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Include your full name, phone number, email, and location (city and state). You can also add your LinkedIn profile, a resume headline, or portfolio.
Your professional summary is a two-to-five sentence pitch that highlights your most relevant skills and qualifications for the job.
This is the chronological resume format’s focus section. It lists your work history in reverse-chronological order, and should include three bullet points per job describing your accomplishments and career highlights.
List six to eight professional skills that demonstrate your suitability for the role.
Share your educational accomplishments, such as your degree(s), the university you attended, and any notable honors, awards, or relevant coursework.
The chronological resume format is widely used and recognized by employers. It focuses on your work history so your extensive professional experience and career achievements take center stage. This resume format gets its name from the reverse-chronological order it uses to organize your list of job titles, starting with your most recent position.
Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to format a chronological resume:
Your resume starts with your contact information, which includes your full name, phone number, professional email address, and location (city and state is enough). Optionally, you may include a LinkedIn profile or personal website. Make this section clearly visible, ideally at the very top of your resume page.
Include a brief summary at the top of your resume that highlights your key strengths, years of experience, and required qualifications. The resume summary acts as your elevator pitch to grab the hiring manager’s attention by showing them you can meet and even exceed their expectations for the role.
The work experience section is the centerpiece of a chronological resume. List your jobs in reverse-chronological order, as follows: job title, company name and location, employment dates (month/year – month/year), achievements (use bullet points and action verbs like “led,” “managed,” “increased,” etc.), and quantifiable accomplishments where possible (e.g., “Increased sales by 20% over one year.”)
Your education section must include all your degrees and academic accomplishments. List your most recent academic qualification first. Include the type of degree earned, the name and location of the institution, and, if desired, additional details such as GPA, academic honors, or relevant courses.
Your chronological resume should include a skills section listing your key abilities relevant to the job. Use a bulleted list to present a mix of soft skills, such as communication and time management, and hard skills related to the required technical expertise for the profession.
Depending on your background and the job you’re applying for, you may also add certifications, professional affiliations, volunteer work, awards and honors.
Just because recruiters love this format doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for everyone. Some job seekers might be better off choosing a functional or combination format to show off their unique skills and experience. The resume format you choose will depend on several factors. Consider choosing either a combination or functional resume format if:
If you recently graduated or are just entering the workforce, you’ll want to emphasize your skills and education over your limited work history by choosing another format.
If you’ve been with the same employer for many years in various roles, choosing a combination resume format could better highlight your career progression.
Since a chronological resume format emphasizes direct work experience over skills, those making major changes in their professional lives should choose a functional or combination resume to highlight their transferable skills.
Long periods of unemployment between jobs will be highlighted with this format. Choosing a different resume format can make gaps in employment less noticeable.
If you have bounced around from job to job, are a freelancer, or work in the gig economy, this resume format will be difficult to use to your advantage. Instead, consider a functional resume format that focuses more on skills than on work history.
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You can find chronological format resume templates on our resume template library. There you’ll find our entire collection of templates, categorized by style, format, or experience level. Feel free to browse our professional resume templates and edit your pick in our Resume Builder.
If you’re looking for chronological format resume examples to better understand the achievements and qualifications you need to include, check out our collection of professional resume examples. You’ll find chronological resume samples for all job titles so you can draw inspiration for your resume.
The benefits of a reverse-chronological resume include highlighting your most recent and relevant experience first, making it easier for employers to assess your qualifications. It clearly shows career progression and stability, which appeals to hiring managers, especially for roles requiring a strong, consistent background in a specific field or industry.
An easy way to create a chronological resume is with our Resume Builder. If you show 10+ years of experience, it recommends templates suited for this format. Simply enter your contact and job details, then choose content suggestions tailored to your role and achievements for a polished, professional resume.
The “best resume format” depends entirely on a job seeker’s experience and their unique needs for the job search. Although the chronological format is sometimes praised as the best because of its popularity, job seekers with less than ten years of experience are better off using the combination or functional resume formats.
To list a promotion on a chronological resume, either create separate entries for each role with titles, dates, and duties, or group them under one company header with individual job titles and timelines. Both options clearly show your advancement and responsibilities within the organization while maintaining a clean, chronological structure.
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