Resume Help - Highlight Best Job Experience
Dear Deb:
I've had a discussion with a few people about a CV writing issue; and because it seems to be a popular and interesting one, I thought I'd share it with you.
When a person is currently doing several things ("to present") -- ex: CEO of one company, sitting on several Boards, doing consulting, teaching -- in what order should he/she list all the activities in the CV?
Some say chronologically, but this might highlight something that is less relevant. For instance, if the person just started a teaching assignment, he/she might not necessarily want this job to be the first thing in Professional Experience, since there are more significant things such CEO, Board member etc. to show.
Would listing the "to present" entries under a personal criteria such as "relevance to one's career" be acceptable?
AA, New York City
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Dear AA,
This is an excellent question; and one that is relevant for many job seekers. In fact, there is more than one way to ‘skin a cat’. What you are referring to here is presenting your information in more of a hybrid style, which would allow you to capitalize on experiences that you want to showcase in the document. A hybrid résumé (example below) is a wonderful way to present information ‘out of order’.
Download a PDF version of the sample
Instead of starting with your current position, you can begin with a headline like the following:
Highlights of Professional Experience
This section will allow you to reference things you did as the CEO for a former company, discuss work completed for various boards, and any other key achievements or details. It will enable the reader to understand the value of your contributions in previous positions and will prevent any overlapping roles from creating confusion. Remember to use the SAR method when presenting your information.
S: Situation - Describe a bit about the situation.
A: Action - What action you took.
R: Result - The results achieved.
Feel free to showcase approximately eight or so bullet points in this section that deliver an immediate impact; of course they should be relevant to the role you are pursuing. As you apply for opportunities, your highlights section (like other areas of your résumé) will likely change depending on the role and what achievements you want to showcase. After the highlights section, you can then revert to a reverse chronological style. By this point, the reader will be engaged and have an understanding of what you bring to a new role. To capitalize on secondary positions like teaching, you can create a heading titled Additional Experience.