Page 240 - Complete Idiot's Guide to The Perfect Resume

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Part 3 ➤ So, You Need a Special Resume

Freedom of Format

Because the CV usually addresses a conservative reader, many people
assume that it needs to follow a standard, rigid format. Not so! You can
be creative in presenting your strengths while respecting the expecta-
tions of the academic, scientific, or institutional employer. That means
you can consider using any one of the five formats I’ve suggested
Career Casualty
so far:
Don’t bury your most prized
➤ Chronological (see Chapter 4, “Chronologically Speaking”)
achievement in the middle or at
the end of your CV. Place it on ➤ Functional (see Chapter 5, “Get Functional”)
the front page, if possible, so ➤ Achievement (see Chapter 12, “The Big Winner: An Achievement
that it’ll be seen right away by a Resume”)
potential employer.
➤ Chronological hybrid (see Chapter 13, “A Chronological Hybrid
That Adds Up”)
➤ Functional hybrid (see Chapter 14, “A Functional Hybrid That
Makes Sense”)

Use the guidelines in each respective chapter to determine which for-
mat is best for your CV.

Job-Hunt Hint Hanging Out Your Laundry

Combine two similar sections if
Following are headings of laundry-list sections commonly found
you have only one or two items
on CVs:
to list in each one. Then create a
section heading to reflect your ➤ Education
combination, such as Education
➤ Publications
and Training, Honors and
Awards, or Exhibitions and ➤ Presentations
Presentations. ➤ Committees and Appointments

➤ Affiliations
The following sections cover what should be listed under each of these headings. If a head-
ing isn’t applicable to you, disregard it.

Good Schooling
The Education section almost always appears near the top of the first page. It should pro-
vide information about each degree you have acquired:
➤ Your major
➤ The date you received your degree
➤ The institution where you received it
➤ The city and state of the institution
➤ Titles of your thesis and dissertation

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