How to Pick the Best Resume Format For You

?A resume should fit your unique career path, so picking the right format is crucial. Show your experiences and skills by selecting the most advantageous format. Here we explore different resume format options and how to choose the best one to fit your needs.

By Lora Korpar

Formatting is half the battle in resume writing. Choose the wrong format and a hiring manager might only glance over your resume.

Resume writing is tricky because you distill an entire career journey into an easy-to-read document. Choosing the format that best shows your good qualities is vital if you aim to stand out in the job search.

“If this is your first introduction to the recruiting team, HR or talent acquisition, then you only get one chance to make that first impression,” said Krista Morris, founder, recruiter and resume writer for Virtuoso Resumes . “So the format is really critical because it can make them want to either call you or stick you to the side.”

I spoke with Morris and Shoni Bell, a career coach, and resume writer, to discuss resume formatting options and how to find the best one for your needs.

Most Common Resume Formats

Many career sites like LiveCareer say the most common resume formats are reverse-chronological, functional and combination.

The reverse-chronological format is the most widely used among job seekers. It begins with a header and professional summary, followed by the work experience section written in reverse-chronological order. After that, you can add skills and education.

Zety says the reverse-chronological format is most advantageous for people looking for jobs similar to their past experiences or entry-level candidates.

The functional – sometimes called the skills-based – format switches the skills and work experience sections. This highlights skills over experience. People transitioning from the military or those emphasizing their portfolios might choose this format.

The combination format merges the reverse-chronological and functional formats, giving equal emphasis to the skills and work experience sections. This section could be useful for career changers, searchers with employment gaps or people targeting a specific position.

The Truth Behind the Big Three Formats

Bell and Morris said viewing the resume formats in terms of reverse-chronological, functional and combination can be flawed. Why? Because recommended above others is the reverse-chronological format.

“If someone's on the fence about [choosing a format], just go with chronological,” Bell said. “It's what most of us are used to writing and reading.”

Morris added that the functional format is “universally distrusted by recruiters” because they will assume you are hiding something.

“There's nowhere to hide with the reverse-chronological format,” Morris said. “What the recruiter is trying to do is make a good decision based on limited information. And any time there's a question mark, they're generally going to go to the next applicant.”

The worst impression when applying for a job comes from trying to hide information. Bell said using a functional format could make you stand out in a bad way.

“I usually go against conventional advice and shine a spotlight on whatever that thing is [the applicant is] trying to hide so it doesn’t become a mystery,” Morris said. “I think people are a lot more forgiving and understanding than they used to be. We just went through a mess of a pandemic where a lot of people had disruptions to their work history. So there's very few people with what I would consider perfect job history.”?

“There's been a lot of conversations happening in these last couple of years about gaps in employment,” Bell added. “And as long as you're showing what that gap in employment was due to, a chronological [format] is going to work just fine for you.”

However, Bell said she would recommend the combination format in a few scenarios. For example, it could be advantageous for someone who has had many jobs in a similar field but only worked in each job for a year or two. This way, you can highlight skills you learned along with your different work experiences.

Also, the combination can be useful for those transitioning out of the military to translate military jargon into civilian skills.

“Just translating the language of project management, team leadership or professional development and how they had done that in the military, highlighted at the top and in civilian speak [is helpful,]” Bell said. “And then the chronological title and dates [of service] can come after that.”

Choosing a Format

“Before you write a word, it's all about strategy,” Bell said. “It's recognizing who your audience is, thinking about the jobs that you're going to be applying to and then structuring your format accordingly.”

Often you can start with the reverse-chronological format, then personalize from there. You can still put your best foot forward if you have employment gaps or are changing careers without using a functional format.

First, Morris says to make sure your goal is attainable when considering your current experience and skill set. Then find what connects your experiences with the job you want.

“It's totally OK to not have experience in the job you're chasing,” Morris said. “But you do have to have some sort of volunteer, education or other peripheral experience you can use to transfer to the new job.”

For example, Morris had a client who was a mortician and wanted to become a golf course superintendent. He didn’t have previous golf course experience, so he obtained certifications in pesticides, irrigation and plumbing.?

His upskilling showed he was working to make the career change, and they highlighted it in his resume. This landed him an entry-level position in the field.

“We talked about [the upskilling] in the summary, and we really hammered it home,” Morris said. “And I think that there's a lot of employers that are willing to work with folks that are doing career changes, especially successful people in other careers because they already know how to show up on time. They know how to be professional.”

The three major formats are also not the only options. For example, college students with research experience or other academic-based experiences would emphasize their education section.

No matter which format, Morris recommends opening the resume with your most compelling career accomplishment to draw the reader in.

“It all comes down to strategy and thinking about who your audience is, writing to your audience and really highlighting the best assets you have to give, whether it be the type of work you've been doing, the length of time or your education,” Bell said.

In addition to creating a strategic plan for ordering the sections, it is important to make the resume visually appealing. Bell says you can do this by using color and bolded sections to draw the eye where you want it to go.

“When you're strategizing writing your headline, the skill set and professional summary, you want to capture the attention of your reader to gain interest,” Bell said. “Remember the psychology of the eye… Make sure the top third of your page is really impactful.”?

Morris added that visuals like charts can be a compelling and useful way of capturing a reader’s attention and showing your successes. Also, applicant tracking systems (ATS) tend to skip visuals, so that will not hurt you. But avoid tables and text boxes because most ATS software can’t read them.

“As long as the words of the content are straight on the page, you can put all the bells and whistles around the content that you want,” Morris said.

Overall, Morris encourages you to choose what feels best for you, not what is popular.

“Stop trying to fit yourself into a box with what you think everybody else is doing,” Morris said. “This is the time to ignore what everybody else is doing and simply do you.”

Bell added not to be ashamed of asking for help from a professional resume writer if you can’t figure out formatting alone.

“My industry would not exist if [resume writing] were easy,” Bell said. “It's really hard. And so if someone is struggling and just knows that they could look better on paper, it's OK to reach out for help.”

Top Takeaways

Choosing the right resume format

• The reverse-chronological resume format is the most common for a reason. It is the most straightforward and you should choose it in most cases.
• The functional or skills-based resume format could imply you’re hiding a lack of experience, so avoid it.
• Be transparent in the job search. Highlight your best qualities, but don’t try to hide your shortcomings. Recruiters are more forgiving in a post-pandemic world.
• The combination resume format can be used in specific cases, like a military transition.
• Strategize the format based on your experiences and always make the colors, sections and visuals pleasing to the eye.