professional growth over the years. The format is easy to write, and lays strong emphasis on a steady work record. 

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Additionally, the layout also offers employers a quick look at the titles you’ve held and the tenures in each of them, which is something a lot of them want highlighted.

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On the downside, it also makes it easy to spot gaps in your career path, if any. Also, if the skills you want to highlight are not relevant to the last position you worked in, they may be hard to spot on the resume. 

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This resume format works best when you have an impressive track record to showcase, or when you are shifting from one major brand to another.

Functional resume

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If you have, for any reason, large gaps in your work history, then a chronological resume will not work in your favor, since those gaps will be brought to focus.

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Instead, what you need is a functional resume.

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A functional resume differs from a chronological resume in that instead of focusing on your work history, it puts the focus on the skills that you bring to the table. 

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In a lot of cases, highlighting that you have the prerequisite skills for the jobs can convince employers to overlook discrepancies in employment history.

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Functional resumes spend a lot more space shining light on the skills that you bring to the table, and at the end of it, may feature a small section with details of the jobs you’ve held. 

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However, a lot of traditional employers are unimpressed with functional resumes, arguing that it can be misleading, since it often covers up the lack of experience and stability in a person’s work history. 

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There are multiple situations in which this ought to be your go-to resume type. For example, if you’re fresh out of college, but you have worked freelance and have the necessary skills, this resume format will showcase those skills. 

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It would also help your skills shine through if you’re making a career change, in which case your previous work experience may not hold much value to your future employer. 

Combination resume

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As the name suggests, a combination resume has a layout that offers you the best of both worlds. This format is favored most often by those with a long list of qualifications and/or a lot of work experience to showcase.

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The format features qualifications and skills in the first section, followed by a brief section chronologically listing work experience. The main focus, though, remains the qualifications and skills being presented to the employer.

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Once again, a combination resume should be the format of choice if you are making a major career change, where the skills you possess ought to be the focus instead of who you have worked with and for how long.

Other popular resume formats

Now that we’ve seen what the 3 most popular and commonly used resume formats are, let’s take a quick look at some of the other formats.

Infographic resume

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An infographic resume relies more on graphs, images, layout, design and font styling to convey information about skills, work experience and qualifications. While this format is used mostly while applying for creative jobs, most employers still prefer more traditional CV layouts.

Targeted resume

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If you have skill sets that are a perfect match for a particular job, then you ought to create a targeted resume instead of resending in a regular profile. 

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While it does take more effort to create a targeted resume, it often helps land jobs more easily, since the recruiter does not need to search to see if you have the prerequisite skills.

Resume with profile/summary

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This is a resume format that helps applicants soft sell themselves for a particular job before the employer goes through the resume. 

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The profile or summary in question is not meant to be more than a few sentences long. You ought to use these few sentences to surmise why your experience and skills make you the best candidate for the post in question.

Mini resume

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If you’re heading to a job fair or a professional networking event, carrying a full fledged resume may be overkill, considering the sheer number of people likely to be present, and the short windows of time available. 

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In these cases, you’re best off using a mini resume, which is basically a document with short summaries of your work experience and qualifications. That way, a quick glance is enough to make the desired impression. 

Create your resume now with Prio’s resume builder

Prio offers professionals an easy to use resume builder that will enable you to build an elegant and professionally laid out resume. Whether you want to add a photo to the resume, detail your work history, educational background, unique skills or summarize your work history, everything is just a click away.

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Prio’s resume builder is not only easily navigable, it is also absolutely free, so you can start building your brand new resume right away!

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