Resume Section Order and Formatting
Your resume section order, if chosen wisely, can help optimize your resume. By correctly formatting each section, it will quickly convey your relevant information to an employer.
Resume Section Order Optimization
Our Free Resume Creator provides six optimal resume section order formatting choices to optimize your resume. Display your most relevant details in the most favorable light at the top of the page. In our program, formatting choices numbers 1 and 2 are the most popular. You may be interested in learning more about our Formatting Wizard. You are welcome to read more about resume formats and how to use them to your benefit.Depending upon the relevance of your employment and educational histories, it is beneficial for you to present your information using a resume section order that highlights your strengths. Only you know the details of your skills and what you have to offer an employer, so you will have to decide which format-number (1-6) will be most beneficial.
Optimizing the Section Order of Your Resume
Career Help Center
- Limited Work History
For example, if you are fresh out of school and you have a limited work history or had jobs that are not relevant to the position you are applying for you may want to put a relevant education history first. You can include the volunteer work or internships that you have completed to reinforce your education. You may be early on in your career, so adding more items to make yourself appear better qualified may help you get a call for an interview. - Limited Education
In another case, you may have an irrelevant education history but had relevant jobs. In that situation, you may want to put the jobs first. As described above, you get real-world education from working at a job. See how you can relate that on-the-job training (OJT) to your next job. - Limited Everything
If you have nothing relevant to write, you will most likely find that there are parallels you can make between the unrelated fields. What have you done in the past that you can use now? You can somehow transfer every skill you have to perform a different task. Break down your previous duties into smaller components. From them, you may be able to construct a useful skill set.
If you do run into this situation, you will need to decide which skills are most relevant and which ones you should put near the top. If you don't have much to work with, then all you can do is use what you have as far as education and job history and make the best of it.
One thing that you may attempt to do is to put false statements in your documents. It is best that you don't lie because, at some point, they may find out and terminate you. What would you do if your boss asked you to perform a job that used a skill that you claimed to have? You may not be able to do it, they would find out, and that could be grounds for dismissal. For more information on this topic read our job interview tips page you will find useful information that can help here.
Talking to people who are in the field you wish to enter can be a help too. They may be able to tell you the common terminology to use, tasks you may need to know how to perform, and a general feel for the job. From this information, you can better prepare yourself to write from a more informed perspective.