1. The Chronological Resume Format
At the end of this article, we provide you with links to a chronological resume sample that you
can download for free. But first we'd like to review the main sections of information appearing in
a chronological resume:
Name / Contact Information
Like most resumes, the chronological resume starts off with a banner that includes your name
and contact information. This includes street address, telephone number, and email address.
Education
The next section you'll find in a chronological resume is a table of your educational background.
Many jobs today list a "required" or "desired" educational background. If it's that important to
someone screening a resume, it might as well be right up front in the resume. You're either
qualified or you're not qualified for a job.
Honors / Certifications / Licenses Held
The third section in a chronological resume contains a bulleted list of the certifications,
educational honors, or professional licenses you might hold. For example, a certified public
accountant would include that certification in this section of the resume.
Work Experience
This fourth, and final, section of the chronological resume really helps to define this particular
resume format. In the work experience section of this resume, you will include the reverse
chronological listing of your work experience. But as we will see later on when we look at the
example we've provided, there are some advantages and disadvantages of showing this
information in this manner.
Advantages of the Chronological Resume
The list below details some of the strengths of a chronological resume:
•If your recent work experiences are aligned with the job that you are seeking, then one of the
advantages of the chronological resume is that these job descriptions, and job titles, are
highlighted in the chronological format.
•The progression of your career is easy to follow, since the chronological resume lists jobs in a
timeline sequence. The sequence of jobs listed in this resume format is a reverse chronological
order.
•A chronological resume highlights not only your job position or job titles, but also the
organizations you've worked for in the past.
•Since the chronological resume has a built-in timeline, it is believed to be more fact based. The
advantage here is that the chronological resume carries with it additional credibility in the eyes
of the hiring manager or recruiter.