What’s the Most Effective Resume Format? The resume format or resume style is the first decision you’ll probably have to make in writing your resume. The decision about which resume format to use depends upon your situation. There are 3 main resume formats to consider – chronological, functional and the combination or hybrid. The most often used resume format is the chronological work history, starting with the most recent job and going backwards in time. It’s traditional, conservative, and the one you should use if you have a consistent job history with reasonable amounts of time spent with each employer. Job hopping shows up quickly in this resume format. Inconsistent employment histories, job applicants wishing to change industries, people who’ve been out of the work force for a while such as mothers, or students who are just entering the work force may want to use the functional resume format. It details your skills, abilities and achievement without reference to work history. This resume format is not a favorite of human resource professionals, because they can’t see your work history. As a resume format, it is probably the least desirable choice to make. The combination or hybrid resume format gives you the best of both worlds. You can put a summary of your achievements, skills and talents right up front. Then you can do a chronological work history in the next section. This is the easiest resume format for the HR professional who must scan hundred of resumes. Because of that you get the most bang for your buck, so to speak. Pack it with action words, and achievements. If you are not sure how to do this go online and do a search. There are lists of action and power words on many different sites. If you are in a highly technical field, then you’ll want to do more research on the specific resume format to use. Making it easy for the resume reader to see who you are and what you can do is the name of the game. Regardless of the resume format you decide upon, there are some general rules to follow in the completion of your resume. Make sure to leave lots of white space in the resume format. This will make it seem easier to read and thus more inviting to the reader. Check and recheck spelling, grammar and parallel construction (using the same tense in all descriptions, using the same form of the verb in action words, using periods and commas consistently and being consistent with the use of capitals. Time to begin writing.