Writing a Chronological Resume (with Sample)

Use this chronological resume sample to help you write a powerful resume that separates you from the competition.

The job hunt is a mundane task that those who are unemployed must tackle. Getting together the resume, cover letter and positions to apply for can be a bit overwhelming. What many people don’t realize is that there are several types of resumes.

Resumes should be tailored to the job. If a person has a job as a cashier, they can highlight the money handling aspects or the customer service. However they list this job can only help but broaden their range of experience. For a chronological resume, it is a bit different.

What Is A Chronological Resume?

This type of resume deals with detailing the job history chronologically. By listing a person’s work history with the most recent position first, it puts the important things up front for the prospective employer to see. All jobs should be listed in reverse chronological order and this resume style is preferred by hiring companies.

While the traditional resume has career objective and schooling upfront, hiring teams want to see where a person has worked and what kind of money they want. If a person has a strong work history and has held big positions with well-known companies, this is the type of resume to draft. It sort of cuts out all the unnecessary stuff and gets right to the things that employers want to know.

Employment Gaps Should Be Explained On A Cover Letter

When dealing with a resume, the worst thing is to have gaps, or periods of time when a person wasn’t working. If there are gaps, then they should be explained on a cover letter. Employers will respect a person who says they took two years off to start a family, more than someone who just laid around for two years. However, most employers do understand that the job market is right. If there are verifiable reasons for periods of unemployment, it is usually not a big deal.

The resume should be kept to one page, especially the chronological one. There is no need to go on for 2-3 pages; they probably won’t read it anyway. It is best to just put a 10 year history on the resume, or the last 4-5 jobs. If a person goes beyond that, it could have a bad affect and counter the entire process.

Rather than looking good, too many jobs can look like there is a lack of commitment or a problem holding steady employment. If there was a job that a person left on bad terms, try to avoid putting it on the resume. While a person doesn’t want to lie, they don’t want to commit career suicide either. Most people have at least one job in their past that didn’t work out. Whether it is from personality conflicts or worse, leave it off at all costs.

The reference section is another section that many people quibble about. If there is room to put on references, by all means do. However, if the resume is already jam packed, leave them off. It is acceptable to put “available upon request.”

Sample Chronological Resume
Joe Harrison
123 W Main Street, Huntington, WV 26520
304-864-0909 Email: [email protected]

WEB DEVELOPER

I am a website developer that has more than 20 years of experience in my field. I am fluent with HTML CSS and LAMP Development. I also have great experience in Graphic Design, Search Engine Optimization and Advertising online.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Adena Regional Medical Center 2005-Present
Huntington, WV 26520

•I was a trainer that helped in the corporate aspects for high profile clients. Since we worked with pharmaceutical companies and other big names, security was of the upmost importance.

•Technical Instructor for Adena’s web development and helped writing current protocol.

•Retained to instruct web development programing and also editing of videos at the West Virginia University and the Fairmont University.

MILLER’S BUSINESS SCHOOL

Columbus, OH September 2000 - November 2005
Practical Instructor - Course Developer - Assignment Manager

•Official Teacher in the Web Development Software design course comprising components of HTML, ASP, Design, Access, Oracle, SQL, Cold Fusion and Java.

•Program Creator for the Web Development Programming class, accountabilities included: course expansion, lecture planning, and development of real-world application workouts for web growth.

•Director of residency and externship projects for apprentices in the Web Development Indoctrination Course.

GLOBAL WORLD, INC.

Columbus, OH, March 1999 - August 2000
Web Developer - Graphic Designer - Development Administrator

•I was hired 2 weeks before this company implemented the changeover of their 78 Virtual Groups from a UNIX to NT Situation. This happened due to Microsoft's placing more than a $100,000,000 investment in the project. Applications established used the power of IIS, COM, ADO and other related Microsoft Expertise.

•Scheduled, fashioned, launched, and achieved corporate web sites for high-profile clientele, with tough emphasis on project design, usability standards, and social influences testing.

REFERENCES

I have several professional and personal references. These will be available upon request.

By Andre Bradley

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