Choosing the Best CV Format

Largely three CV formats are used worldwide. Each has sections that may be juggled based on the job role you are applying for. Here’s how you can choose the best fit to support your application:

1. Chronological

One of the most widely used CV formats, this one focuses more on your academic and professional experience. If your work trajectory shows consistency and excellence within the same industry, then you must go for a chronological format.

An acceptable order would be contact information, academic history, professional experience, qualifications, skills, achievements, awards, certifications, and publications.

2. Functional

If you are a recent graduate and a prospective entrant in the job market, this will be your go-to format. The functional format allocates more information about your skills and achievements and comparatively lesser details about your professional experience. Moreover, this format is a good fit for even those who have had multiple career shifts.

An acceptable order would be as same as the “Chronological format” as it will provide a better outlook.

3. Combination

What if you were previously working in public policy, but now you want to move into academia? Use the combination format. It is essentially a concoction of chronological and functional formats. Moreover, it lets you have sufficient space for professional experience, education history, and skills.

There’s no exhaustive order list for this case. You can arrange the sections based on the relevancy of the position you are applying for.

Call it as you may, but stepping into the job market or fetching an academic position is unfathomable without a CV. By the by, what exactly is a CV? How do you make it? Is it the same for every individual? What should be the format? All these questions are pop-up in our minds when we start preparing the CV. We want it to be perfect so we can get the dream job, for which we are applying. Many people get confused while writing a CV and resume, therefore, in order to resolve such confusion we have written this article as it will become a one-stop guide that will address all your questions and apprehensions about CV building.