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Know the different types of Resume, and Get Free Resume Review for yourself
In this article we will get to know about 4 different types of resumes, What is a resume, the purpose of a resume, and how to get a free resume review in 2021.
A resume should be…
In a resume, an individual should always have…
A resume is …
Let us start with a question first. What comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Resume’? Ok, one more question.
Do you struggle with making a resume for yourself? Let’s go with another question.
If you have a resume, do you think it is appropriate?
The purpose of asking these questions was to analyze your understanding of a resume.
The answer to the first three lines would tell your understanding of the subject.
And, the answer to the following three questions would tell where you stand. So, ask these questions to yourself.
If you can answer them properly, then you have the required understanding of a resume.
If you could answer these, after some thinking, then you are on the way to the top.
However, if your mind goes blank after reading these, we are here to help you out.
You might consider making a resume with the numerous resume makers available online.
No doubt, they are the best method of conveniently creating your resume but a lot more goes into them than just a template.
Your personal information won’t be available on any resume maker website or app. You will have to fill them. Are you getting our point?
You need to develop your understanding of a resume and then move on to create an exceptional resume with the help of resume makers such as TopResume.
And if you don’t know where to start, we have it all covered for you.
Follow the write-up and by the end of it, you will know what you have to do. Without delaying further, let’s start.
Also Read:- Free Online Writing Assistant
How to browse the internet safely?
What is a resume?
Well, it is just a formal document.
There, you have it; it is as simple as that.
Don’t worry; we will not leave it there. We will explain it to you so that you can understand it better.
A resume is a formal document that has all the details related to your education, career objective, work experience, skills, and accomplishments.
With the help of a resume, you tell your abilities to the employers to make them consider you as the best fit for a job or role.
Usually, a resume is only of one or two pages. Moreover, this is the recommended and expected length.
One can also classify it as a personal marketing tool to the employers, of course as a promising candidate.
Also, in cases where employers do not ask for a resume, you should always have one, just in case. It will always come in handy.
So, this was the explanatory statement. Let’s make you know a little more.
The word “résumé” has its ancestry with the French language. It means summary.
There you go, now you know where it all comes from. To date, we use a resume to provide a summary of our relevant qualifications to the employers.
We will sum this up here. You have got a lot more to know. So, let’s move on to the next.
What is the purpose of a resume?
Why do you need a resume?
To get a job; most of the people would answer this, right.
Well, the answer is yes but no. we will tell you why.
The current job market is competitive and dynamic. You need to stand out of the crowd to be noticed.
Before the employer interviews you for a position, he/ she might want to know about you. This is where a resume comes into play.
With a resume, the employer will be able to ascertain whether your qualifications are fit for the job or not.
This will work a meeting with your employer on paper. And, by all odd means, it will make all the difference, if you are the right fit.
Without a resume, your candidature might not even be considered.
Moreover, a poorly made or inferior resume might quickly be eliminated, even before you could prove yourself.
That’s why everyone always stresses having a superior and well-made resume for you.
It will create a positive impact on the potential employer and make you stand apart from the pack.
In short, the resume will not get you a job but an interview or the ticket to the next step of the process, which we usually term as ‘shortlisting’.
Well, now you know the purpose of a resume. Don’t you.
4 Different Types of resume with examples
A resume is just a resume. Do you think the same?
No, there comes a twist. Nothing major, it’s just the types of resumes.
How many types of resumes are there? Which type of resume should you make? What type of resume will be the best for you?
We have the answer to all these questions. So, let’s get started.
Chronological Resume
- In this resume, you will have to list your work experience in reverse order.
- This means that your current or recent job will be recorded first with other experiences following it backward
- Also, you will not struggle to write it as it is easy to make.
- It focuses on a steady employment track.
With this type of resume, what will your employer get?
- They will be able to determine your job titles, roles, and responsibilities along with work history dates.
Now, let’s come to the disadvantages.
- Your employment gaps are significantly visible to the employer.
- With this, you need to highlight your skills to make them stand out and not lost in the resume.
Where is it best used?
- When you have to focus on your career growth and development
- If you need to highlight a name of a significant past employer to the potential one
When should you not use a chronological resume?
If you have gaps in your work experience
If you have made frequent job changes
When you are a fresher or reentering the market for jobs
Functional Resume
This type of resume lays emphasis on your strengths and skills that are wanted by the employer.
