Tips for a Great Chronological Resume

Most job seekers should be using chronological resumes. This is typically seen as a default format, so if you don’t see a good reason to choose the functional resume format or combination resume format, you’ll want to use the chronological format. Check out our guides on functional and combination resumes to see whether your resume would benefit from using them. If not, just go with the chronological resume.

There are a few important things you’ll likely want to avoid in your resume in today’s job field. Here are a few things not to put in your chronological resume:

• Your high school information or your GPA. In general, avoid putting your high school information in your education section unless you have no other education experience. And for both high school and college listings, there’s no need to indicate your GPA (but you should include any honors you’ve received, such as magna cum laude).
• Basic computer proficiency. In today’s world, employers assume you have basic computer proficiency. You’re wasting space and looking out of touch by listing it as a skill.
• Proficiency with apps you don’t know well. Everyone knows the trick of listing knowledge of specific software on your resume to try and pad it out, but it usually doesn’t work. So unless you actually have extensive proficiency with software such as Microsoft Excel, don’t add them to your resume.
• Entry-level jobs unrelated to your career path. If you’re looking to get a job as a professor, there’s no need to put a food service job from 2011 on your resume. It has nothing to do with your current career.

No matter what type of resume you have, it’s a good idea to supplement it with a cover letter. In fact, many hiring managers expect you to submit a cover letter, even if it doesn’t say so in the job description.

Writing a cover letter allows you to bring some life to your resume, indicating what you bring to the table in the new job. It also lets you provide more details on specific career highlights than a resume does and explain what interests you about the position. Lastly, a cover letter is the place to ask for the interview. If you can get an interview, you’re much closer to getting the job, and asking for the interview in your cover letter can help you clinch it.

The reason there are multiple different types of resume formats is that different formats will work best for different job seekers. If you feel like the chronological resume format isn’t working well for your needs, feel free to try out different formats with our easy-to-use resume builder.

Remember that your work history section, which may include internships, should be fairly expansive in a chronological resume. If you don’t have a lot of work history, you might want to shift to a different format. A resume builder can be incredibly helpful here because you can simply enter your information and see which format works best for you.

Hard and soft skills both work well in chronological resumes, as both of these types of skills will typically be gained through your professional experience. To create your skill list for your chronological resume, go back through your previous jobs and determine what abilities or knowledge you used most frequently, and what skills you honed as part of those jobs. For example, if you’re planning to apply as a dental assistant, you might note “client communication” as an incredibly important skill from your previous jobs, which makes it a great skill for your resume.

If you’ve looked into how to write a resume, you’ve probably heard of the ATS, or applicant tracking system. Applicant tracking systems are automated systems that go through your resume once you submit it, looking for important keywords that match the skills and experiences of an ideal applicant. If you don’t have those keywords, the ATS will often reject the resume out of hand, never even allowing it to get to a hiring manager.

The chronological resume is the ideal option for an ATS, which has become the standard for many large companies processing resumes. If you’re submitting your resume to an automated site rather than sending it directly to a manager, it’s best to go with a chronological resume if you can, as ATS systems are familiar with the format.