How to write a chronological CV?
Dec 09 2016
When it comes to writing your CV, the first impression really counts. The employer can be easily put off by any tiny mistakes. Therefore, it is very important to know how to write a nice CV. The chronological CV is the most common used format in professional resume writing. It lists your work experience chronologically from the most recent job to the earliest you were involved in. This format should be straight forward and simple. Make sure you separate every work title distinctively to create separate sections. This information should fit in one page.
Here is the format for writing a chronological CV:
- Contact information
Avoid writing ‘Contact Information’ at this section. This section does not require a subheading so just start by including your information.
- Makes sure you include your name, email address, mailing address and a website;
- Your email address should simple and professional. Therefore, try avoiding email addresses that are funny or silly. The address should follow this example, ‘[email protected]’. Funny or silly looking addresses will give a bad impression of you to the potential employer;
- Always make sure you center the contact information. Your name should be in bold or have a bigger font size than the rest to draw more attention.
Keep in mind that the contact information is the first thing your potential employer will see upon looking at you CV; therefore make sure you use a standard font that is clear and easy to read.
- Resume introduction
This section includes the career objectives, professional profile and qualifications. The objective should be brief and strongly written. Using 2-3 sentences, give a brief explanation of why you are best suited for the job. This will be the attributes that make you the perfect candidate for the job. The objective should clearly show how helpful you will be to the organization and should not dwell too much on self-praise. It should be structured in a way that clearly shows your career ambitions and how well they are aligned to the job description you are applying for.
- Professional experience
This is the section where you list your work experience chronologically, starting from your most recent job to the earliest you have ever done. Make sure for every position you include the dates, name of employer, your job position and the job responsibilities in summary of 1 or 2 sentences. You can also opt for using a bullet list for the responsibilities. Begin each point with an active verb for example. ‘Wrote and edited content for the company’s website’. The most recent job should have more information compared to the rest.
- Education section
In this section, you will include your education background, starting with the most recent degree or diploma and continue in reverse up to your earliest. Make sure you start with the name of the institution, graduation date and the accolade earned.
- Additional skills
Here, you provide information on how well you have excelled in your career. Avoid listing anything that does not relate to the job description. Always keep in mind the values of the company you wish to work for and identify the awards appropriate to discuss. You can try impressing your employer by including extracurricular activities that you participate in during your time off.
Writing a chronological CV is a very simple process as long as you follow the guidelines properly. Make sure you research on ways of polishing your CV to avoid errors.
