Don’t feel limited by the formats I’ve described in this category. You might find one that’s a perfect fit. You might need to massage one to make it suit you. Or you might get a flash of inspiration and create something completely new and different. Whatever you choose, put your own unique signature on it. Again, it doesn’t matter what you label it. If it works, it’s right.
A targeted résumé addresses the employer’s need for a specific skill or skills. To consider this format, you must first know what skill(s) the company needs, which necessitates some research on your part. When your sleuthing is done, you then focus the résumé content to include experience and accomplishments that are relevant to the targeted skill or skills.
Here’s another twist on the chronological format. It lists job experience in chronological “groupings” rather than in a strict, reverse-chronological list. Use this format when you don’t want to list your most recent experience first.
Also called a vertical or columnar format, the newsletter format follows a two- or three-column layout (four columns generally look too busy). Visual distinction is the hallmark of a newsletter format. Accordingly, it is most appropriate for professions that appeal to the senses (television, advertising, graphic design). It can also be used for disciplines such as sales and customer service. Be cautious about using this format if you’re in a very conservative field or pursuing management positions.
The distinguishing characteristic of a linear format is its visual orientation. Drawing its name from the linear style of art, where forms and shapes are precisely defined by line, the linear résumé limits its information to a one-sentence-at-a-time presentation.
You’ll also hear this format referred to as an international CV. My colleagues seem to agree that the terms “international résumé” and “international CV” are interchangeable. If you’re applying for positions in international circles, international CV expert Miriam-Rose Kohn of JEDA Enterprises (www.jedaenterprises.com) recommends following the suggestions for the traditional chronological format. Next, she suggests fleshing out the details—more is better. Then add an “illegal” section—as in answers to questions that employers are barred from asking when you apply in the United States.
A dateless chronological format might seem like a contradiction in terms. However, there are occasions when it might behoove you to follow the traditional chronological layout but simply omit dates. You may be a new graduate who has racked up lots of related volunteer or internship experiences, possibly during short-term assignments or overlapping time periods. These short stints or concurrent dates might appear confusing and diminish the impact of the experience.
If you’re a member of the cerebrally elite “SAM’s” Club, you’ll need a CV, which is an abbreviation for curriculum vitae (pronounced ka-ríck-ya-lem veétie). SAM is my acronym for the scientific, academic, and medical communities that typically use CVs. Environments that demand doctoral degrees typically require a CV. Although CVs typically follow a chronological layout, I am describing CVs separately because they possess some distinct characteristics.
Creative résumés defy strict definition because their form follows the originality and imagination of the creator (the writer). They’re dicey, but they can work. Sometimes.
Both chronological and functional résumés have spawned a number of variations in format, some earning their own titles, such as the accomplishments format, the targeted format, the linear format, and the keyword format. Whether these warrant distinction into separate genus, phylum, and species is debatable. Is it science or semantics?