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Resume Section Order Optimization
Resume section order optimization is an important aspect of resume writing. You can strategically sort your information on your resume to highlight the important parts of your education and employment.
The main goal of writing your resume is to
format your information. Make it readily available to the employer during the few seconds they will spend reading it. They will have many resumes to read and, most likely, not much time to do it.
Choosing the most favorable resume section order optimization can help make the employer obtain your most important information in the least amount of time. That is the goal! We describe several situations you may encounter with solutions to improve your ability to relay your
education and
experience histories to the employer so they can find whom for which they are looking.
Popular resume section orders are number 1 and number 2 depending upon if you want your education history first or your employment history first. There are six different sort options, with each section put into a different sort order to optimize your information for each job. Should you use a chronological format, functional format, or combination format? For information on this check our
format tutorial.
Resume Section Order Optimization
Problem: Less Than Ideal Employment History
- Have you recently graduated?
- Have you not worked for very many years?
- Did you work in jobs that were not closely related to this one?
Solution: You may consider putting your related education details first since your job history isn't related to the new job. Think about any awards or certificates that you may want to put toward the top.
Problem: Not Enough Education
- Do feel like you don't have enough education?
- Is your education related to the job you want?
- Did you have jobs that would be similar to this job?
Solution: You may want to list jobs where you performed duties that you could use in the new job you want to get. In place of a strong educational background, show them that you held jobs similar to this one if that is the case.
Problem: No Related Jobs or Schooling
- If you are attempting to get a job which has no relation to your past education or employment you may want to try these suggestions.
Solutions: Try to think back over your previous jobs to try to pick out aspects of your duties that could be related to this job. The same goes for your education. There must be something you learned in school that can help you. Any past clubs, awards, or organizations with which you were involved may have given you the required skills that you could use at this new job. General life experience may, at times, be relevant and helpful.
Final Words: Since every situation is different, these are common-sense suggestions. They can help you think of possible solutions for optimizing your education and skills to fit the employer's job requirements.
Mistakes to Avoid
