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Best Resume Work History Examples to Impress Employers in 2024

When it comes to crafting a successful resume, the work history section is one of the most essential components. As a copywriter and subject matter expert, I am well-versed in the importance of showcasing your previous work experience in a way that impresses potential employers.

Your work history is a crucial element of your resume because it shows employers what kind of experience you have and what you can bring to the table. It helps hiring managers understand your career trajectory, your skills, and your accomplishments. A strong work history can set you apart from other candidates and demonstrate your value to the company.

The Need for a Strong Work History Section

In today’s competitive job market, a strong work history section is critical. Many employers receive hundreds of resumes for a single job opening, so it’s vital to make a good first impression. A well-crafted work history section can help capture the attention of recruiters, showcase your skills and experience, and persuade them that you’re the right fit for the job.

The Importance of a Tailored Work History Section

A tailored work history section is customized to the job you’re applying for. This means including relevant work experience, skills, and accomplishments that reflect the job requirements. This not only shows the employer that you’re attentive to detail, but it also helps you stand out as the best candidate for the position.

Traditional Work History Format

When it comes to creating a resume, the traditional work history format is one of the most widely used and recognizable methods. The traditional format presents job seekers’ career progression as a chronological list, starting with the most recent experience and working backwards.

A. Definition and Purpose of Traditional Work History Format

The purpose of a traditional work history format is to provide a clear and concise snapshot of an individual’s career history, showcasing their relevant experience and skills. This format also allows hiring managers to see how a candidate has progressed in their career over time and may help them identify valuable transferable skills.

B. The Sections of Traditional Work History Format

The traditional work history format typically includes the following sections:

Job Title and Dates of Employment: This section lists the job title, company, and dates of employment for each position held.

Job Description and Accomplishments: This section highlights the job duties and accomplishments for each position. It should focus on quantifiable achievements and use action verbs to start bullet points.

Education and Certifications: This section lists the candidate’s education and any relevant certifications they hold.

Skills: This section is optional but can provide additional insight into the candidate’s qualifications and relevant skillset.

C. Examples of Traditional Work History Format

Here is an example of a traditional work history format:

Job Title:  Marketing Manager  Employer:  ABC Company  Dates of Employment:  January 2017 – Present

• Developed and executed successful digital marketing campaigns that increased website traffic by 30%
• Managed a team of five marketing coordinators to ensure all projects were completed on time and within budget
• Conducted market research to identify industry trends and adjust marketing strategies accordingly

Education:  Bachelor of Science in Marketing XYZ University

D. Pros and Cons of Traditional Work History Format

• Widely recognized and easy for hiring managers to read
• Clearly presents career progression and relevant experience
• Emphasizes achievements and accomplishments
• May highlight gaps in employment or short tenure at previous jobs
• Limited space for creativity and personalizing the resume
• May not be suitable for candidates with a non-traditional career path

The traditional work history format continues to be a popular and effective method for presenting job candidates’ career history. However, job seekers should also consider other formats and tailor their resume to the job they are applying for.

Chronological Work History Format

The chronological work history format is a commonly used format in resumes. It lists the candidate’s work experience in a reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent job and ending with the oldest one.

A. Definition and purpose of chronological work history format

The purpose of the chronological work history format is to provide a clear and concise summary of the candidate’s work experience. This format is preferred by many employers as it allows them to easily track the candidate’s progression, achievements, and career growth.

B. The sections of chronological work history format

The sections included in the chronological work history format are:

• Company name and location
• Dates of employment
• Key responsibilities and achievements
• Education and certifications

Each section should be clear and well organized, with bullet points used to highlight key accomplishments and responsibilities.

C. Examples of chronological work history format

Here is an example of a chronological work history format:

Job Title:  Marketing Manager

Company:  ABC Company, New York, NY

Dates of Employment:  January 2018 – Present

Key Responsibilities and Achievements:

• Developed and implemented marketing strategies that increased lead generation by 25%
• Managed a team of four marketing specialists and oversaw their daily activities
• Conducted market research and analyzed data to identify new trends and opportunities
• Coordinated with sales team to improve conversion rates and increase revenue

Education and Certifications:

• Bachelor of Science in Marketing, XYZ University
• Hubspot Inbound Marketing Certification

D. Pros and cons of chronological work history format

• Allows for clear and easy tracking of career growth
• Demonstrates a strong work history with relevant experience
• Preferred by most employers
• Highlights employment gaps or frequent job changes
• Does not provide a strong focus on skills or achievements
• May not be suitable for candidates with limited work experience

The chronological work history format provides a clear and organized summary of the candidate’s work experience. However, it may not be the best option for all candidates, especially those with a varied work history or limited experience.

Functional Work History Format

When it comes to writing a winning resume, there are several formats to choose from. One of them is the functional work history format, which focuses on skills and achievements rather than job titles and chronological work experience.

A. Definition and Purpose of Functional Work History Format

The functional work history format is a type of resume that emphasizes skills and accomplishments over job titles and chronological order. The purpose of this format is to highlight your skills and experience that are relevant to the job you’re applying for and to make it easier for hiring managers to see how you can add value to their organization.

B. The Sections of Functional Work History Format

A functional work history format typically includes the following sections:

Objective or Summary Statement:  This section provides a brief overview of your skills and experience and highlights what you can bring to the table.

Key Skills and Abilities:  This section showcases your top skills that are relevant to the job you’re applying for.

Professional Experience:  Instead of listing your experience chronologically, this section focuses on your achievements and how they demonstrate your skills and abilities.

Education and Certifications:  This section highlights your educational background and any relevant certifications.

C. Examples of Functional Work History Format

Here are a few examples of how you can structure a functional work history format:

Objective: A highly motivated sales professional with 5+ years of experience in B2B sales looking to use my skills to drive sales growth for XYZ company.

Key Skills and Abilities:

• Sales strategy development
• Client relationship management
• Lead generation and qualification
• Negotiation and closing

Professional Experience:

Sales Manager, ABC Company

• Increased sales revenue by 25% in the first year through targeted lead generation and strategic pricing strategies.
• Negotiated and closed a $2M deal with a major client, resulting in a 15% increase in overall sales revenue.
• Managed a team of 5 sales representatives and provided coaching and training on sales best practices and methodologies.

Objective: An experienced project manager with a track record of successfully delivering complex projects on time and within budget looking for a challenging role in project management.

• Project planning and management
• Budgeting and resource allocation
• Risk management and mitigation
• Team leadership and collaboration

Senior Project Manager, DEF Company

• Led a team of 10 project managers and oversaw the successful delivery of 20+ complex projects with an average budget of $5M.
• Developed and implemented a risk management framework that reduced project risks by 20% and saved the company $1M in additional costs.
• Managed project budgets and resource allocation, resulting in a 15% increase in profitability for the organization.

D. Pros and Cons of Functional Work History Format

• Highlights skills and achievements that are relevant to the job you’re applying for.
• Provides flexibility for career changers and those with employment gaps.
• Allows customization for specific job requirements.
• Lack of chronological context.
• May raise questions about experience and career stability.
• Difficult to determine the scope and impact of previous roles.

Overall, the functional work history format can be a powerful tool for highlighting your skills and qualifications, particularly for career changers or individuals with employment gaps. However, it’s important to carefully consider the potential drawbacks and address any concerns employers may have about the lack of chronological context or the scope of your previous roles. By doing so, you can leverage the strengths of this format and present a compelling case for why you are the right candidate for the job.

Mixed Format

A. definition and purpose of mixed format.

Mixed format, also known as combination format, is a type of resume format that combines both the chronological and functional formats. This format highlights both a candidate’s work experience and relevant skills, making it well-suited for candidates who have strong work histories and valuable skills but may lack one or the other.

The purpose of a mixed format resume is to showcase a candidate’s strengths, emphasizing what they can do rather than focusing solely on where they’ve worked. It allows employers to get a better sense of a candidate’s abilities and qualifications, making it easier to determine whether they’re a good match for the position.

B. The sections of mixed format

A mixed format resume typically contains the following sections:

• Contact Information: the candidate’s name, address, phone number, and email address.
• Professional Summary/Objective: a brief statement at the beginning of the resume stating the candidate’s career goals and what they can offer to the employer.
• Skills and Accomplishments: highlights the candidate’s relevant skills and accomplishments that pertain to the job they’re applying for.
• Work Experience: lists the candidate’s work experience in reverse chronological order, including job title, company name, employment dates, and key responsibilities and achievements.
• Education: lists the candidate’s educational background, including degrees, certifications, and relevant coursework.

C. Examples of mixed format

Contact Information: John Doe 123 Main Street Anytown, USA Phone: (555) 123-4567 Email: [email protected]

Professional Summary:

Results-driven marketing professional with 7+ years of experience in brand management and digital marketing. Skilled in developing and executing strategic marketing campaigns that drive brand awareness and increase customer engagement. Seeking a challenging role to leverage my expertise in driving marketing success.

Skills and Accomplishments:

• Brand strategy development and implementation
• Digital marketing campaign management
• Social media marketing and community management
• Market research and analysis
• Strong communication and project management skills

Work Experience:

Marketing Manager, ABC Company

• Developed and executed integrated marketing campaigns that resulted in a 30% increase in brand visibility and a 20% growth in customer acquisition.
• Led a team of 5 marketing professionals, providing guidance and support in executing marketing initiatives.
• Implemented data-driven strategies and analyzed campaign performance to optimize marketing efforts and maximize ROI.

Marketing Specialist, XYZ Corporation

• Managed social media accounts, increasing follower base by 50% and engagement by 75%.
• Conducted market research to identify consumer trends and preferences, resulting in the launch of a successful product line.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams to ensure consistent brand messaging across all marketing channels.

Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing Anytown University

Contact Information: Jane Smith 456 Elm Street Cityville, USA Phone: (555) 987-6543 Email: [email protected]

Professional Objective:

Highly skilled software engineer with a strong background in full-stack development and experience in agile project management. Seeking a challenging role to apply my technical expertise and leadership skills in delivering innovative software solutions.

• Proficient in multiple programming languages including Java, Python, and JavaScript
• Full-stack web development using modern frameworks (e.g., Angular, React)
• Agile project management and Scrum methodologies
• Strong problem-solving and debugging skills
• Collaborative team player with excellent communication abilities

Senior Software Engineer, DEF Tech

• Led the development of a new web application, resulting in a 20% increase in user engagement and improved customer satisfaction.
• Implemented automated testing procedures, reducing software bugs by 40% and enhancing overall product quality.
• Acted as Scrum Master, facilitating daily stand-ups and ensuring successful sprint delivery.

Software Developer, GHI Solutions

• Collaborated with a team of developers to create scalable web applications for enterprise clients.
• Optimized database queries and improved application performance by 30%.
• Received recognition for exceptional problem-solving skills and ability to deliver high-quality code under tight deadlines.

Bachelor of Science in Computer Science Cityville University

D. Pros and cons of mixed format

• Highlights both relevant skills and work experience.
• Can be tailored to the specific job and employer by emphasizing different sections.
• Provides a clear format for presenting a candidate’s abilities and qualifications.
• Requires more effort and time to create than other formats.
• May not be suitable for candidates with limited work experience.
• Can be confusing if not well-structured and concise.

A mixed format resume can be an excellent way to showcase one’s abilities and qualifications to potential employers. However, candidates must weigh the pros and cons and ensure that the format they choose is the best representation of their work history and relevant skills.

Combination Work History Format

When it comes to creating a compelling resume, there are many different formats to choose from to showcase your work history. One effective option is the combination work history format. In this section, we’ll explore the definition and purpose of this format, the sections included, and provide examples of how it can be used. We’ll also examine the pros and cons of using this approach.

