A common question when drafting a resume is what style should I use? Should I use the traditional chronological style, or something more ‘modern’ looking like those one page infograms that seem to be popular among applicants?
Some job seekers are under the mistaken impression that you need to present your resume like an ad, a marketing document, or a PR media release, which is why the infographic resume has gained popularity. My advice is to not fall for the lure of the modern picture based resume, the chronological resume is still the most widely used and accepted type of resume created. Most employers expect a chronological style so they can get a good feel for your work experience, responsibilities, achievements and qualifications. For most entry level, mid career and professional resumes you will convey more information through the traditional listing of responsibilities and achievements than you will by inserting a few graphs, colours or icons into your document.
You might consider using a different format to the traditional chronological resume when:
- asked by an employer to follow a particular style or template (for example, a one page resume or particular template)
- applying for work where design creativity is an essential criteria (which in reality means very few positions)
Otherwise, stick to a standard style and make it easy for a potential employer to discover how well you would fit in their team and organisation.
There are also a range of articles which give more information on constructing your resume in the Blog Post section of the website.