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Chapter 13 ➤ A Chronological Hybrid That Adds Up

The Hidden Functional Message

You may have job titles in your Work History that don’t express
the level of responsibility you held. (This is frequently the case
for government and university employees, where titles such as
Assistant, Level III tell the reader almost nothing about the job.)
If you have tons of achievement statements under a job heading
in a chronological resume, consider breaking them into smaller Career Casualty
groups according to skills. Inserting skill subheadings makes your When applying to a conservative
many achievements easier to read. Futhermore, inserting skill sub- employer, use a chronological or
headings into your Professional Experience section will help the chronological hybrid format if at
employer understand what your responsibilities were and give all possible, because they are the
you the credit you deserve. most traditional formats.
A case in point: From some of his job titles (such as “specialist”
and “coordinator”), it was hard to understand where Robert
MacIntyre stood in the organizational hierarchy where he worked.
So he presented his work history in a chronological hybrid format
(following) so that he could use skill subheadings to define his
previous positions according to the skills needed in his job objec-
tive. That way, the employer saw that he had the qualifications for
the job.
Terms of Employment
Standing Still Stagnant work history is
defined differently by hiring
Longevity at an organization is something to feel proud of. But if
managers, depending on what
you’ve spent many years in one spot, you might look stagnant in
industry they’re in. For instance,
the eyes of a new employer. How can you highlight that you
a job seeker’s eight-year stint at
developed new skills, increased your industry knowledge, and took
a company might seem healthy
on more responsibility, even though your job title remained the
and stable to a prospective
same throughout your many years of dedication to the company?
employer in biotechnology,
Use the chronological hybrid format. Your loyalty will ring clear in
whereas an engineer’s eight-year
the Work History section, and the subheadings that categorize
stay at one company might seem
your achievements will demonstrate growth.
stagnant to a hiring manager in
In Christine Whitley’s resume (following), she divided her accom- multimedia.
plishments according to the type of law she was involved with as
a legal secretary. Her resume tells the story of diversity and
stability—two attributes of an excellent legal secretary.
Putting Words on Paper

If you’ve decided the chronological hybrid is the right format for you, it’s time to put your
thoughts on paper. Follow the step-by-step guidelines in Part 2, “Six Steps to a Perfect
Resume,” for creating each section of your resume, using the hybrid template presented ear-
lier in this chapter as your foundation. It’s that simple!

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