It does not include specific dates, places, names, or other particulars and omits the spotty work history
How is it beneficial for you?
- It enables you to omit the employment gaps and spotty work history if any
- You can highlight your strengths and transferable skills that might not be outlined in chronological order
Where does it fall short?
It does not provide any detailed history of your work experience
The content included in the resume might appear to lack depth
A significant share of employers do not prefer functional resumes over others
Employers might consider it as concealing facts such as age, employment gaps, etc
When is this type of resume used best?
When you have to highlight your skills or strengths
When you are a new graduate or have limited work experience
When you are a freelancer or do not want to focus on your age
When should you not use it?
When you have to focus on your growth and development
When you had limited responsibilities in your recent jobs
Combination Resume
As the name suggests, a combination resume is the blend of the flexibility and strength of a chronological and functional resume
Let’s get into the advantages of it.
- It focuses on a strong employment history in a streamlined manner
- It shows how you have used your skills in the past
- You can focus on your transferable skills in this type
Now, it is time to explore the disadvantages.
It can be a long resume, often more than 1 page
Your work experience might go till the second page that the employers may or may not read
When is a combination resume best to use?
If you have to showcase the skills that you developed throughout your work experience
When you have to make a career change and do not want to highlight the names of your former employers
When should you not use a combination resume?
If you have limited work experience
When you have wide gaps in work history
Targeted Resume
Going with the name, it is a highly-targeted document which you will make with a particular job as your target
It acts as a summary or capsule of your work history, experience, and responsibilities
What advantages does it have in store?
This type of resume is easy to read and understand
It serves as a brief and direct resume aiming at the specific job
Coming to the disadvantages
It might have too much emphasis on a specific job
The content of the resume might be sparse
When is the best usage of a targeted resume?
If there is a specific job target
When you have to prepare different resumes for different career paths
When should you not use a targeted resume?
If you do not want to or are not prepared to dedicate time to make an excellent resume
Get Free Resume Review by TopResume
Do you think having the tag of a ‘well-known’ name is good? Does this mean that it has the best to offer? Well, this is what we are here to clear and understand.
What is TopResume?
TopResume is a platform that offers professional resume writing services. They help you in creating a career story that focuses on the job opportunities you want to land.
They offer professionally written resumes that guarantee more interviews and better performance of your resume.
With professionals from across the world, the team of writers possesses experience in a wide range of industries such as human resources, marketing, engineering, and more.
They write resumes that are sure to pass the automated recruiting software scans to screen out the applications.
You can also get free resume analysis services from the platform.
Moreover, TopResume has been featured in Business Insider, CNBC, USA Today, and The Huffington Post among others.
Also, they are trusted by professionals from Amazon, Barclays, Unilever, Airbus, and more.
But wait, isn’t this what Topresume claims itself to be? You want a review of TopResume.
And…this is what we are here for. So, without wasting any more time, let’s get started.
Writing Services offered by TopResume
What services do you get from TopResume?
We have it here for you.
Resume Writing
The primary service offered by TopResume is resume writing services.
You can get professional resumes created by experts for you. You have to pick the package you want to get this service.
Free Resume Review
As the name suggests, it is a free service offered by TopResume. You just have to upload your resume and you will get your professional resume review within 48 hours.
Cover Letter Writing
At TopResume, you can get cover letters written as well along with your resumes, it forms a part of the packages offered by the platform.
To get this service, you will have to choose the package with this service as a component.
LinkedIn Profile Makeover
It also comes along as a component in one of the packages offered by TopResume.
It is not a service that Topresume separately offers to its clients. You will have to buy a package to get this service.
TopInterview
This does not form part of the resume but for the later part, the interview. You can prepare for interviews with the help of this platform.
How much does TopResume cost?
To get the services of TopResume, they offer several resume writing packages to you.
Regardless of you are an entry-level candidate or a senior-level executive seeking a career change, they have packages for you always.
Based on your convenience and requirements, you can choose the package you want for yourself.
At TopResume, you can choose from the three available packages which are as follows:-
Junior Level
Package cost – $79
In this, you will get a professionally written and formatted resume to ensure success in your efforts.
It includes personal engagements, executive layout, and three revisions.
Mid-Level
Package cost – $99
This package offers a professionally written resume as well as a custom-written cover letter.
The resume and cover letter are formatted to ensure success. Moreover, it comes with a 60-day interview guarantee.