A. Definition and Purpose of Combination Work History Format

The combination work history format combines elements from both the chronological and functional resume formats. It highlights both your work experience and relevant skills, making it an ideal option for job seekers with a varied work history or those looking to transition into a new career.

This format typically begins with a summary or objective statement, followed by a skills section that highlights your most relevant abilities. The work history section then follows, listing your previous experience in chronological order. This approach not only showcases your skills but also helps to emphasize your career progression and experience.

B. The Sections of Combination Work History Format

The combination work history format typically includes the following sections:

1. Summary or Objective Statement

This section provides a brief overview of your professional background and career goals. It should be tailored to the specific position and company you are applying to.

2. Skills Section

This section highlights your relevant skills, both hard and soft. These may include technical abilities, communication skills, leadership experience, and more.

3. Work History Section

This section lists your previous work experience in chronological order, starting with your most recent position. It should include company names, job titles, dates of employment, and bullet points outlining your responsibilities and accomplishments.

C. Examples of Combination Work History Format

Here are some examples of how the combination work history format can be used:

Summary: A creative marketing professional with over 5 years of experience in digital marketing and copywriting. Passionate about developing innovative campaigns that engage audiences and drive business growth.

Skills: Social media management, content creation, SEO, email marketing, data analysis, project management, communication skills.

Work History:

• Marketing Manager, XYZ Company, June 2019-Present
• Digital Marketing Specialist, ABC Agency, Jan 2017-June 2019
• Copywriter, DEF Marketing, July 2015-Jan 2017

Summary: A results-driven sales professional with experience in both B2B and B2C markets. Skilled in developing and managing long-term client relationships to drive revenue growth.

Skills: Sales strategy, client relationship management, lead generation, negotiation, public speaking, team leadership.

• Senior Account Executive, XYZ Company, May 2018-Present
• Sales Manager, ABC Inc., Jan 2016-May 2018
• Account Executive, DEF Corporation, June 2014-Jan 2016

Work History Format Based on Employment Type

As a job seeker, it’s important to understand the various types of work history formats available and how they can impact your job search.

A. Definition and Purpose of Work History Format Based on Employment Type

A work history format based on employment type is a resume format that is organized by the type of employment you have had. The purpose of this format is to highlight your experience and expertise in a specific field or industry.

B. The Sections of Work History Format Based on Employment Type

The sections of a work history format based on employment type can vary depending on the industry and job you are applying for, but they generally include:

• Employment dates

C. Examples of Work History Format Based on Employment Type

Here are a few examples of work history formats based on employment type:

• Chronological: This format lists your work experience in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent position. It’s ideal for job seekers with a steady work history in one specific field.
• Functional: This format focuses on your skills and abilities rather than your work history. It’s ideal for job seekers who have gaps in their employment history or who are trying to make a career change.
• Combination: This format combines aspects of both the chronological and functional formats. It’s ideal for job seekers with a diverse work history who want to highlight their skills and experience in a specific field.

D. Pros and Cons of Work History Format Based on Employment Type

There are pros and cons to each type of work history format based on employment type. Here are a few:

• Chronological: Pros – Easy to read and understand for employers, highlights steady work history. Cons – Can be detrimental for job seekers with employment gaps or job hopping.
• Functional: Pros – Highlights skills and abilities, flexible for job seekers with diverse work history. Cons – Can be confusing for employers and may raise questions about employment history.
• Combination: Pros – Allows job seekers to highlight both skills and steady work history, flexible for diverse work history. Cons – Can be confusing for employers, requires careful organization.

Ultimately, the best work history format based on employment type for you will depend on your unique work history and career goals. By understanding the various options available and weighing the pros and cons, you can create a resume that impresses employers and helps you land your dream job.

Work History Format Based on Job Category

A. definition and purpose of work history format based on job category.

When presenting your work history in your resume, it is important to tailor it to the job you are applying for. The work history format based on job category is a way to do just that. This format focuses on highlighting the relevant experience and skills for the specific job category you are applying for, making it easier for employers to see how you fit into their organization.

B. The Sections of Work History Format Based on Job Category

The sections of the work history format based on job category may vary depending on the job category you are applying for. However, generally, the following sections are included:

Job Title and Dates of Employment

This section should include the job title you held and the dates you were employed. This gives employers a quick overview of your work experience.

Company Name and Location

The company name and location should also be included in this section. This gives employers an idea of the type of company you worked for and where it was located.

Key Responsibilities and Achievements

This section should focus on your key responsibilities and achievements in your previous roles. Make sure to highlight the skills and experiences that are relevant to the job category you are applying for.

C. Examples of Work History Format Based on Job Category

Examples of work history formats based on job categories are:

IT Job Category

• Job Title: Software Developer, June 2015 – Present
• Company Name: ABC Tech, San Francisco, CA
• Developed software applications using Java and Python
• Implemented automated testing frameworks
• Contributed to open source projects on Github

Marketing Job Category

• Job Title: Marketing Manager, January 2018 – Present
• Company Name: XYZ Inc, New York, NY
• Designed and executed successful email marketing campaigns
• Developed and implemented social media strategies
• Managed a team of five marketing professionals

D. Pros and Cons of Work History Format Based on Job Category

• Tailored to the specific job you are applying for, making it easier for employers to see your fit
• Highlights your relevant experience and skills
• Makes it easier for employers to evaluate your candidacy
• May require more time and effort to tailor your resume for each job category
• May limit the scope of your work experience if you only focus on skills relevant to the job category

The work history format based on job category can be an effective way to showcase your relevant experience and skills for the job you are applying for. However, it is important to weigh the pros and cons and decide if this format is right for you.

Work History Format Based on Industry

A. definition and purpose of work history format based on industry.

The work history format based on industry refers to the structure and content of a resume’s work history section tailored to a specific industry. This format is designed to showcase the applicant’s relevant experience, skills, and achievements that are specific to the industry they are targeting. The purpose of this format is to help the applicant demonstrate their suitability for the job and stand out from the competition.

B. The Sections of Work History Format Based on Industry

The sections of work history format based on industry include:

Job Title: The job title should be relevant to the industry and specific to the role the applicant is applying for.

Company Name: The name of the company where the applicant worked should be listed, along with the dates of employment.

Job Description: A brief description of the applicant’s job duties and responsibilities should be included, highlighting their significant contributions to the organization.

Accomplishments: Specific achievements, such as awards, promotions, or successful projects, should be highlighted to demonstrate the applicant’s skills and performance in the industry.

C. Examples of Work History Format Based on Industry

Job Title: Marketing Manager Company Name: ABC Company Job Description: Developed and executed the company’s marketing strategy to increase brand awareness and revenue. Collaborated with the sales team to create targeted campaigns that resulted in a 30% increase in sales. Accomplishments: Implemented a social media campaign that increased the company’s online presence by 20%.

Job Title: Software Engineer Company Name: XYZ Corporation Job Description: Designed and developed software solutions, including front-end and back-end development. Collaborated with the QA team to ensure proper testing and implementation. Accomplishments: Successfully launched a new software product for the company, resulting in a 25% increase in revenue.

D. Pros and Cons of Work History Format Based on Industry

• Allows the applicant to focus on relevant experience and accomplishments in the industry, making them stand out from other applicants who may have a general resume.
• Demonstrates the applicant’s expertise and knowledge of the industry, showing their suitability for the position.
• Increases the chances of being called for an interview, as the resume is tailored to the specific needs of the job.
• May be time-consuming to create, as each resume needs to be tailored to the specific industry and job.
• May limit the applicant’s chances of applying for jobs in different industries or fields.
• Requires in-depth knowledge of the industry to effectively highlight the relevant experience and accomplishments.

Crafting an impressive work history section on your resume is crucial in catching the attention of potential employers. Here are some tips to make your work experience stand out:

1. Start with your most recent position

Recruiters are interested in your most recent work experience, so it’s best to begin with your current or most recent position. This will also show that you have relevant experience for the position you are applying for.

2. Use action verbs

When describing your work experience, make sure to use strong action verbs that showcase your skills and accomplishments. Examples of action verbs include “managed,” “created,” “increased,” “led,” “developed,” and “initiated.”

3. Highlight achievements, not just duties

Instead of simply listing your job duties, focus on your accomplishments and how they contributed to the company’s success. Use numbers and percentages to quantify your achievements and provide context for your impact.

4. Tailor your work history to the job

Make sure your work history aligns with the job requirements by tailoring your experiences and accomplishments to the position you are applying for. This will show the employer that you have the specific skills and experience they are seeking.

5. Keep it concise

While it’s important to highlight your achievements and experiences, make sure to keep it concise and to the point. A recruiter will quickly scan your work history section, so focus on the most relevant information and avoid including irrelevant or outdated experience.

By following these tips, you can create a work history section that shows your value and impresses potential employers.

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More from ResumeHead

If you’re looking for previous work experience examples for a resume or job application, and the exact steps to write your own experience section, you’re in the right place.

I’m going to walk you through:

• Why employers care about your work history and what they want to see most
• How to write your resume employment history including every piece of info to include and what format to put it in
• 3 previous work experience examples from real resumes written by  professional resume writers
• The  biggest mistakes to avoid when writing professional experience on a resume

Why Employers Care About Work Experience on Your Resume

Here’s what I’ve discovered after years of working as a recruiter…

If you have work experience (e.g. if you’re not entry-level or a recent graduate),  your recent work experience is the first place a hiring manager or recruiter looks on your resume  to see if you’re a good fit for their job.

So you want to put it front-and-center, and make sure your  bullet points  and other employment history details are GREAT.

For 95% of job seekers, there should only be a few things that come before your work history on your resume: You should put your name/contact info, a brief resume summary section , and that’s it.

After this, you should be diving right into the employment history on your resume, because it’s what employers want to see right away on your resume. 

What Should You Include in Your Resume Work Experience Section?

Your experience on a resume should include employer names, locations, dates of employment, job title held, and the professional experience you gained in the role.

You should provide detailed experience on a resume in terms of not only duties assigned and skills used, but also what you achieved and accomplished in this job.

You can do this by beginning sentences and bullet points under your work experience with verbs and power words like “Led,” “Increased,” etc.

Along with company names, locations, job titles, dates, and accomplishments, also consider including any promotions and awards you received at any previous company.

Awards and accolades are important achievements that show you’ve performed well in your career and handled the responsibilities given to you, which will excite employers.

Write your work experience in reverse chronological order, meaning that your most recent companies and job titles appear at the top and then you work downward, ending on the first role you ever held.

Formatting Your Previous Work Experience to Impress Employers

The best resume format for job seekers is the reverse chronological format , which means you should begin your experience with your most recent role on top and then work backward through your professional career.

For each position, include the job title, dates, and company name, and then describe your professional experience and achievements in that role. You can either use a brief paragraph to describe the role and then bullets, or use only bullets. However, you should not use only paragraph format when writing your work experience section.

This is a mistake that many job seekers make, and it leads to their resumes being skimmed over by recruiters and hiring managers.

Bullets do a better job of catching attention and getting an employer to closely read your experience section.

If you held multiple jobs in a company over time, list each job with its own dates and relevant experience.

It’s a huge mistake to not show each specific job title under a company, because this shows that you were promoted and advanced.

As a final step, as you write your previous work descriptions and bullet points, glance at the job description to ensure you’re covering the important skills that employers seem to want for the job you’re pursuing.

This is known as tailoring a resume.

3 Previous Work Experience Examples

Now that you know the basics of how to write the work history section of your resume, let’s look at some good employment history samples from real resumes.

I invited a couple of experts to share their resume work history examples for this section.

