Professional Resume: Writing Guide, Layouts & Examples

What are the three types of professional resumes?

Now that we’ve told you what goes into a resume, let’s take a look at how it’s presented. Professional resumes will follow one of the three resume formats. These formats will determine how the sections in your resume are organized and how much information will be included. These formats aren’t interchangeable, so it’s important to choose the format that will best suit your professional needs.

Chronological resume format

The chronological resume format is most commonly used by job seekers with a decent amount of experience. This format places work experience front and center, so you should ask yourself whether you have enough professional background to properly fill a chronological resume.

Typically, traditional resumes that use the chronological format will have the following sections:

1. Header with contact information
2. Professional resume summary
3. Work history
4. Skills
5. Education
6. Additional sections for certifications or relevant training

Functional resume format

On the other end of the format spectrum is the functional resume. This format is ideal for job seekers creating a resume with no experience, high school resumes, people with large employment gaps and candidates who are changing careers.

Unlike the chronological format, the functional resume doesn’t focus on work history. Instead, it features several skills sections where you can highlight your knowledge and range of hard skills and soft skills, so you can convince hiring managers that you have what it takes to grow in their team.

A professional resume following the functional structure usually has these sections:

1. Header with contact information
2. Resume objective
3. Summary of qualifications
4. Relevant skills
5. Professional skills
6. Education with relevant coursework or training
7. Work experience

Combination resume format

What about if you want to split your resume focus between experience and skills? That’s where the combination resume, also known as the hybrid resume, comes in. As the name implies, this format is a combination of the chronological and functional formats, giving equal emphasis to your work experience and skills. It’s ideal for job seekers with three to eight years of experience, as well as career changers with relevant professional experience and some transferable skills.

If you choose to write a professional combination resume, these are some of the sections you might have:

1. Contact information
2. Resume objective or summary
3. Relevant skills
4. Summary of qualifications
5. Work experience
6. Education

5 professional resume writing tips

The following tips are designed to give you an idea of how to start writing your resume. If you want more detailed advice and additional examples, check our article on How to Make a Resume.

1. Use a template that provides a polished layout.

Our resume designs help you avoid formatting guesswork, so you can focus on putting together your qualifications. At ResumeHelp, we have dozens of layouts appropriate for different industries. You can choose a modern resume template, a creative template, a simple template or dive into our free resume templates to find the one that best fits your needs.

2. Write an impactful resume summary.

Think of a professional summary for a resume as an elevator pitch where you summarize your top skills and relevant experience for hiring managers. In two to three sentences, you need to convince hiring managers to read through the rest of your resume, so focus on your most important skills and work experiences.

For example, take a look at this resume summary for an administrative assistant. Note that this candidate emphasizes her years of experience, the tasks she excels at, and important soft skills (i.e., “detail-oriented”):

Detail-oriented administrative assistant with six years of experience. Skilled at handling multiple tasks at the same time, keeping routine needs and making necessary arrangements. Expert-level Microsoft proficiency, developing and maintaining filing systems, and complex scheduling.

3. Tailor your resume to the job you want.

Every job is different, so even if you’re a graphic designer looking for a job in an advertising agency, you will come across job openings that require different skills and experience. Read the job description thoroughly and customize your professional resume with keywords and key phrases to match what the employer wants. For more on this topic, check out our page Tailoring Your Resume for Your Job Search.

4. Balance your skills.

Every resume should list at least 8-10 hard skills and soft skills. Hard skills are abilities that are job-specific and learned through training (e.g. knowing how to use Photoshop, data analysis, bookkeeping). Soft skills are intangible traits that can be applied to any job (e.g. communication skills, time management, multitasking).

Include both types of skills in your skills section and show hiring managers that you are a well-balanced professional. For example:

• Organizational skills
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Microsoft Word and Excel
• Time management
• Collaboration
• QuickBooks
• Oracle NetSuite
• Attention to detail

5. Focus on work accomplishments.

You might be tempted to talk about your daily responsibilities in the work history section but we highly recommend focusing instead on accomplishments. Were you assigned a big project that resulted in an increase in revenue? Did you provide customer service to more clients than your coworkers? Did you organize yourself to deliver assignments before the deadline? Think about professional achievements that may impress hiring managers and speak to your abilities as an employee.

For example, a cook might write:

• Reinvented over 60 recipes, assembled, combined and cooked while maintaining a sanitary kitchen environment.
• Reduced waste by 24% by properly operating mixers, slicers and food grinders.
• Managed a team of seven line cooks and assistants.