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Step Five: Professional Experience
In the Professional Experience section, list your work history
in reverse-chronological order; that is, your most recent job first,
followed by your next most-recent job, and so on.
In your work history, include your employers and job titles. Also
include your employment dates, unless you feel the need to hide
large work-history gaps. (See functional resume under Resume
Formats below.) Including this information is standard
and expected by all hiring managers and admissions directors.
Employment Dates
Generally speaking, hiring managers prefer years of employment,
rather than months and years (e.g., 1999 - 2003 as opposed to May
1999 - April 2003). However, some college admissions programs want
specifics when it comes to dates, so it's best to use precise dates
when applying to graduate school.
In the Professional Experience section, also list daily tasks
and responsibilities beneath the appropriate employer. If you've
included a Career Accomplishments section in your resume, don't
repeat that data under Professional Experience. Once you've
presented data in your resume, avoid redundancy.
To ensure that your daily tasks are presented in an interesting
and easy-to-read manner, do the following:
Use a bulleted format (like this). This breaks up large blocks
of text that could prove daunting to a hiring manager.
Delete unnecessary articles and adjectives. Your sentences
should be short and snappy.
Begin each sentence with a power
verb (also called an action verb). Power verbs give your
resume impact and grab the reader's attention.
An example of a bulleted format, pared down writing, and sentences
beginning with power verbs follows. Again, we use our accountant
in this example.
Verb Tense
For jobs in which you are still employed, write your job duties
in the present tense. For jobs you held in the past, write your
job duties in the past tense.
Resume Formats
Professional Experience can be captured and showcased in three
resume formats:
A chronological resume provides
your work history in reverse-chronological order, dating back
from the present. This is the most common format and is generally
preferred by hiring managers.
A combination resume stresses what
you know in one section, while also providing your work history
dating back from the present in another. This is a highly popular
modern format, well-accepted by hiring managers.
A functional resume stresses
what you know over where and when you gained your experience.
Some job applicants use this format if they have strong skills,
but weak employment records, such as work-history gaps of a year
or more. Although this example shows employment dates, you might
omit same to further de-emphasize work-history gaps. Regardless,
don't use this format unless you must, as it's not as widely
accepted as those above.
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