I’ll share two resume work experience examples from them, and then I’ll include a very simple/plain example that I’ve used in the past with a lot of success.

Resume Work Experience Example #1

You can use bold text like the example above to highlight key accomplishments on your resume. You can also use bullets, checkmarks, and other simple graphics to make sure your best work is noticed.

This resume work history also has a separate section for “Select Accomplishments”. This is a unique way to put all of your best accomplishments from each role in one place that’s likely to get noticed and read by hiring managers.

Contributed by: Kyle Elliott, MPA, CHES, Career Coach at  CaffeinatedKyle.com

Resume Work Experience Example #2:

This is another employment history sample showing a great balance between attractive styling, but not going overboard and making it too “busy” or distracting.

Only one color is being used: blue ( research has shown  the color blue is calming and is associated with credibility and dependability, so it’s a good color to use). And the styling is simple enough to keep the reader’s attention on your accomplishments.

Contributed by: Virginia Franco, Founder of  Virginia Franco Resumes  and Forbes contributor

Resume Work Experience Example #3:

This is a very plain format, but if you’re in a field like accounting, finance, sales, data entry, customer service, etc., it could be a good choice.

They’re going to interview you and hire you for your skills and what you’ve done for past employers, not for a fancy resume design, right? So a simple format highlights exactly what they want!

If this is a little too plain for you, I’d recommend adding some blue like the two previous examples we looked at. That’s the first change I’d make to this if I were re-doing it today (this is a resume format I’ve used very successfully in the past).

By: Biron Clark, former recruiter and Founder of  CareerSidekick.com

Grammar and Wording

Next, I’m going to share two critical tips for how to phrase and set up your work experience section to sound professional.

First, avoid talking in the first person, with phrases like, “I am a Customer Success Manager”.

Simply say “Customer Success Manager” to lead off a description of your past or current job.

Example: “Customer Success Manager leading seven support associates and…”

And next tip: When writing bullet points and paragraphs to describe your recent roles, I recommend using the past tense when it comes to your verbs.

You can see this in the resume samples above. For example, the second bullet in resume example #3 above:

“Built key ‘C’ level relationships…”

Built is a past tense verb.

This is how I recommend approaching your resume writing overall.

This sounds better when you describe job experience, versus writing, “Building” or “Build”.

So keep these small tips in mind when writing your job history and try to match the resume examples above.

Using this tone to describe past positions will impress your next prospective employer and sound professional and clear.

Colors and Design of Your Work History on a Resume

The first rule to follow when you write your employment history is to keep it simple in terms of style and formatting.

If you’re not a professional designer, your resume format should not have fancy graphics and colors. 

That’s true of  every section of your resume .

Pick one accent color at most (for example, some headers in dark blue if the rest of the text is black), one or two fonts total, and one or two header sizes.

You’ll notice all three resume employment history samples above keep colors to a minimum and focus on the content itself. That’s what you should do as well.

You want the employer’s focus to be on your past work experience, not on the styling and colors of your resume, so don’t distract them too much.

Further reading: The best colors for your resume.

Customizing These Work Experience Examples

Now, you could just copy and use one of the formats above, from the three previous work experience examples that I just gave you.

However, I also recommend adjusting it to fit your situation. I’ll explain…

Depending on how often you’ve changed jobs and how long you’ve been working, you may want to list months and years, or only years for your dates of employment.

Be strategic and decide what’s best for you. If you held a job for only a few months, it might be better just to list everything in terms of years, and not include months.

And… you can also leave a job off of your resume entirely. This is not a “work history” section of a job application where you’re required to list all previous jobs.  It’s entirely up to you what goes on your resume).

Whatever you do, stay consistent with the same formatting for every job.  That’s very important. Remember, you want this to be EASY to read for the hiring manager.

So use the work experience examples above to create your own, but also make sure you’re doing what fits your career and experience!

How Far Back Should Your Employment History Go?

My advice here is the same advice I give for how back to go with your story when they ask, “ tell me about yourself ” in an interview.

If you’ve been working for less than 8-10 years, I’d go back to the beginning of your professional work history, and try to tailor everything to be relevant to the jobs you’re pursuing now.

You might be thinking there’s nothing in common between your prior professional experience and the jobs you want now, but there’s usually an angle you can find!

Here’s an example of how you may have relevant experience in your background even if you’re an entry-level job seeker or applying to a totally new type of position:

When I was in college, I worked in customer service at Whole Foods Market. Not too glamorous, right?

But I became a supervisor, and  you’d be amazed how many interviewers asked me about this job , even after 4-5 years had passed (and for office jobs that seemed unrelated to working in a supermarket).

So don’t assume something isn’t relevant. If you showed advancement/growth, leadership, or other impressive traits, employers will love it. It’s your job to  make the bullet points impressive  and show them how it’s relevant.

Now, on the other hand, if you’ve worked more than 10 years, and/or if you are a Manager/Director, etc., consider starting your resume work history at the point you became a manager.

If you’re 45 years old and have been a Manager for 15 years, most employers aren’t going to want to look back and see how you got started as an individual contributor 20+ years ago. They’ll want to see where you started as a Manager, and how you progressed since then. So start there – how you got into your current line of work.

Where To Put Your Work History Section on Your Resume?

Short answer: If you have any work experience at all, this section is the #1 most important thing on your resume – and the first place hiring managers and recruiters look. It should be on the top half of the first page.

Don’t put your Skills section before it. No hiring manager or recruiter wants to see a general list of your skills (with no idea how recently you’ve used each skill, or how) before they see your work experience. You can read more about how to write your resume Skills section and where to list it here.

Don’t put your Education section before it, either, unless you are a Doctor or have a Ph.D. and are in a profession where this educational background is a hard requirement to obtaining any job in the field.

For everyone else, which is 95%+ of people, just put your name and contact details centered at the top of your resume, then put a one-paragraph career summary , and then go right into your work experience.

You can label the section whatever you want: Work History, Employment History, Work Experience, etc.

The point is that your resume work history should be extremely easy to find, without the hiring manager needing to scroll down or search much.

Make Sure to List Specific Accomplishments in Your Work History

With the examples above, it’s important to list accomplishments on your resume work history, not just duties/responsibilities.

There’s a big difference between saying, “I was responsible for handling 50 customer requests per day”, and saying, “I successfully responded to 50 customer requests per day, while keeping a 98% customer satisfaction rating”.

In the second one, you’re phrasing it as an accomplishment instead of simply talking about what you were responsible for or “supposed to do.” And you’re adding a great data point – 98% customer satisfaction.

Try to do this whenever possible when listing accomplishments on your resume. Keep that in mind when you copy the examples above.

If you want more help with this, detailed examples and instructions are  here .

Tailor Everything!

After using these resume work history examples to write and  format your resume , don’t forget to tailor your accomplishments and bullet points to match the job description for the role you want. This is one of the quickest ways to get noticed and get  invited to an interview .

(And if you skip this or don’t bother doing it, you’re probably going to lose out on the job to someone who did this – seriously! If you aren’t doing this, it’s a big reason  why you haven’t found a job yet ).

Here’s how to  tailor your resume for a job before applying . (<< Fastest, easiest method)

The general idea is if the top 2-3 bullet points on the job description talk about a certain skill or piece of experience, you should do everything you can to reorganize your achievements on your resume to highlight those same areas.

So do your research (the best place to start is the job description), and then re-order your bullet points to show off the exact experience they want, whenever you possibly can. Don’t make them go digging and searching for it or you run the risk they’ll move on to someone else’s resume instead.

Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Resume Work Experience

We’ve now looked at tips for writing your employment history, samples from real resumes, and more. I want to leave you with the mistakes to make sure you avoid when you put together your own resume work history section.

Mistake #1: Having Your Employment History Start Below the First Half of Page 1

You’ll notice in the work history samples earlier, this section starts early on the resume. Making a hiring manager or recruiter go digging in your resume to find this section is a big mistake.

Put it front and center (on the top half of page 1). You want your recent experience and achievements to be dead easy to find for any company you send your resume to.

That’s one of the best tips I can share in general: Don’t make employers go digging for your recent responsibilities and achievements on your resume. It should jump out of the page at them because it should contain a lot of content compared to other sections, and it should appear high up.

Mistake #2: Rushing Through Your Work History to Write Other Resume Sections

There’s no section on your resume more important than your employment history. You should be spending 40-50% of your time on just this section. So don’t rush through this. You only need to do it once, but it needs to be GREAT if you want to  get interviews .

Mistake #3: Not Putting Facts, Numbers, and Accomplishments

If your resume employment history is full of phrases like, “Responsible for…” then you’re missing a big opportunity to impress employers.

They want to see specific accomplishments in a past position, for example:

Led a team of 4 people to reorganize client onboarding program, resulting in a 23% increase in client retention year-over-year.

Here’s  how to write great resume bullets like this.

Mistake #4: Thinking it’s all about you and not about the employer

The average job seeker thinks their resume work history is all about them. They decide what THEY want to write, what THEY care about, etc.

That’s a backward approach, believe it or not. (Assuming you want to get more interviews).

The best way to approach writing your resume employment history is to think of the employer. Look at their job description. What are their needs? What skills do they care about?

That’s why I mentioned “tailoring” your resume in the previous section. It’s incredibly important. Don’t write your previous work experience without a few job descriptions in front of you… for the jobs you want to get!

That’s how to make sure what you’re writing will get you interviews.

Most of the mistakes above should be a review if you’ve read the entire article above. If not, go back and make sure you’ve read everything.

You only get one shot to impress employers with your resume, and  they’re looking at your previous work experience within 10 seconds of opening your resume. 

Use These Resume Work History Samples to Get More Interviews

If you follow the advice above and use the employment history templates and samples to write your own resume work history section, you’re going to get noticed by more employers and get more interviews.

It’s worth taking the extra time to do a great job on your resume experience section and ensure that you’re listing detailed achievements within your experience. Focus especially on your two or three most recent positions since that’s the experience an employer will focus on first when reviewing your career.

This one piece of your resume is sometimes all a recruiter will look at before deciding “yes” or “no” on whether they want to interview you, so it’s key to a successful job search.

About the Author

Read more articles by Biron Clark

More Resume Tips & Guides

Crafting the perfect resume for teens (template & expert advice), career change interview tips, resume tips and more, how much does a resume writer cost (average price and ranges), walk me through your resume: answer examples, applying for jobs out of state this resume tip can help, how long should a resume be, how to put direct and indirect reports (and other data) on your resume, what makes a good resume 9 ways to know, 11 common resume mistakes to avoid, career change resume: examples and tips from experts, 1 thought on “previous work experience examples for a resume”.

I have been off working for more than a year due to family emergency. Now I am ready to get back to work. During the time when I needed to take care of my family, I took some online courses and part time classroom classes to upgrade myself and keep connected to the job market.

I want to know if I should mention this one year gap in my resume. If so, can you give me some examples how to write it will make my resume look more professional and convincing.

Thanks in advance for your help.

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How To Write an Impressive Resume With Only One Job

If you’ve only ever held one job, writing a resume might feel like a daunting task. After all, how do you show career progression when your career hasn’t really progressed? It’s a little tricky, but it can definitely be done — here’s how!

2 years ago   •   10 min read

In this article, we'll cover:

• How to structure your resume if you've been at only one company but have held different roles or responsibilities.
• How to show a progression of roles and responsibilities if you haven't been promoted.
• How to write your resume if you’re new to the workforce and have just one job.
• What to do if you’re changing careers and only have one relevant job in your target industry.
• How to choose the best resume format for listing a single job.

How to make a resume with only one job

Let's start by looking at an example.