Executive Level
Package cost – $149
Along with everything you get in a mid-level package i.e., professional resume, cover letter, and 60-day interview guarantee, you get a
LinkedIn makeover as well with keyword optimization.
Do note that all these prices were applicable at the time of writing.
It is advised that you visit the official website to know the updated prices.
How does the TopResume resume-writing process work?
TopResume claims to offer the finest blend of expert writer’s knowledge and similar technology to an applicant tracking system.
This ensures that the resume has all the required and essential keywords and formatting.
Further, the experts analyze and figure out ways to make the resume effective.
The process is very simple and straight to get things done.
Forget about having to struggle throughout to get it written.
- You start with selecting a package on the website – Junior Level, Mid-Level or Executive Level
- Fill in the details of the payment and place your order.
- After this, you get matched with a professional writer on the platforms.
- You will then do a 1:1 collaboration with the writer to create your resume.
- In a few days, you will receive a draft of your resume where you can get up to three revisions.
That was all. In these few simple steps, you will have your resume made professionally by an expert.
TopResume Pros and Cons
As we always say, every coin has two sides.
Likewise, TopResume comes along with a side of significant advantages for individuals but a gloomy side of certain disadvantages as well.
Pros of TopResume
- A simple and straightforward sign-up process
- It offers a quick initial response to its clients
- The resume writers are attentive and initiate clear communication
- A detailed questionnaire to know about your details for the resume
- Exceptional designing and formatting of the resume to make it stand apart
- The writers hold certifications such as Certified Professional Resume Writer Certified Advanced Resume Writer and National Resume Writers’ Association
- It offers exceptional customer support and services to its clients
- Provides a 60-day interview guarantee to its clients
- Uses application tracking system software to determine the performance of the resumes
Cons of TopResume
- All the discussion and exchange of information is done through emails only.
- Apart from the package cost, an extra fee is charged to talk to the writers over the phone for 30 minutes.
- The lengths of certain sections such as summary and job scope can be longer than required
- You do not get to choose the writer or get to know who you will work with from over 1200 writers
- Certain sections can be there that are not according to your expectation or requirements
- The certifications of the writers are not transparent. So, you might not know about your writer’s certifications or qualifications
What is the free resume review service of TopResume?
TopResume offers free resume review services to individuals. It knows what the recruiters are looking for and how you need to present yourself on the resume to grab the opportunities.
All you have to do is upload your resume for a free review and get your expert review within 48 hours.
Moreover, TopResume quotes that “Don’t worry, it’s free with no fine print if you like what we find we can talk more, but absolutely no pressure.”
- It provides a free and confidential resume evaluation from trusted experts
- Provides objective feedback on the layout, skills, expertise, and language of the resume
- Offer personalized recommendations on how you can make your resume strong
What are the credentials of TopResume writers?
TopResume has a network of over 1200 writers across the globe.
The pool of writers includes career coaches, hiring managers, recruiters, HR professionals, and more from over 65 industrial domains.
Having such a large and expert pool of writers, they are capable of meeting the varied needs of their clients for various industries.
They assign you a writer based on your needs and requirements. However, you will not get to choose the writer.
The team will ensure that they assign the best one for writing your resume.
If you choose to search for the resume writers of TopResume on various professional platforms such as LinkedIn, you will find very limited results.
No public information of the majority of their writers is available at your dispersal.
Components of a resume
You will literally come across hundreds of books or articles to make the ‘perfect resume’.
Plenty of them will claim the resume design and approach to assure you an interview.
Moreover, with the help of resume writing services, you can also get a fairly well-written and structured resume.
Ok, so now there we are, at the structure of a resume.
What components does a resume have? What components should you include in your resume? We have the answer for you.
Contact information
Where will the employer contact you if he likes your profile?
For this, you will need contact information. Without any information to contact you, of what use will your excellent resume be to the employer.
What contact information should you include in your resume?
Your full name – It includes your first and last name. You can also include your middle name if any. However, make sure that the name is the same as all other official or identification documents.
Contact number –You should mention your contact number on your resume. It makes it easier for the employer to contact you for further discussions.
Address – Including your full mailing address on your resume is neither required nor necessary. However, you can include your city, state, or Pincode, if and when required. Not including your address is highly recommended when you are seeking job opportunities over long distances or open to relocation.
Email address – Mark this as very important. Not only this, but you should also create an email address solely dedicated to your job search tasks, preferably with Gmail. This makes it easy to manage your job applications or networking contacts.
