Creating Chronological Resumes
Free Resume Examples

The Chronological Resume is the most common form of a resume, but it is not difficult to write. Viewing the Free Resume Examples - Chronological Resume Sample will give you a better understanding of what a chronological resume looks like and what goes into it.

1. PERSONAL INFORMATION

DO NOT supply more personal information than this about yourself.

2. OBJECTIVE
People really mess up here! They write a lot of jargon or talk about themselves without really saying anything useful.

Keep it short and exact (2-3 lines at most). Point out things that match you to the job you are applying for.

3. BACKGROUND
A Background section is one of the best resume tools that a job seeker has and it can be used in place of the Objective section!

This is an EXCELLENT place to BRIEFLY list your skills and how they match the job your are applying for.

Sit down and take the time to really analyze your present and past jobs. People are surprised when they find out they have more skills than they realized. You can use your present and past job descriptions as a reference in helping to narrow down your skills. NEVER copy your job description into your resume to explain a past or present position!

Example:
"Juggle two or more assignments while providing support to Marketing."

This indicates you have:

There may be one or two more, but you get the picture.



You may ask, "What skills do I list?" This is a judgment call on your part. Obviously if you are applying for a nursing position, you would not want to list carpentry skills in your background.

4. EMPLOYMENT HISTORY
In a Chronological Resume the Employment History lists:

List your Work History over the past 10 - 15 years.

List what you accomplished at each position. DO NOT list your job duties assigned. A bulleted list of accomplishments works well here.

5. EDUCATION
This is pretty simple here. You just want to list your formal education (Masters, Bachelors or Associates), certifications and relevant training. You can also list Grade Point Average (GPA), educational honors and societies, etc.

Example:

• Belmont Abbey College – BA in Business Administration – Magna cum laude
• The Academy of Competitive Intelligence – Competitive Intelligence Certification

6. PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
Again, this is pretty simple. You just want to list your memberships in professional organizations. List things like veteran's groups, associations and organizations. DO NOT abbreviate the names of the organizations.

7. SOFTWARE SKILLS
This is really self-explanatory. You list as your computer and software skills as they relate to the job you are applying for.

8. OTHER SKILLS
Some people use this area to list skills such as:

REMEMBER - Your resume should only be as long as necessary to sell yourself to a hiring manager or recruiter and GET THE INTERVIEW!

I know what you are asking:
"What about the 1-Page Rule of Resumes?"

A one-page resume is nice, but not necessary. My resume is two pages and when you add a Cover Letter and References to that, it becomes four pages. I still get jobs with it. I've seen impressive three page resumes (without the cover letter and references). Just Keep It Simple! You are not writing a novel.

I provide a number of free resume examples on this website, please use them to your advantage.