First, let’s take a look at what your resume could look like with only one job on it.

Doesn’t look so bad, does it? In fact, at first glance, it’s hard to even tell that you’ve only held one job — and that’s the point. Not to hide the truth , of course, but to show real progression regardless of how many companies you’ve worked for.

There’s one simple rule when it comes to writing a single-job resume:

Show career progression.

Here are some quick ways to show career progression on a resume:

• Highlight promotions
• Show a progression of roles and responsibilities
• Demonstrate a wide range of skill sets
• Highlighting transferable skills

Use numbers to show impact

Get more experience.

I’d recommend uploading your resume to the tool below — it’ll let you know if your resume shows enough progression, soft and transferable skills and impact.

Emphasize promotions on your resume

The easiest way to show career progression is through promotions, so if you’ve been moving up within the same company, that won't raise eyebrows the same way as if you’d been in the same position for 10+ years. You can highlight a promotion on your resume either by listing the job titles separately with their own bullet points, or by grouping the titles together if your duties were similar.

Let's look at two examples of showing a promotion. In the first one, you can highlight a promotion by listing separate job titles under the same company name.

In the second example, you can use bullet points to call out that you were promoted.

Here are some bullet point examples you can use to highlight a promotion:

• Promoted to Associate Consultant in 2 years (1 year in advance); the only member in a cohort of 45 Analysts to be fast-tracked
• Promoted within 12 months due to strong performance and organizational impact - ahead of schedule by 12 months
• Ranked top of the class and offered an early promotion to Senior Analyst after two years

Use resume action verbs which stress your promotions — words like Promoted, Ranked or Grew are great.

Read more in our in-depth guide on how to show a promotion on a resume .

Show a progression of roles and responsibilities if you haven't been promoted

If you’ve held multiple jobs at one employer without a formal promotion, try listing more impressive and in-depth accomplishments for later roles and fewer or simpler accomplishments for earlier ones. If you’ve only ever held the one position, include accomplishments that speak to career growth, like explicitly mentioning times you’ve taken on additional responsibilities or been entrusted with higher-level tasks.

Here are some bullet point examples you can use:

• Oversaw the development of more robust reporting for the customer support team, which improved customer NPS by 15% year over year
• Created a coaching strategy for sales development representatives leading to a new business performance that was 20% above plan for 2017
• Grew to lead and onboard a team of 4 operations analysts

To ensure your resume's bullet points are effective, make sure you take advantage of free tools like Score My Resume — they'll scan your resume's bullet points and tell you if they're effective from the point of view of hiring managers.

Read more about listing multiple jobs at the same company on your resume .

Show off your skills and show progression of skills

Another way to prove that you haven’t stagnated in your tenure at one company is by emphasizing skill progression and showing a wide range of skill sets.

Using subheadings is a great way to do this — separate subheadings allow you to list a large number of skills without making your skills section difficult to read. It can also give the illusion of having a more varied skill set, even if all your skills came from the same job.

Read more about the top resume skills and keywords in demand across different industries and positions.

If you want to find hard skills and keywords relevant to the job you’re applying for, use our skills search tool below — it’ll give you a list of skills to include in your skills section.

Related : The 20 Best Resume Tips, Tricks and Hacks

Highlight transferable skills

Transferable skills — or soft skills — are, like their name suggests, skills that you can use in any job. While hard skills like computer programming aren't likely to be useful if you're applying for a job in sales, soft skills like communication, teamwork, leadership, and time management are always valuable.

Never list transferable skills in your skills section or talk them up in your cover letter. Instead, use your bullet point accomplishments to show how you've used them. Here are some examples.

To show attention to detail :

Handled all aspects of preparing the weekly payroll and expense reporting for a 200-person office; kept detailed audit records and processed 100% of payments on time.

To show organization :

Coordinated mailing over 40,000 invitations, formal letters, and information packets annually.

To show communication skills :

Wrote and produced 100+ client prospecting video emails, leading to 50+ leads and landing major accounts.

Read more about how to highlight transferable skills on a resume .

Including numbers and metrics is the best way to make your accomplishments stand out, even if you’ve only held one job. This is called quantifying your resume's bullet points .

Stating what you did is all well and good, but what potential employers want to know is what you’re likely to do for them — and using numbers to show the concrete impact you’ve made in your current role is the most effective way to do that.

Even a close approximation will do — if you can’t find out exactly how much revenue you’ve generated for your company, or how much you’ve improved efficiency, listing a good estimate is far more valuable than not using numbers at all.

Here are a few sample resume bullet points which show you how to use numbers in your resume, to increase overall impact.

Read more about how to quantify your resume and what recruiters are looking for.

If you need more experience, why not go out and get it?

There are more options for relevant experience than your work history alone. As long as you can point to an accomplishment or two that align with the position you’re applying for, feel free to use non-work activities to round out your professional experience . Consider including:

• Internships
• Volunteering
• Freelance or contract work
• Personal or university projects
• Extracurricular activities

If you’ve been at the same company for years

Working at the same company for years can feel like a good thing — after all, it demonstrates loyalty, right? The truth is, it’s a mixed bag. On one hand, yes. Staying with one company shows that you aren’t a job hopper and are willing to stick around long-term , which are positive qualities.

On the other hand, it does raise questions which can become red flags if not addressed . What kinds of questions? Mostly, employers will be curious about why you stuck around so long. It could be for a good reason — maybe the pay was great or you really loved the work.

But it could also be for a bad one. Were you unable to land a better job? Not motivated enough to try? Simply don’t have any interest in progressing beyond your current position? Any of these potential explanations could give a hiring manager pause, which is why it's so important to demonstrate your willingness to change and grow beyond your current role.

Show career progression

If you've been steadily moving up the ladder at your current employer, it's unlikely to raise red flags with a recruiter. In fact, it's unlikely that they'll see you as having held only one job, especially if your job title has changed along with your promotion.

If you’ve worked at the same company for a while without being promoted, you can still demonstrate career growth. The trick is to show a progression of responsibilities — scroll up for our tips and examples.

Demonstrate adaptability

One of the most common concerns recruiters have about people who’ve held multiple jobs at one company is that they’ll be unwilling — or unable — to change in a new role. You can counteract this by demonstrating adaptability within your current role.

That means it can actually be an asset to show times when you’ve stepped outside of your role , like working closely with another department, taking on additional duties, or undergoing training to freshen up your skills. Even focusing on a more varied range of accomplishments within the one job can work — anything to show that you’re not just a one-trick pony.

Here's a resume example which shows how someone has worked in different projects, with different departments, using different tools and strategies.

If you’re new to the workforce and have just one job

It’s completely fine to have only one job on your resume if you’re still at the beginning of your career. In fact, if you’ve only been working for a year or two, it’s better to have held a single job in that period than multiple shorter jobs. That said, even with only one job under your belt, you can still show growth by:

• Choosing resume accomplishments that match the position you’re applying for
• Including metrics to show to impact of your achievements
• Tailoring your resume's skills and keywords to match the job description
• Including internships, volunteer work, projects, and even relevant coursework until you have more professional experience to replace it with

Read more tips for writing a resume with limited (or no) work experience .

If you’re changing careers and just have one relevant job in your target industry

It’s always better to limit your resume to relevant experience — but if you’re trying to move into a completely different role or industry, you may only have one relevant job and a whole lot of less-relevant ones. So, what then?

Create two different sections

The best strategy in this case is to separate your job history into two sections. Title one “Work Experience” or “Relevant Work Experience” and include jobs that are in the same field — even if that’s only one job.

Underneath that, create a new section titled “Other Experience” where you can include less-relevant jobs. For these, list fewer accomplishments, and only ones that demonstrate transferable skills. This allows you to show that you’ve held more than one job without cluttering up your resume with positions that aren’t relevant to the kind of jobs you’re applying for now. It's also a better option than leaving those jobs off your resume entirely.

Read more about how to write a resume if you’re currently in the process of changing careers (or you’re thinking about it) in our guide on how to update your resume for a career change .

How to choose the best resume format

This one actually isn't difficult. Despite well-meaning advice that you can hide job gaps, unemployment, or lack of experience with a functional resume, you should always opt to follow the standard chronological resume format.

Confused about different resume types?

• A functional or skills-based resume is one that leaves off dates — and sometimes even company names or job titles — from your resume. The aim is to highlight skills over experience, but it's an obvious trick that won't impress hiring managers, who want to know how long (and how recent) your experience was.
• A hybrid or combination resume is one that combines aspects of a functional and chronological resume. This is more recruiter-friendly than a purely functional resume but still usually isn't the best option — you want to start with your work experience to make sure it doesn't get overlooked.
• A chronological resume is the traditional resume format that you're probably used to and is still standard across the board. In a chronological resume format, you list your most recent experience at the top, followed by any older jobs, education, skills, and other information.

Why use a chronological resume format?

• Hiring managers expect it. It's the standard, which means that deviating from it is likely to make people wonder what you're trying to hide.
• It prioritizes the most important information (your work experience).
• It still allows for flexibility in certain situations — for example, recent graduates can still lead with an education section, while career changers can split their work history into "relevant experience" and "other experience."
• It won't stand out. You want recruiters to be focused on the content of your resume — not the format.
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• Resume and Cover Letter
• How Do I List 20 Years of...

How Do I List 20 Years of Experience on My Resume?

7 min read · Updated on October 15, 2021

When it comes to the length of your resume, more isn't always better — even if you have a long and accomplished career history.

Each week, TopResume's career advice expert, Amanda Augustine, tackles your questions live on Facebook . We'll be republishing those answers here. As a certified professional career coach (CPCC) and resume writer (CPRW), Amanda has been helping professionals improve their careers for over 10 years. 

In this Q&A, Amanda helps make sense of how long is too long for a resume, and what you should keep — and omit — from your resume if you're an older professional. 

She answers: 

Can I use a one-page resume for networking, even though my regular resume is three pages long? 

How do I put 20 years of experience on a resume? 

How do I showcase additional duties on your resume?

Q: Can I use a 1-page resume for networking? I was thinking of having a 1-page resume to circulate to unsolicited contacts to spark the conversation.

There was a great study done by ResumeGo where they looked at thousands of resumes and found that a two-page resume is the ideal length , regardless of years of experience. 

If you are newer to the workforce, I would always recommend a one-page resume. If you have enough information that warrants a second page, you should go for it — but you shouldn't force it, either. The same thing applies to a three-page resume. In general, I recommend a two-page resume over three pages, unless there are extenuating circumstances. 

Even at a quick glance (recruiters spend less than 10 seconds looking at your resume before making a decision) the top third of your resume needs to set the stage for everything else. That's what needs to catch the reader's eye. 

You need to have your name, your contact information, your professional title, and a short professional summary, which really is the elevator pitch for the rest of your resume. Make sure to incorporate your strengths and skills so that the recruiter has a high-level understanding of what you're about from the get-go, with your most recent experience on that front page as well. 

Overall, I think professionals are trending toward two pages instead of one because a two-page resume presents recruiters with everything they want to see. 

TopResume completed a study where we looked at self-written, DIY resumes and compared them to professionally written resumes . As part of the study, we asked recruiters different questions to understand which they were more impressed by and, more importantly, why. What's the difference? 

The professional resumes looked and read as more polished, leaving recruiters feeling more confident in the prospect of presenting these candidates to their hiring managers. We also asked the recruiters to estimate the candidates' value in the job market, and those with professionally written resumes were valued at seven percent higher than those whose were self-written. 

Anyone can make sure their resume is typo-free or grammatically correct, but we found the big differences between a professionally written resume and a DIY resume were that:

A professionally written resume presents a compelling career narrative.   Your resume tells a story . How well do you weave a story that shows your background and why you're now qualified and would make a good candidate for a certain role?

