Your résumé is one of the most important documents you will write.  It is a sales brochure about you – your experience, your strengths, and your life.

It’s also one of the hardest things you will write.  When you send your résumé to a potential employer, you don’t just have to prove that you’re worth an interview; you have to prove that you’re more worthy of an interview than the other hundreds of people that sent in their résumé.

An effective résumé needs to be strongly written. You’ve got about 5 seconds to grab that employer’s attention and keep them reading until the end; otherwise, your résumé will end up in the trash, with your chances of landing that dream job right along with it.

Types of résumés

There are two main types of résumés: chronological and functional. Chronological highlights what you’ve done, while functional highlights what you can do.

Chronological

These are organized by job titles, which the most recent position listed first.  Employers tend to prefer these, as they are easy to skim and get an idea of the person behind the paper.

What to write:

• Name and contact info
• Objective: A concise statement about the job you want.
• Summary: 2-4 bullet points with the most important aspects about yourself or your experience that help you reach your objective. For example: job experience, personality traits, community service, skills and strengths. Prioritize bullets by relevance.
• Professional Experience: Organized by job title, beginning with the most recent. List the job title, the company, the city and state, and the dates you held the position. Follow with 2-3 bullet points highlighting your accomplishments at that position.  Follow this same format for all positions. If you spend long periods of time at one position with multiple titles, combine your tenure into one entry.
• Education: Begin with the highest degree first. List the degree and major, the school, and the dates you attended. Mention any clubs, activities or awards.
• Optional: Community Service; and Skills, if not mentioned in job position details.

Functional

This kind of résumé is organized into sections rather than by position, highlighting skills and accomplishments. It is ideal for new graduates, those who lack a lot of experience, and job-hoppers, or those making a career change.

Some employers dislike functional résumés if it is difficult to match the skills mentioned with the positions held. Avoid confusion by mentioning the company or position in each bullet point.

What to write:

• Name and contact info
• Objective: A concise statement about the job you want
• Highlight of Qualifications (same as the Summary in the chronological résumé)
• Professional Accomplishments, organized by Key Skills: This is the big difference between functional and chronological résumés. Pick out 2 or 3 key skills that you possess that are relevant to the objective and the job you are applying for. For example, an applicant for a management position might pick “Management” and “Development” for his skills. An applicant for a design job might choose “Graphic Design” and “Photography.” Write 2 or more bullet statements on where you used this skill – it can be a job, or community service or activity, or someplace else that it came in handy. Prioritize the bullets with the most relevant first. As with the chronological résumé, you will mention how it positively affected the company, your boss, your customers, and your coworkers. Quantify results when appropriate. Also include awards or other recognition you received.
• Work History: Here is where you will list all the positions you’ve held, beginning with the most recent first. You don’t have to go into any detail about them. Basically, just list the position title, the company, the city and state, and the dates. No other information is required, unless something really needs explaining, such as a gap in work history.
• Education (same as chronological)
• Optional (same as chronological)

Looking forward

This article was written by John Roach http://prowritingtips.com John is a writer and copy editor. You can follow him on twitter at @johnwroachiii. To see more posts click here

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• How to write a résumé, Part 3: Writing a cover letter
• How to write a résumé, Part 2: Making your résumé shine