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AsiaRecruit Types of Resumes

Types of Resumes



Chronological resume

  • Recommended for candidates with solid working experience and a progressive job history in a specific field or history, and who would want to continue along this similar career path.
  • Most employers prefer this style as it is based on facts, and easily digestible.
  • Very conventional, emphasizing on itemized employment history.
  • Important to present career milestones in reverse chronological order, starting with current position and moving backwards. Each position contains a description of relevant responsibilities and accomplishments.

Functional Resume

  • Suitable for fresh graduates and job hoppers hoping for a career change.
  • Helps to cover seemingly disconnected experiences by displaying transferable skills and related achievements.
  • Organize work history into sections that highlight skills and accomplishments deemed most appropriate for the position applied for. Always include the company name in bulleted description of your accomplishments. Do not miss out at least a brief chronological listing of your work experience.

Combination Resume

  • This format tries to merge the best features of the chronological and functional type resumes by incorporating both a chronological work history and a skills and achievements section. Top focus is on skills and accomplishments, followed by work experience.
  • Though some employers will find this format long, repetitious and confusing, this type of resume can be good to someone with good editing skills.

Writing CV

Resume Writing Tips

  • Your CV should be as up to date as possible.
  • Use headings like ‘Education’ and ‘Career History’ to highlight the different sections.
  • Don't just make general statements about your qualities – support them with evidence.
  • Try to link your skills and experience to the requirements of the job you’re applying for.
  • Focus on achievements – not duties and responsibilities
  • Examples of achievements you can focus
    • Ways you increased bottom line revenue
    • How you reduced costs or maximized business efficiency
    • New ideas, innovations or changes you implemented that resulted in positive outcomes
    • Special awards, honors or accolades (extra-curricular training or certifications)
    • Training or mentoring staff
  • Use Quantitative Examples
    • include exact numbers to present a complete picture to the hiring manager: “increased sales by 25% over a 6 month period’
  • Include strategic keywords
    • A killer resume will attract the reader’s attention within the first 10 seconds of opening your resume. The very best resumes will create a great first impression that will keep the person reading your resume for longer. Creating a qualifications profile or an executive summary at the very beginning of your resume is a fantastic way to introduce yourself to the reader and immediately portray your skills and qualifications directly to the reader.
  • Remove unnecessary information

What SHOULD be in your resume?

Personal details

Keep this section brief - your full name, address, email address and phone number are important.

Education details

List these in reverse chronological order with your most recent experiences first. Include the name of the institutions, the dates you were there and the qualifications you obtained/will obtain. You may want to list the relevant modules, the projects and dissertations you undertook, the grades you achieved and the skills you developed.

Summary of Accomplishments

A winning Summary of Accomplishments provides a brief overview of what makes you special and how you contributed to your company. A good Summary of Accomplishments can often determine whether you would be shortlisted.

Career history / professional experience

Whether they’re paid, voluntary or shadowing, all experiences count. State these in reverse chronological order with dates to show how long you were there. Mention your achievements and highlight the skills you used or developed.

Positions of responsibility/other achievements/outside interests

Including this information will show that you’re motivated to pursue activities relating to your career and that you take the initiative to develop your skills. Focus on recent examples, describing what you contributed and learnt.

Remember – your CV is a platform to demonstrate your key strengths and achievements and a key step in our application process.

Resume Writing Tips

  • What job do you want? What are the skills and requirements necessary for this job?
  • Keep them in your mind as you write your resume so that the interviewer reading it will see that you are the person they are looking for.
  • List down your personal particulars, education history, extra-curricular activities including positions held, employment history, seminars attended, achievements, etc.
  • Ensure the dates are correct. Leave out hobbies/interests, parent’s occupation etc.
  • Sort information under specific headings – Education, Work Experience, Achievements, Skills, Activities.
  • Write your full name, postal address, house and mobile numbers, email address.
  • Leave out your marital status, sex, race, parent’s name and occupation, birth details, etc.
  • Starting with your most recent work, list down all the jobs you have had, company names, dates of employment, position titles.
  • Using bullet points, write the job description, nature of work and responsibilities held for each position
  • Use key words: responsible for, coordinating, prepared, managed, monitored, presented, accomplished, achieved, analysed, delegated, etc.
  • Highlight your achievements/job responsibilities.
  • Lead with your highest education level to the lowest, include grades like CGPA.
  • State courses or papers studied, e.g. Psychology, Contract Law, Multimedia.
  • List activities like societies/clubs, position held and accomplishments if they are relevant to the job you are applying to. Otherwise, leave them out.
  • List down your computer skills, language skills (and different dialects) including proficiency in reading and writing, and soft skills (public speaking, presentation, etc.).
  • Not totally essential but if you need to mention references, choose people who know you personally and can give a good impression of you to the potential employer.
  • Remember to give your reference’s contact details.
  • Make sure you inform your referees that they may receive calls from your interviewers so that they can prepare. Send them copies of your resume so that they know who you are and what you did.
Common CV Mistakes

Miscellaneous

  • Use italic or bold fonts only to indicate important information or section breaks.
  • Be honest
    • Do not inflate your resume. Make sure you can back up what you claim. Do not cheat/lie.
  • Check for spelling and grammar mistakes
    • Make sure your resume is free from spelling or grammar mistakes.
    • Ask someone reliable to check it for you.
    • Do not depend on your word processor’s Spell Check function.
    • Most importantly, proof read until your resume is perfect.
  • Use Power Verbs
    • Action words add “oomph” to your writing and enables you to describe clearly.

Common CV mistakes

  • Overloaded with job history
  • Grammatical errors
  • Not listed in reverse chronological order
  • Usage of abbreviations and SMS language
  • No cover letter
  • Unprofessional email address
  • Over exaggeration
  • Unprofessional photograph

Reference Sources:



Interview tips

Interview Tips

Types of Resume

Types of Resume





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