Quantifying your achievements allows you to showcase the value you could bring to a company or role. It's more than just saying that you did X, Y, and Z. What was some of the output? How did you improve efficiency? How did you make the company more money? What did you do that benefited the organization? If you missed a day of work, what wouldn't get done because you weren't there?

Q: How do I articulate 20 years of experience on my resume? 

You only want to focus on the most recent 15 years of work experience, and the amount of detail you include for each role should decrease as you go back in your career. The reality is employers are going to say, “That's great what you did 10 years ago, but what have you done recently that's relevant to what I'm hiring for?”

That's great what you did 10 years ago, but what have you done recently that's relevant to what I'm hiring for?

For someone who has a lot of experience, what I typically recommend is: In addition to having your Professional Summary and Areas of Expertise, include a Career Highlights section on the first page. A highlights section is three or five bullets that show off the headliners from your 20-year career.

Not sure how to do this? You can see how a Career Highlights section is formatted in my article about ways to improve your senior-level resume . 

Include anything that is highly brag-worthy, as well as particularly relevant to what you're pursuing today. That way, if the role does fall toward the bottom of page two, it's still getting a nod on the first page. Remember to look at each role and curate the information you're providing based on what your current goal is.

Q: How do I articulate additional duties on a resume? 

A resume is not your transcript from school where every single detail of every job you've ever held is included. Instead, a resume is a marketing document . You get to curate the content you provide, which means determining what details you want to share and what details you want to downplay or omit because they aren't relevant to your goals. 

While you may have had many responsibilities in your role, you want to focus on the responsibilities that are relevant to the role you are pursuing. When it comes to resume writing, we have soft guidelines about what this means. We can only work with the information we are given, so things get tweaked depending on what we have to work with. 

In an ideal world, assuming you're not fresh out of school or entry-level, for each job role we like to provide:

The job title

The company name, and perhaps a little bit of information about the company to give the reader context, especially if many of the employers on your resume are not self-explanatory or well-known

How long have you worked there, start date to end date

A short paragraph, maybe three to five lines, to describe your relevant roles and responsibilities 

We then save your bullet points for your bragging points. How did you help the company? How did you contribute? How can you show you're an achiever versus a doer?  

Some people say, “Well I had a 'doer' job.” Well then, ignore those words — those are just labels. Instead, it's about how you show that you were good at what you did.

It could be that you were given the best shifts, had to train the new hires, or were asked to let the new hires shadow you. It could also be that you were promoted, had a title change, or were given a bigger budget. These are all things that show you were excellent at your job, which is what a recruiter wants to know. These are the bragging points they are looking for. 

If you need to include jobs that aren't necessarily relevant but would leave a hole if not included, you still want to mention them . Just don't give them a lot of space on your resume.

Looking to update your resume but don't know where to start? Use our free resume review as a guide. 

Recommended Reading:

Between Jobs When You're Older: Is It Time for a Career Change or Early Retirement?

4 Ways to Invest in Your Career

What Is an ATS? How to Write a Resume to Beat the Bots

Related Articles:

7 Signs Your Resume is Making You Look Old

Why a Simple Resume Layout is a Successful Resume

Software Developer Top Needed Skills

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Resumes are still the most important document in your job search . Generating a professional and interesting resume isn’t easy, but there is a standard set of guidelines that you can follow. As hiring managers usually only spend a short time looking over each resume, you want to make sure that yours has a reason for them to keep reading.

If you’re looking to write a resume, rewrite a resume you already have, or are just curious about resume format, then you’ve come to the right place. This article will go through the steps to writing an excellent resume, as well as offering examples for what sections of the resume should look like.

Key Takeaways:

A resume is a short document that details your professional history in a way that tailors your experience and skill set for the particular job you’re applying for.

Resumes follow a few standard formatting practices, which hiring managers and recruiters expect to see.

Highlighting your work experience, skills, and educational background with relevant keywords can help you get past applicant tracking systems and into more interviews.

How to write a resume

Writing a resume involves using the proper formatting, writing an introduction, and adding your work experience and education. Stuffing your entire professional life into a single page resume can feel overwhelming, but remember that you’re distilling the relevant parts of your professional experience in order to catch the eye of the recruiter .

Formatting your resume. To start, use a word processor such as Microsoft Word or Google docs. Standard resume formatting calls for:

1 inch margins

10-12 point font

A professional, commonly-used font

Additionally, there are three resume formats that are commonly used. Most people should stick with a chronological resume format , but the combination resume format and functional resume format can be effective for more advanced workers or those who have significant gaps in their resume.

Write a resume header . It doesn’t matter if you have the best resume in the world if the hiring manager can’t contact you. Every single resume should include the following contact information:

Your full name. First and last.

Your phone number. Use a personal phone number, and make sure your voicemail is set up properly.

Your email address. Nothing inappropriate — [email protected] is a safe choice.

Location. City, State, Zip Code is fine, but you can include your full mailing address if you think it’s appropriate.

Your social media (optional). LinkedIn is the obvious one you’d want to include, but make sure your profile looks good. If you have an online portfolio , either on a personal blog/website or on a site like Journo Portfolio , feel free to include that here as well.

Your job title. Also optional, but can be useful for applicant tracking systems.

Resume introduction. You have four options for your resume introduction: a resume objective, summary statement, resume profile, or qualifications summary. For most job-seekers, a resume summary statement is the best choice. Regardless of which resume introduction you choose, avoid first-person pronouns (I/me/my).

Resume objective. A resume objective is the goal of your resume. Since the objective of every resume is to land a job, this is not the most original or impressive opener you can have.

On the other hand, it’s a good choice for an entry-level applicant or someone who is changing career paths . This should be a 1-3 sentence summary of why you’re motivated to get the position you’re applying for.

Who should use a resume objective: Entry-level applicants, career-changers, and recent college graduates.

Resume summary. This is the best opener for most job-seekers. As the name suggests, a resume summary highlights the most salient aspects of your resume.

It should include your current position, how many years of experience you have, some of your biggest achievements, and possibly your career goals. This should be a 1-3 sentence spiel and should include some quantifiable experiences.

Who should use a resume summary: Most job seekers; anyone with quantifiable accomplishments to emphasize and a broad range of skills.

Qualifications summary. A bullet point list (4-6 points is the sweet spot) of your qualifications for the position. It’s best used by applicants going for jobs that require a fixed skill set. It’s not a great choice for entry-level applicants who lack quantifiable achievements.

You’ll notice that a qualifications summary takes up more space than a resume objective or summary, but it can actually save the hiring manager time if you provide a bunch of valuable information right off the top.

Who should use a qualifications summary: Those applying to a job with requirements for certain skills and job-seekers who have a lot of experience in their industry and/or field.

Resume profile. A resume profile is similar to a resume summary, but goes into more detail about your accomplishments at your current or former job, while also telling the reader about your career goals. Think of a resume profile as a section that pulls all the best parts of your work experience section into one place.

Who should use a resume profile: Anyone with significant accomplishments under their belt, expertise in a niche field, or applying to a job in the same industry that they have lots of experience in.

Resume headline. Resume headlines aren’t necessary, but you can include one alongside any of the four types of resume introduction listed above. A resume headline comes between your contact information and the resume introduction of your choice.

Headlines can be used by entry-level applicants and experienced job-seekers alike. The important point is that your headline should be short and to the point. Additionally, you should use title case when writing your resume headline (capitalize words as you would for a book title).

Who should use a resume headline: Any job-seeker who wants to showcase their experience or unique value right off the bat.

Work experience. Your work experience section is the place to let hiring managers know that you have relevant experience that would allow you to handle the job you’re applying for.

If you’re using the chronological resume format, your work experience section would come after your resume summary/objective. In a funcitonal reumse, it would follow your skills section. Either way, work experience should be listed in reverse-chronological order (most recent experience at the top).

When listing your work experience, you should include all of the following information:

Job title. Start by stating the position you held at the company. These are easy cue for the hiring manager to look at and determine whether your past positions would help you succeed at their company.

Company Info. Include the name of the employer, the location where you worked, and perhaps a brief description of the company, if it isn’t a well-known name.

Dates Employed: Use the mm/yyyy format if you want to be sure that most applicant tracking systems (ATS) will pick it up. Whatever format you use for dates, be consistent, or your resume will look sloppy.

Job Description. Don’t just list your job’s responsibilities; hiring managers and recruiters already have an idea of your duties based on the job title. Instead, list your most important and impressive responsibilities/achievements at the job with bullet points. Determine which of these are most relevant for your new role based on the job description.

Ideally, each bullet should be no longer than a single line. However, two lines is acceptable, if used sparingly.

Always start with a strong action verb, followed by a quantifiable achievement and a specific duty. For example: “Developed ad campaigns for clients, increasing sales by an average of 27%.” Each job title should include 3-5 bullet points.

The order that you include this information can be changed around, as long as you are consistent throughout your resume. However, the bullet points detailing your job’s achievements should always be the last item for each entry.

It’s important that you tailor your resume’s work experience section to the job you’re applying for. We recommend reading the job description carefully and highlighting the action verbs in one color and the skills, adjectives, and job-specific nouns in a different color.

Educational background. In almost all cases, your education section should come after your professional history. If you’re a recent college graduate with limited work experience, you may choose to put your educational achievements first.

Like the section on your professional history, educational experiences should come in reverse-chronological order, with your highest level of education at the top. If you have a college degree, you don’t need to add any information about your high school experience. If you didn’t finish college, it’s okay to give a list of what credits you did complete.

Each educational experience can be listed in the following format:

Degree/Program Name College/University Name Dates attended

You don’t need to add anything else, especially if your resume is already impressive enough. But if you’re struggling to fill up the page, or you feel that aspects of your educational experience will help make you a standout, you may consider also including:

Minor. If you think it rounds out your not-exactly-relevant-to-the-job major nicely.

GPA. Only if it was 3.5 or higher. Otherwise, it’s not going to do you any favors to include this.

Honors. Dean’s List, Cum Laude, etc.

Achievements. If you wrote a killer thesis/dissertation that showcases intimate knowledge relevant to the job to which you’re applying, you can include its title and a very brief description.

Extracurricular activities. Only include if they’re relevant. For example, if you’re applying for a management position and you were president of your student government.

Certifications/Licenses. If the job you’re applying for requires/likes to see certain certifications or licenses that you have, you may include them in this section as well.

Skills section. Your impressive skills should be scattered logistically throughout your professional history section, but you should also include a section solely dedicated to highlighting your skill set . Skills can be broken down into two categories:

Hard skills are skills you learn through training and indicate expertise with a technical ability or job-specific responsibility.

Soft skills are your personality traits, interpersonal abilities, and intangible qualities that make you more effective at your job.

Your resume should have a healthy mix of hard and soft skills, as both are essential to job performance. However, since soft skills are harder to prove in the context of a resume, we recommend leaning more toward hard skills. Additionally, whenever you list a soft skill, make sure that it has a correlating item in your work experience section.

For example, if you say you are skilled in collaboration, you should mention a time when a team project was a major success somewhere in your work experience section.

Optional sections. If you still have space left or there’s more you want to show off that doesn’t quite fit in any of the above sections, you may consider adding an additional section covering one or more of the below categories:

Language . Being bilingual is always impressive, and can be included on a resume for any company. Highlight this more if your position involves liaising with international distributors and/or clients. Don’t lie about your proficiency level.

It may be best to not mention it if you’re not particularly proficient speaker . Such as if you took courses in school, or haven’t really managed to gain fluency. It can end up looking like an attempt to inflate your credentials, which you want to avoid.