Social media –No, no, not your Facebook or Instagram profile but include your LinkedIn profile. For other social media platforms, include them only if they are relevant to the job you are applying to. You can include your portfolio or blog as per the field.
Professional Title
Nothing to think about or worry about, just a few words, and you are done with this part.
In the resume, add a professional title just before your contact information section.
Let’s understand this with the help of some examples:-
- Senior business analyst
- Business development manager
- Associate – Creative content development
- Social media manager
The list can be endless as you go on and on but make sure it is strong.
You can also change your professional title as per the job posting to match the job description.
For example: –
You are the head of the marketing department. You can use the following titles:-
- Senior marketing associate
- Marketing executive
- Marketing head – Social media
Whatever you choose your professional title to be, you should make sure that it is related to your expertise and the job requirements.
Never put any professional title in your resume unnecessarily.
Professional or Career Summary
A career statement, executive summary, or career summary, whatever you want to call, is the next component to go on your resume.
This mostly comes in place of the objective statement, which you might have heard often.
A professional summary will focus on what you have to offer to the employer by the skillset and qualifications you possess.
Let’s look at some examples of professional summaries.
For a new graduate
“Graduate from a top-tier college/ university with hands-on experience in analyzing and developing strategies and performing tasks and reviews while building effective solutions to improve accuracy and attain results for clients”
For a mid-level professional
“Strategic marketing executive with 7 years of experience across a spectrum of industries and brands with a proven record of attaining marketing objectives through exceptional interpersonal skills and team management alongside being experienced in campaign management, rebranding and budgeting”
For a senior professional
“Respected Human Resource Department Head with over 12 years of experience in staffing and recruiting in the hospitality industry with a proven track record of performing cross-functional activities and driving efficiency, engagement and exceptional results for the organization”
Work Experience
If you are a mid-level or senior-level professional, it is crucial to include your work experience in your resume.
Going in chronological order, your most recent experience appears on the top followed by other professional experiences you have.
We have a tip for that too.
If you have several years of professional experience, it is recommended to include only the most recent 10 to 12 years of experience only.
Regarding your internships, volunteering work, or other related professional experiences, the work history part of the resume is the best.
Educational Qualifications
You wouldn’t get a job without your educational qualifications.
Well, that is the case in the majority of organizations. Of course, if it is not Google, Microsoft and Tesla cause they claim to prefer an individual with skills.
Well, moving ahead
For a recent graduate, your freshly minted degree or diploma is your USP now. For you, your educational information should shine on the top of your resume.
This will help you in demonstrating your employability to potential employers.
Now, let’s talk about experienced individuals.
It is advisable to include your educational qualifications in your resume but move them to the end of your resume.
For all the individuals, if you have multiple degrees or diplomas, chronologically list them starting with the recent one.
You can also include relevant training, certifications, and licenses for professional coursework to make you stand as a desirable candidate.
Certifications and Achievements
Throughout your education or work experience, you might have had some achievements.
Also, if you have gained some educational or professional certifications, include them in your resume.
It will portray a positive image in the mind of the employer that you have been involved in learning several things apart from academics or work.
Additional Information
Apart from the standard resume components, you read above, you can also include some additional sections or components according to the job description and your experience.
Technical skills
Have you worked in a technical field?
If yes, then you should focus on this section as well.
Include a separate section of ‘Areas of expertise’ or ‘Technical skills’ on the top of your resume and include all the technical skills you have or tools you have used to date. Try to be as brief as possible.
Soft skills
Recruiters or employers look for strong potential candidates. For this, you need not only be good in work or education but personality as well.
You can include a few soft skills such as communication, leadership, team management, and more.
Volunteering experience
Have you been part of volunteering programs or non-profit organizations?
If yes, then it is your time to shine.
Include this information in a precise and crisp manner in your resume.
You can also include this information in your LinkedIn profile and share it in your resume.
Career highlights
This is usually for senior-level professionals having over 10 years of professional experience.
You can include this in addition to your professional summary.
Make sure that, if you include this section, it draws the recruiter’s attention to your noteworthy and relevant achievements.
By highlighting this information, you will let the potential employer know your value and make them interested to know more about you.
Language skills
Including your language proficiency is not necessary for your resume. However, this changes when you are multilingual.
Make sure that you mention all your language proficiencies in your professional summary and mention them in a separate section at the end of the resume.
Also, ensure that you know the languages you will include.
Including every component in your resume is not essential.