Volunteer experience . Always a good thing to include. It shows you’re a team player who behaves in a way that promotes the greater good, without thought of personal gain. Especially good for entry-level candidates and those applying for jobs at a non-profit. If you have gaps in your work history, you can also consider including volunteer experiences in your work history section instead.

Personal projects. A personal blog, published works, or a portfolio of your past projects are all good things to include. They show you take initiative, enjoy and take pride in your work, and that you can handle the responsibilities of the job, if relevant.

Certifications/licenses. If you didn’t include these in your education section, this is another good place to list relevant certifications or licenses that you have.

Interests . This is largely just a space filler if your resume is light in other areas. However, if your hobbies are directly related to the job that you’re applying for, it’s not a bad idea to include them. And it might draw a recruiter’s attention if you end up sharing some of the same interests as they do.

If you have several seemingly random items that are valuable, but don’t warrant creating a whole separate section for, you can also make a section called “Additional Experience.” Here you can include all of the above categories in one place. Just make sure that each item is clear and easy for readers to understand.

Resume samples

Now that we have a good idea of how to write a resume, let’s take a look at some example resumes:

Jack Pilgrim Washington , DC 14015 – (555) 444-3333 – [email protected] – www.linkedin.com/jpilgrim Resume Summary Graphic designer with 3+ years of experience creating and implementing promotional materials and social media graphics. Worked with sales and marketing teams to increase inbound calls by 23% YoY through compelling digital media. Adept at planning, managing, and prioritizing multiple deadlines at once, and thrives in fast-paced work environment. Work Experience Creative Designs | Washington, DC Lead Graphic Designer | June 2018-Present Worked with sales and marketing teams to create landing pages, sales proposals, and supporting media elements to drive sales by over $250,000 per quarter Trained, managed, and mentored team of 4 junior designers to fulfill 40+ project orders on a weekly basis Conducted UX research through surveys, usability testing, and data analysis to plan content marketing strategy, driving organic search traffic by 12% Presented proposals, results, and status updates to set of 4-7 clients, ensuring customer satisfaction at or above 95% for 3 years straight Happy Place | Alexandria, VA Junior Graphic Designer | July 2016-May 2018 Translated client needs and branding strategies into design and content strategy, increasing client retention by 22% Reduced project turnaround time by 8% by Utilizing web-based ticket system for completing and archiving finalized pieces Posted digital artwork to network IPTV using web interface to produce high-end info-graphics and other materials Happy Place | Alexandria, VA Marketing Intern | September 2015-July 2016 Assisted marketing team with data collection, analysis, and presentation using Google Analytics Drew up storyboards for new marketing campaigns alongside sales team, increasing brand awareness through social media Wrote 500-1000 word articles to pair with graphical elements on page, leading to a 40% boost in engagement on company website Education Savannah College of Art and Design | Savannah, Georgia May 2016 Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design Skills Adobe Creative Suite Typography HTML/CSS WordPress Collaboration Organization

Allison Neederly Chicago, Illinois , 60007 | (333) 222-1111 | [email protected] | www.linkedin.com/allison.neederly Resume Summary Dedicated customer service representative with 4+ years experience resolving customers’ needs in-person, online, and over the phone. Top achiever at XYZ Inc. with a 100% customer satisfaction rate for Q1 of 2020. Friendly personable, and knowledgable about company’s products and services. Relevant Skills Customer Service Responded to upwards of 200 customer queries daily with XYZ Inc., reducing the average wait time by 56% and increasing customer satisfaction rates by 13% Ability to resolve conflict and create a positive atmosphere for shopping for both new and existing customers through technical proficiency Expert product knowledge and communication skills, and experience training and mentoring new customer service staff Web Chat and Phone Skilled in 3 web chat platforms for helping online customers resolve their queries quickly and accurately Achieved fastest call resolution rate at XYZ Inc., with an average resolution time of under 5 minutes per customer Performed outbound calls for customer satisfaction surveys, as well as writing web-based surveys for 10,000+ customers Troubleshooting Detailed product knowledge allowed for customer technical issues to be resolved at rate within top 5% of all customer service associates at XYZ Inc. Created manual for step-by-step directions for troubleshooting that was implemented for team of 100+ customer service reps Positive attitude took average tech-related negative response from 1/5 stars to 4/5 stars, increasing trust in brands and services Work Experience XYZ Inc. | Philadelphia, PA Customer Service Associate New Look Global | Burlington, VT Junior Customer Service Representative L.L. Bean | Burlington, VT Sales Associate Education University of Vermont | Burlington, VT May 2012 Bachelor of Arts in Humanities

Priya Laghari New York, NY | (222) 111-0000 | [email protected] | www.priyabizdev.com Resume Profile Strategy Development: Grew John Deere’s international sales by 13% by tapping into undeserved countries in Southeast Asia Management: Oversaw a team of managers representing marketing, sales, and product teams. Streamlined collaborative, cross-functional communications through agile and scrum management system CRM: Developed, customized, and implemented new customer relationship management database for accounts totaling over $10M in value Work Experience Business Development Manager 01/2015-Present Microsoft | Redmond, WA Developed product strategies and roadmap for Google AdWords, increasing inbound traffic by 26% YoY Reduced time training on new software by 50% for new and existing employees by implement e-learning programs Spearheaded digital marketing campaign worth $1M that saw a return of 200% in first year by qualifying leads earlier in the sales funnel Regional Sales Manager 11/2012-01/2015 Big Things Inc. | St. Louis, MO Managed territory encompassing 29 regional locations with an annual revenue of approx. $55M Worked with C-level executives to plan business strategies, resulting in 20% reduction in overhead costs Increased client retention by 12% in first year by implementing a CRM approach based on account profiling and elevating levels of relationship selling Account Manager 02/2009-11/2012 Solutions Corp. | Chicago, IL Implemented and developed CRM strategic plans, increasing retention of long-term clients by 22% Maintained 50+ accounts totaling over $35M in value Generated leads through one-on-one consultation via phone inquiries, online check-ins, and meeting office walk-ins Relevant Skills CRM: Proficient with Salesforce, Zoho, and HubSpot; some experience with Keap. Used various CRM software over a decade to successfully manage customer relations and quick to adapt to new software and tools that aid in quality of customer experience. Salesmanship: Negotiated and closed over several deals worth $1M+ and skilled in upselling and cross-selling. Adept at working closely with marketing and product teams to maximize the efficiency of the sales funnel for both inbound and outbound traffic. Presentation: Represented Microsoft Northwest Region at quarterly board meetings, ensuring all stakeholders were kept abreast of new developments and opportunities. Also deliver monthly presentations to big clients and vendors to maintain positive relationship. Data analytics. Expert at integrating data from various analytics platforms, including Google, Microsoft Power BI, and SAP BusinessObjects Education Colgate University | May 2008 MBA Fordham University | May 2006 Bachelor’s Degree in Business

For more resume examples and templates:

Resume examples by job

Google docs resume template

Resume templates

Resume builder

Resume Headers Samples:

Tip : Never put your contact info in the header of your document; some applicant tracking systems might miss it.

For more on how to write a resume header:

Resume Header

Resume Titles

Resume introduction examples

Entry-Level Resume Objective.

Recent graduate with a bachelor’s in Marketing from the University of Virginia seeking an entry-level role in content marketing. Excellent copywriter with 2+ years experience editing content as a member of the UVa Writing Center.

Career Change Resume Objective.

Eager to apply 7+ years of experience with customer success management to make successful outbound B2B calls, deliver customized business solutions to new and existing customers, and provide expert product knowledge in the role of Account Manager for XYZ Inc.

Example Resume Summary Statement.

Accountant with over 8 years of experience in the medical industry. Adept at advising on management of cash deficits, reconciling departmental accounts, and creating new accounts and codes. Coordinated invoice preparation system for ABC that reduced contractor overhead by 19% YoY.

English teacher with a love of language and 6 years of experience teaching high school students. Developed new curriculum that boosted freshman reading comprehension scores by 12% and created after school book club for AP Lit class, resulting in 100% of participating students achieving a 5 on the AP Lit test.

Example Qualifications Summary.

Executive assistant with 5+ years experience helping maintain efficiency in an office of 25 employees Communicated directly with internal and external stakeholders, helping Senior Vice President manage projects worth $5M+ Proactively managed office schedules, identifying and prioritizing changes to ensure client satisfaction Recognized in a company of 500 for “Outstanding Achiever” in May 2019

Example Resume Profile.

Detail-oriented IT Specialist with 4 years of experience overseeing and improving the infrastructure of IT systems. Adept at building and running troubleshooting systems and testing services. Decreased security risk by 47% through continual optimization, while also improving the speed of client portal by 22%. Excellent communicator both internally and for client-facing discussions. Achieved 98%+ customer satisfaction ratings through weekly and monthly check-ins with accounts valued cumulatively at $500,000.

Entry-Level Resume Headline.

Bilingual College Graduate with 80 WPM Typing Speed and Tutoring Experience

Experienced Resume Headline.

Business Development Specialist with 6+ Years Experience Scaling Start-Up Tech Teams

For more on resume introductions:

Resume objective statement

Resume summary statement

Resume summary statement examples

Qualifications summary

Sample resume work experience sections

Work Experience XYZ Industries | Seattle, WA Marketing Associate | May 2019-Present Delivered weekly presentations to client-base to communicate brand messaging, increasing client retention by 11% Served as liaison between marketing and product teams, resulting in projects finishing 2 weeks early, on average Leveraged Excel skills to create and maintain spreadsheet to track consumer insights, emergent trends, and inform decisions of marketing team through competitive analysis Managed team of 5 contractors to juggle multiple priority projects simultaneously, never missing a deadline Initiated an affiliate referral program that PR team went on to turn into a revenue-generating stream valued at $30,000 annually ABC Corp | Seattle, WA Marketing Intern | September 2018-May 2019 Developed, maintained, and processed 20+ digital consent forms and distributor forms Worked collaboratively with a team of 10 marketing professionals, closely aligning our goals with the PR team Provided data analysis using Google Analytics and performed keyword research to increase blog traffic by 56% over six months Answered up to 50 customer queries by phone and email each week

For more on building the perfect resume work experience section:

Resume work experience section

First resume (no experience)

Examples Of Education Resume Sections

Graduated recently from a 4-year program.

Western Illinois University | Macomb, Illinois May 2020 Bachelor of Arts in Sociology | Minor in Psychology 3.95 GPA magna cum laude Dean’s List all semesters

Two degrees.

Fordham University | Bronx, New York April 2016 Master of Chemical Engineering Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, New York April 2014 Bachelor of Science in Chemistry

Anticipated graduation date (not yet graduated).

DePaul Univeristy | Chicago, Illinois Bachelor of Arts in History – Degree anticipated May 2021 Current GPA: 3.8

Older job seeker (graduated 10+ years ago).

University of Chicago | Chicago, Illinois Bachelor of Business Administration

High school graduate (no college degree).

Johnston High School 2016-2020 Head of Computer Club

More on crafting the perfect resume education section:

Education resume section

GPA on resume

Dean’s list

Magna cum laude

Examples Of Skills For Resume

Examples of hard skills include:

Examples of soft skills include:

Here’s more information on how to incorporate skills into your resume:

Resume skills section

Hard skills

Soft skills

Top skills for professionals

Skills-based resume

Resume writing FAQ

What is a resume?

A resume is a one to two-page document that focuses on professional experience, past achievements, education and certifications, and specific skills tailored to the job you’re applying for.

Almost every job application requires a resume, and hiring managers use them as a first impression in determining which applicants get a shot at an interview.

Whether you’re fresh out of college or have 30 years of professional experience, this guide should help craft a resume that stands out from the crowd and get you one step closer to landing your dream job.

What is the format for writing a good resume?

Most people will want to use a chronological or reverse-chronological resume format. This format is compatible with most applicant tracking systems (ATS) and is easy for employers to read. Additionally it helps highlight your experience, which helps prove your qualifications.

How far back should a resume go?

A resume should go back no further than 10 to 15 years. However, it is important that all your information is relevant. Therefore, do not include job experience that is irrelevant to your application, even if it’s fewer than 10 years old. Save that information for later discussions.

Should you personalize your resume for each job?

Yes, you should personalize your resume for each job you apply to. Many recruiters use ATS now, which will search for keywords in a resume and reject those that don’t have them. That means that the skills you choose to highlight as well as your opening, such as your resume summary, should be altered to suit each job you apply to.

You don’t need to rewrite the entire resume for each job, but it does show attention to detail and initiative to make sure that your resume is customized. It also makes it more likely that you’ll get past the first step of the process.

State of New York Department of Labor – Resumes, Cover Letters and Job Applications

Harvard University – Create a Resume/CV or Cover Letter

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Matthew Zane is the lead editor of Zippia's How To Get A Job Guides. He is a teacher, writer, and world-traveler that wants to help people at every stage of the career life cycle. He completed his masters in American Literature from Trinity College Dublin and BA in English from the University of Connecticut.

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Exploring the 6 Different Types of Resumes

N avigating through the job market requires an impressive resume, one that highlights your skills, experience and achievements effectively. It's the initial step towards getting noticed by recruiters, and it often determines whether you'll move to the next stage of the hiring process.

The right resume format doesn't just present your qualifications but does so in a manner that aligns with your career goals and the specific job you're targeting.

This guide explores the different types of resumes and their unique features, helping you choose the format that best suits your professional profile.

Do I need a resume?

In the realm of job hunting, a resume is more than just a document — it's a marketing tool, a bridge that connects job seekers to potential employers. Its role is pivotal as it provides a concise and compelling snapshot of your professional journey. It encapsulates your work history, skills, accomplishments and unique qualities that make you an ideal candidate for the job.

Moreover, the importance of a well-structured resume is heightened due to the use of Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) in the recruitment process. These automated software applications streamline the hiring process for employers by filtering out resumes that don't meet specific criteria.

A poorly formatted resume, or one that doesn't include key terms relevant to the job description, may fail to make it past these systems. Hence, understanding different types of resumes and the strategic use of keywords are vital steps toward crafting an ATS-friendly resume that gets you closer to your dream job.

Related: Everything You Need to Know About Writing the Perfect Resume

What different types of resumes exist?

While every resume shares the common goal of selling your professional abilities, not all resumes are the same. Each type has its unique structure, purpose and benefits.

Here are the different types of resumes:

1. Chronological resume

The chronological resume, or reverse chronological resume, is a time-tested format favored by many hiring managers. This format presents your work history in reverse chronological order, with the most recent job listed first and the rest following in descending order.

In a chronological resume, each job listing typically includes the job title, the company's name, the company's location and the dates of employment. Following this information, a list of job responsibilities and accomplishments is given in bullet points. This allows hiring managers to see at a glance not only where you've worked but also what you've achieved in those roles.

This format works particularly well for job seekers with a clear career progression in a single field without significant gaps in employment. It allows recruiters to quickly see the career trajectory and understand how the applicant's experience fits with the new role.

2. Functional resume

A functional resume, also known as a skills-based resume, places the focus on skills and competencies rather than work history. This type of resume usually begins with a summary of qualifications, followed by a list of skills and examples of their use in work or other settings.

The employment history is typically listed towards the end of the resume, often providing only a basic list of positions without detailed descriptions of each role.

This format can be particularly useful for job seekers with gaps in their employment history, those who are changing careers and have skills transferable to a new industry or recent graduates with limited work experience but possess relevant skills acquired through coursework, internships or extracurricular activities.

Related: How to Build a Better Resume in 4 Easy Steps

3. Combination resume

The combination resume, or hybrid resume, merges elements from both chronological and functional resumes. It typically begins with a section highlighting your skills and achievements. This is followed by a detailed chronological work history.

This format allows you to showcase your relevant skills and accomplishments at the top of the document, helping to catch the hiring manager's eye. Following this with a chronological listing of your employment history allows the recruiter to see your work trajectory and understand the context in which you've applied your skills.

The combination resume can be effective for job seekers with a solid employment history who want to change fields or those with a robust set of transferable skills and experiences across multiple sectors.

4. Targeted resume

A targeted resume is tailored specifically to a particular job posting. Instead of a generic resume sent to multiple employers, a targeted resume aligns your skills, experience and qualifications precisely with the job description. Each section of your resume, from the objective statement to the employment history, is customized to highlight why you are the perfect fit for the specific role.

This format can be more time-consuming to create as it requires tweaking your resume for every job application. However, it can pay off, especially when applying for jobs in highly competitive industries. A well-tailored resume can stand out among a sea of generic resumes and increase your chances of securing an interview.

5. Infographic resume

An infographic resume visually presents your career history and skills using charts, graphs, images and other graphic design elements. This format can make your resume stand out and show your creativity and innovative thinking.

Infographic resumes can be particularly effective in fields such as graphic design, marketing and other creative industries. However, it's essential to remember that some applicant tracking systems (ATS) may struggle to read and process these types of resumes, so if you're applying through an ATS, it's better to stick with a more traditional format.

6. Non-traditional resumes

Non-traditional resumes break away from the standard formats and allow for more creativity. These may include video resumes, LinkedIn resumes, digital portfolios, personal websites or social resumes.

Non-traditional resumes can demonstrate your skills in a way that traditional resumes may not, such as showcasing your video editing skills through a video resume or your web design skills through a personal website.

Just as with the infographic resume, if you're applying through an ATS, a more traditional resume format would be better. Non-traditional resumes are typically best when sent directly to a hiring manager or when you're working in a creative industry that values innovative presentation.

Each of these resume formats has its strengths and is best suited to specific situations. Carefully consider your career goals, work history and the needs of the job you're applying for when choosing your resume format.

What circumstances should you consider in resume writing?

Crafting a resume can sometimes present unique challenges based on personal circumstances. Here are a few special scenarios and how to handle them:

Writing a resume for a career change

If you're making a career change, your resume should highlight transferable skills and any relevant certifications. Although your work history might not be directly related to the new field, showcasing your adaptable skills can convince hiring managers of your suitability for the role.

Handling employment gaps

Employment gaps can often be a concern for job seekers. However, these can be managed strategically on a resume. Use the space to highlight any productive activities during the gap, such as volunteer work , courses or freelance projects.

What is a mini resume?

A mini resume is a brief summary of your top skills and career highlights. It's often used for networking purposes, perhaps on a business card or LinkedIn summary. It offers an at-a-glance overview of your professional qualifications.

Related: 7 Tips for Networking

What are some additional components of a job application?

Apart from a well-structured resume, a few more elements add to the strength of your job application:

Cover letter

A cover letter serves as an introduction and provides context to your resume. It allows you to elaborate on certain points in your resume and express your enthusiasm for the job.

Just like your resume, your cover letter should be tailored to the specific job you're applying for, focusing on how your skills and experience make you an ideal candidate.

The job title on your resume can significantly influence its appeal to hiring managers. It should accurately reflect your role and responsibilities while aligning with the industry norms. Misrepresenting a job title can be detrimental to your application and professional reputation.

ATS-friendly resumes

Incorporating relevant keywords and phrases from the job description into your resume can enhance its visibility in an applicant tracking system (ATS). ATS-friendly resumes are concise, straightforward and void of complex formatting, ensuring they can be read and understood by the system.

Related: 3 Ways an ATS Can Help Your Business Source the Top Hires

What are resume builders and resume templates?

With a plethora of resources available, creating an attractive and professional resume has never been easier. Resume builders are online tools that provide step-by-step guidance to generate a well-structured resume. They offer various templates, customization options and pre-written phrases to assist you in the process.

On the other hand, resume templates serve as a predesigned framework for your resume. They come in numerous styles and formats, allowing you to choose one that aligns with your personal taste and the industry's standards.

While these tools simplify the resume creation process, remember to personalize your resume and reflect your unique professional journey accurately. A tailored resume stands out more to hiring managers than a generic, cookie-cutter one.

What are some tips for effective resume writing?

No matter which resume format you choose, following certain writing tips can optimize your resume:

Highlight relevant experience

The most effective resume isn't necessarily the one that includes all your experiences but the one that strategically highlights the most relevant ones. Avoid detailing every job you've had and focus on the ones that matter to the job you're applying for.

Include a skills section

A well-crafted skills section can be a game-changer, particularly for functional or combination resumes. Here, include hard (technical) and soft skills relevant to the job. Be specific; instead of saying "good communicator," consider "experienced in public speaking and client presentations."

Use bullet points

Use bullet points for easy readability. They help break down information into digestible pieces, ensuring that key points don't get lost in dense paragraphs. Remember to write bullet points as complete sentences with periods at the end, following our client's style preference.

Include a resume summary or objective

The top of your resume should contain a summary or an objective, a brief snapshot of your qualifications. This section should be concise yet impactful, as it's likely the first thing a hiring manager will read.

Looking forward

Crafting the perfect resume is an evolving process that may require several drafts and iterations. While these different types of resumes and their corresponding tips provide a general guideline, remember that there's no one-size-fits-all solution. The most effective resume will be the one that best showcases your unique skills, experiences and career goals.

Always revisit and revise your resume for each job application, ensuring it aligns with the specific job requirements and expectations. With a well-structured, compelling resume, you're one step closer to securing that dream job.

Explore Entrepreneur.com for more insights and resources to guide your professional journey.

Employment Gap on a Resume - 13 Simple Ways to Explain It

Employment gaps are not uncommon, yet they’re quite scary. Mainly, that’s because recruiters assume the worst when they see them on a resume. 

In most cases, however, employment gaps are nothing to be scared of. There can be many justifiable reasons why someone has an employment gap, from going back to school and deciding to travel to taking time and caring for their growing children. 

So what we’re getting to here is this: employment gaps are not a big deal, as long as you know how to explain them well on your resume

To learn how to explain an employment gap on a resume, we’ve put together this guide for you. Here’s what we’ll cover:

13 Best Ways to Explain Employment Gaps

• Good Reasons for an Employment Gap

Sample Resume with Employment Gap

And more! So let’s dive right in! 

During your job hunt , you’ll have three separate chances to explain an employment gap:

• On your resume
• On your cover letter
• During your interview

To best convey the employment gap (and reasons behind it), you’ll need to touch on it in all 3. So below, we’ll explain the best way to explain an employment gap on your resume, cover letter, and during an interview:

6 Ways to Explain an Employment Gap on Your Resume

#1. be honest .

Your resume is the first thing that recruiters check, so it’s crucial that you’re honest! 

After all, you don’t want to omit a two-year-long employment gap from your resume, for example, only to have it be revealed during your interview. 

As such, it’s super important that you’re honest about your employment history - or lack thereof - right there on your resume. 

What’s important here is to understand that potential employers will find out about your employment gap - especially if it was a lengthy or recent one. As such, trying to hide it will only damage your application and give recruiters even more reason to believe you have something to hide. 

And, if you’re feeling anxious about it, remember that recruiters are also humans and will probably be understanding if you are straightforward about your employment gap - and about what caused it! 

#2. Remove the Employment Gap (If It’s Outdated)

Here’s some good news: if your employment gap is old, you can safely omit it from your resume entirely.