Moreover, the necessity of a component depends on various factors.
Therefore, you should always determine what good will a component do to your candidature.
What is the most important part of a resume?
Your career objective
No, your work experience
Wait; your skills and qualifications
We know that the ever-changing and unending rules of a resume can overwhelm anyone. But, you need not worry. We are here to help.
The most important part of your resume is “SKILLS”.
Yes, you read it right. We will explain why and how:-
- According to many employers, ‘Skills’ is the section that stands out the most.
- Even you do not possess the required work experience; you could have the skills required for the job.
- This indicates that you are a promising candidate and employers have the opportunity to utilize your skills.
- Moreover, the skills need not only be professional. They can be any skills that might prove relevant in one way or another.
- Having at least 6 to 8 top required skills can make a person rank high among the pool of candidates.
- Once the hiring manager or recruiter gets his eyes stuck on this, he is intrigued to know more, resulting in you being shortlisted.
- An extensive skill section will ensure that your resume gets you shortlisted for an interview.
However, skills being the most important does not mean that other parts are not important.
They are equally important but skills can make you stand out.
Now you know what you need to watch out for.
What should not be included in a resume?
Any unnecessary, false, or irrelevant information
Yes, it is as simple as that. We will tell you what comes under that unnecessary, false, or irrelevant information.
A lot of information; make a precise, brief, and crisp resume.
Long texts; remember, you don’t have to write an essay, be to the point.
Errors and mistakes might be a major negative point.
Inaccurate details; can be about anything from your education to professional experience
Your age; Never
Irrelevant or unnecessary personal details
False information; it is a big no-no.
Hobbies and interests details; just mention the word like painting or singing
Negative comments; about anything
Irrelevant details or skills
Photographs of any kind; not even yours
Payment or salary details
References, instead go for “references available upon request”
Unprofessional email like name.king@domain.com; go for name@domain.com or abc.surname@domain.com
Pronouns such as “I”, ”me”, ”her”, ”she”, ”he” or “him”
How to write a good resume?
Well, you have come a long way now.
So, we’ll just directly get to some tips for writing a good resume.
No need to put everything in there, just include comprehensive details of what is required
Make sure that you put the best experiences, details, and achievements on the top or highlight them
Go for a professional summary instead of a career objective
Put the information in chronological order with the recent ones first
Keep the resume short, most likely 1 to 2 pages
Your resume should be simple, attractive, and skimmable
Fresh graduates keep education first and experienced professionals their work experience
Facts and numbers would make a strong impact on the recruiters
Leave out the start and end dates for jobs if you have gaps
Proofread your resume, make sure it has no errors or mistakes
Do not name the file “Resume” but “your name surname resume”
Send a pdf file of your resume and not a document file to prevent messing up
Make constant updates and refreshments as and when necessary
What is the difference between a resume and a CV and cover letter?
Resume
A resume is a formal document that has all the details related to your education, career objective, work experience, skills, and accomplishments.
With the help of a resume, you tell your abilities to the employers to make them consider you as the best fit for a job or role.
Curriculum Vitae (CV) –
A CV is a detailed document having all your career history along with education details, grants, scholarships, special honors, academic projects, and/ or publications.
It can also include coursework, professional network, dissertations, research papers, interests, skills, and more.
Cover Letter
A cover letter is a document that highlights your specific qualifications for the applied job.
This will allow your employer to understand why you are a potential and strong candidate for the position.
In short, a cover letter shows off your specific qualifications for the job
The Bottom Line
Well, you are at the end of this write-up.
You have covered a long way in understanding a resume and reviewing one of the leading (if not the leading) online resume writer service platforms.
All we would say is, with the information you have just gained, either you can choose to have a writer create your resume or make one for yourself.
However, for entry-level candidates, choosing TopResume’s writer can be a beneficial option.
Having a professionally made resume would significantly place them in the eyes of the hiring manager or recruiters.
For those who wish to create their resume on their own, the details of the resume provided will help you in making a worthy one for you.
Therefore, the choice of resume is now all yours.
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We may earn a small commission for my endorsement, recommendation, testimonial, and/or link to any products or services from this website.

Hello! My name is Mansi Shrivastava who happens to have a knack for writing. It has not always been what I admired but developing into a writer was something I appreciate the most now. When not glued to the computer screen, I love to try my hand in arts and crafts. Also, binge-watching with a bowl of snacks has always been my thing.