Say, for example, your employment gap is from 10 years ago. Chances are - especially if you’re a seasoned professional - that you won’t even be including jobs from 10 years ago on your resume. After all, you want your resume to be as relevant as possible (and stay within the recommended 1-page resume length). 

As such, it’s totally OK to omit employment gaps that stretch long before your recent employment history (or that are quite short, like 6-month-old employment gaps while you were between jobs). 

#3. Explain the Gap

When it comes to resumes, simply writing down the dates of your employment gap won’t cut it - it would only leave things open to recruiters’ interpretation. 

Take the following example:

Work Experience

Digital Marketer  Airfield Baumax  02/2012 - 04/2015

Marketing Assistant  Walmart 05/2007 - 07/2009 

The only thing that this candidate makes clear to recruiters is that he was not working for a 3-year period. Apart from that, recruiters have no way of knowing whether the employment gap was due to a valid reason or because the candidate decided to be a couch potato for some years.

This is why it’s better to actually write out the exact reason for the employment gap in-between your work experience entries.

Here’s an example that does it right:

07/2009 - 01/2012

From September 2009 to January 2012, I backpacked through Europe and East Asia. This had long been a goal of mine to achieve before turning 30.

#4. Take Advantage of a Different Resume Layout

If your employment gap is longer than just a few short months, you could benefit from using a different resume layout altogether. 

For example, the functional resume format and the combination format put more emphasis on your skills and competencies rather than on your work experience, which is a great way to shift focus from your employment gap. 

That said, taking advantage of a different resume layout does not mean you should omit the employment gap from your resume altogether . Lying is never the right way to go here, and will always end badly for you (even if you manage to get the job).

#5. Use Your Time Away Effectively 

If you’re suddenly in between jobs and are worried about how this will reflect on your future job applications, get proactive! 

Instead of simply explaining your future employment gap as a “career break” or “job searching,” start a personal project and create something more valuable to put on your resume. 

For instance, you can join one or more online courses related to your profession while you’re on a break from work, or start that project you always wanted to work on but never had the chance to! 

That way, you’ll have much more to talk about than simply stating you were looking for jobs or taking a self-discovery break and you’ll be effectively showing recruiters that you’re constantly growing - even outside the office!

#6.  Show That You Never Stopped Learning 

Highlighting your skills and acquired knowledge is also a great way to cover past employment gaps. Sure, you might’ve not been working, but you could’ve still been working on developing yourself as a professional or individual.

You could, for example, mention something like this on your resume to address your employment gap:

06/2012 - 09/2013

Took a year off my career to focus on personal and professional development. Over the duration of the year, I managed to:

• Start my own marketing blog.
• Read 20+ books about digital marketing.
• Attended 5+ networking events.

3 Ways to Explain Employment Gaps in Cover Letters

Want to go more in-depth into your employment gap? Your cover letter is your chance to do so. 

Unlike your resume, which barely leaves you 2-3 sentences worth of space to explain yourself, you can be way more comprehensive in your cover letter . 

Specifically, you can use the body of your cover letter to give more details about your employment gap.

Here are the best ways to do it:

• Give a valid explanation. The whole point of mentioning your employment gap on your cover letter is to justify it the best way you can. For example, if you had an accident, writing “took 1 year off work because of injury” won’t be as convincing as writing “took 1 year off work after a car accident that required me to do intense physiotherapy sessions to fully recover.” 
• Highlight new skills . Additionally, it’s super important to highlight any new skills acquired during your time off. The good thing about the cover letter is that you have a better chance of explaining the skills and what motivated you to acquire them (e.g. “due to organizational changes, I was laid off from my previous job. However, I used the time it took me to find a new job to catch up on industry-related trends and readings, get online certifications, and network with professionals in the field.”) 
• Don’t overshare. Last but not least, it’s important to know that just because you have more space on your cover letter it doesn’t mean you should overshare the details of your employment gap. If, for instance, you took a one-year break to deal with burnout , you don’t have to give too many details about how that went. So, instead of writing, “took a year off to recuperate from burnout, during which time I consulted 3 different therapists and several support groups,” you can just write “took one year off work to deal with work-related burnout and re-asses my professional goals.” If you think it’s important to share more information, talk about how you grew professionally not about what you went through personally. 

4 Ways to Explain Employment Gaps in Interviews 

If your resume and cover letter make a good impression, chances are you’ll be called for an interview. And, even if you have already explained your employment gap, there’s nothing keeping recruiters from asking you again about it. 

Here’s what you can do to address an employment gap during your interview effectively:

• Rehearse in advance. Your best bet is assuming that you will be asked about your employment gap. That way, you can take the time to prep your answer in advance and won’t be taken back if recruiters actually ask the questions during the interview . 
• DON’T badmouth your former employer. If your employment gap is due to getting fired, bashing your former employer won’t help you get a new position - if anything, it might make you look immature. Instead, try to highlight all the steps you took to bounce back from getting fired and show recruiters why you’re the ideal candidate for this position.
• Focus on what you did right. Now, if you lost your job unjustly (or due to reasons outside of your control), the way to make a great impression is to focus on how you were a stellar employee before the employment gap! That way, you can shift recruiters’ attention to your strengths, instead of simply telling them you lost your job and there wasn’t much you could do about it.
• Be confident. Sometimes, how you say things is just as important as what you say. If recruiters ask that you elaborate on your employment gap and you suddenly get super nervous about it, you’ll probably raise some serious red flags. So, make sure to polish your communication skills in advance and start your interview with a show of confidence. 

Here is an example of how you can address your employment gap during an interview:

Unfortunately, I lost my job due to cuts within the company. During the time I was looking for jobs, I took online courses to hone my skills, stayed updated with all industry trends and developments, and focused on my mental wellbeing. I am now in perfect shape to put all I learned into practice throughout my new endeavors. 

7 Good Reasons For an Employment Gap

There can be countless reasons behind an employment gap and, as long as it’s not related to something like, say, jail time, it shouldn’t hinder your chances of getting employed.

That said, here are some great examples of good reasons for an employment gap:

• Family reasons. Family is super important and most recruiters are guaranteed to be understanding if your employment gap is due to family-related issues. What’s important here is to show that whatever family reason you had for taking time off work, it’s over now (e.g. if you took time off to raise your kids, make a point explaining they’re all grown up and off to school now).
• Self-discovery. Did you take some time off work to redefine your life path and career choices? That’s totally OK - as long as you can convince recruiters that you now have your answers and won’t be leaving this job again after a year or two.
• Illness. Any illness you may have suffered that’s hindered you from working is a totally legitimate reason to explain your employment gap. Just make sure to mention you’re recovered and fully able to work.
• Injury. Just like with illnesses, injuries that render you incapable of work are perfectly fine reasons to explain an employment gap, so mention them without hesitation.
• Failed business or initiative. You may be hesitant to mention a failed startup or business initiative as the reason behind your employment gap, but there’s no reason to! If anything, it shows you have initiative and aren’t scared to act on it. So, as long as you show recruiters how you bounced back, you shouldn’t hide this valid reason.
• Burnout. The World Health Organization defines burnout as an occupational phenomenon that can take a serious toll on someone’s physical and mental health. As such, don’t hesitate to tell recruiters that you took some time off to improve your well-being after experiencing burnout in the workplace .
• Education. No one minds an employee who’s always looking to expand their knowledge, so if you took a break from work to get another degree, go ahead and mention that on your resume.

7 Other Resume Resources

Building a strong resume is hard enough without having to explain an employment gap. Struggling with other aspects of building a resume? Check out some of our top resources: 

• How to Write a Resume . The ULTIMATE beginner’s guide on how to make a resume in 2024. Includes tops of tips, resume examples, and more.
• Free Resume Templates . Want to avoid the hassle of formatting your resume from scratch? Just pick one of our 8 free resume templates and get started with your resume within minutes.
• Career Change Resume . Is your employment gap due to a career change? Learn how to write an awesome career change resume with these 9+ examples.
• What to Put on a Resume . Here are the most important sections to put on your resume and win the job.
• Resume Tips and Tricks . This article covers every single practical resume tip you’ll ever need to create a compelling CV.
• Essential Resume Skills . Want to stand out from other applicants? You’ll need to include the right skills on your resume. This article covers the most in-demand skills in 2024.
• Resume Examples . Struggling to write a resume for your field? This article covers resume examples for almost all popular roles in 2024, including jobs in IT, marketing, healthcare, and more.

FAQ on Employment Gaps 

Do you still have some questions on everything employment gap-related? Find your answers below!

#1. How long is too long of an employment gap?

Any employment gap on your resume that you can’t explain to recruiters can cast a shadow on your job application. 

That said, shorter periods of employment gaps (e.g. time between jobs, illness or injury recovery, etc.) are much more acceptable than, say, 3-year-long gaps in your recent work history. 

So, while there is no specific time limit for a super long employment gap, the longer it is, the harder it will be for recruiters to ignore it.

#2. Is an employment gap bad?

That entirely depends on the reason behind your employment gap. 

If your employment gap is due to illness, failed business, family emergency, and the like, then an employment gap is definitely not bad! All you need to do is be honest with the recruiters and prove that you’re a trustworthy employee. 

That said if your employment gap comes from less socially acceptable reasons, like serving time for a crime or being away in rehab, your employment gap will be more difficult to explain - and, in turn, can be more harmful to your job application.

#3. How do you explain a gap in employment due to being a stay-at-home parent?

Taking time off work to be a stay-at-home parent falls under family-related reasons for an employment gap. 

The best way to explain such an employment gap is to write down the exact period you were off, titling it as a “planned career break.” Underneath, you can include one or two sentences on why you took it (e.g. took three years off work to care for my growing children, who are now in elementary school). 

On top of that, you can also mention any personal projects or other work-related experiences you had over that period. For example, if you took some online classes or started a personal project, that’s a great way to inform recruiters that you weren’t completely idle during your employment gap.

#4. How do you explain a gap in employment due to COVID-19?

The COVID-19 pandemic cost 114 million people to lose their jobs over 2020. So, if you were infected and quarantined due to COVID-19 (or if you were unlucky and had more severe health issues due to the virus), then note that on your resume as an “illness-related employment gap” or simply due to COVID-19.  

In one or two sentences, you can explain you had to take a break from work due to COVID-19 and that you’re now fully recovered and ready to work again.

Similarly, if you were working for a business that got impacted due to COVID-19 (such as an airline company) you can, in one sentence, mention you were laid off due to the impact of the pandemic and mention what you did in the meanwhile to find a job or hone your skills. 

#5. Why do employers not like gaps in employment?

Employers don’t like gaps in employment when said gaps are due to criminality, abuse or addiction, or simple laziness. In such a case, employers assume you’re not a reliable employee and that you may demonstrate the same patterns of behavior while working for them.

On the other hand, if there is a reasonable explanation for your employment gap, employers won’t think twice about hiring you, as long as you’re a good fit for the job.

Key Takeaways 

And that’s a wrap! By now, you should know everything about employment gaps and how to tackle them so they don’t hurt your job application.

Before you go, here are the main points covered in this article:

• There are three places where you can explain an employment gap: on your resume, cover letter, and during your job interview. 
• To explain an employment gap on a resume, be honest, elaborate on the gap, show that you never stop learning, or use a different resume layout to remove the gap altogether. 
• Explain an employment gap on your cover letter by highlighting new skills and offering a valid explanation as to why you took it. 
• If you have to explain your employment gap during your interview, rehearse in advance, show confidence, and don’t badmouth your former employer. 
• Some valid reasons for an employment gap are family reasons, illnesses, and injuries, taking time to discover yourself or pursue your education, and even a failed business.

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