What is a Chronological Resume (with Tips and Examples)

Tick tock, tick tock – time is of the essence on your resume

Want to present your career in a compelling, logical, and high impact resume when you apply for that dream job? Of course you do! The chronological format is probably your best bet to do that - but what exactly is it and how does it work? In this article, we have some top tips for a chronological resume so that you’re putting your best foot forward when it’s your time to shine.  

What is a chronological resume?

First of all, let’s define what a chronological resume actually is. The Merriam-Webster definition of “chronological” is “arranged in, or according to, the order of time.” In resume terms, that means that your career is presented in date order, most recent first. 

You may also hear the term “reverse chronological resume,” which is in fact a more accurate description. Rather than listing jobs and qualifications in order from first to last, resumes should actually list them in reverse order, from last to first. That way, when a recruiter or hiring manager picks up your resume, your most recent, relevant, and high-level experience is the first thing they’ll see. 

That’s important, because if the first thing they see is your weekend job from 20 years ago they won’t be able to visualize you filling their vacancy as a top executive. Resumes are all about making a great first impression – using a chronological-style resume is one of the ways to achieve that. 

The three main features of a chronological resume are: 

1. Career presented in reverse-chronological order

2. Qualifications and professional development presented in reverse-chronological order

3. Focus on experience rather than skills 

When to use a chronological resume

While not everyone will need a chronological resume, it is the most popular format for several reasons:

• It is the format expected and preferred by recruiters and hiring managers – you’re already a step ahead if they can find the information they’re looking for quickly as they scan through your resume

• It allows applicants to clearly demonstrate their career path and how they got to where they are today

• It ensures that the most important information is positioned at the top of the resume, to make an impact from the get-go

• It is usually read accurately by an ATS

The best use of a chronological resume is for professionals who plan to continue along their established career path. This format allows them to showcase their career progression and provide detail on their roles, whilst also emphasizing their industry experience and career-related achievements. 

Drawbacks of a chronological resume

While the chronological resume is the right choice for most people in most instances, it can have some drawbacks:

• They’re pretty clear on employment dates, so it can be hard to gloss over unemployment and anything else you may not want to promote on your application

• Career changers and return-to-workers may not be able to promote their relevant skills strongly on a chronological resume, as the format focuses on recent experience

If you fall into one of these categories, though, you do have options to explore. 

Alternative resume choices

As we discussed above, there are some situations where this format isn’t ideal. While it’s often assumed that resumes should be in chronological order, there’s no rule that says they must be. There’s no one-size-fits-all with resumes, so one of these formats may suit you better:

Functional (or skills based) resume

A functional resume focuses on skills over experience. If your recent experience doesn’t bear much resemblance to your future aspirations, you may choose to focus on your transferable skills instead. 

This format is based on a much longer skills section below the profile, with examples and achievements for each skill listed. The professional experience section is then summarized, with minimal detail. 

While recruiters can be wary of this format, as it can look like you have something to hide, it does allow an applicant to give a very strong overview of how they may fit into a role that they’re not an obvious candidate for. 

This format is great for career changers, job hoppers, and those looking to return from a long career break.

Combination (or hybrid) resume 

As the name suggests, the combination resume combines the best of both the chronological and functional formats. With both a detailed skills section and an in-depth career history, this type of resume can get excessively long. 

The combination format can be used by candidates with a consistent career history looking to pivot and others wanting to highlight specialist and transferable skills. It’s ideal if you’ve worked in lots of different roles or industries as it allows you to highlight the diverse skills and experiences you’ve gained. 

Structure of a chronological resume

Now that you know your options, we’ll focus on the chronological resume since it’s easily the most popular choice. So what are the elements of a chronological resume? In fact, the sections you need are pretty common across all formats, it’s just the weighting given to each section that changes. For a chronological resume, your longest section will be your professional experience.

You’ll need to include: 

• A header containing your name and either a job title or headline

• Contact Details

• Profile (also known as a Summary)

• Key Skills

• Professional Experience 

• Qualifications and Professional Development 

• And any optional sections you choose to add

Order of sections on a chronological resume 

Usually, the order of sections will be exactly as defined above… but there’s flexibility. For example, a recent graduate may find that their academic qualifications are their main selling point. In that case, professional experience can be moved below the qualifications to ensure the prime real estate on the page is dedicated to the most persuasive content. 

Similarly, an IT professional may wish to add an additional skills section below the qualifications, detailing the tools, applications and hardware they can use, in addition to their professional skills section. 

If you find that the section order above doesn’t promote your candidature to its best advantage in the top half of the first page, then feel free to play around with the organization until it does. 

How to create a chronological resume 

Let’s take a more detailed look at some tips for a chronological resume. How exactly do you write a resume in chronological order?

Header and contact details 

The first section on a chronological resume should always be the header and contact details. Start with your name, followed by either your current or target job title. Alternatively, you can create a snappy headline to capture some additional keywords. For example: 

• John Doe - Regional Sales Manager

• John Doe - Target role: DevOps Engineer

• John Doe - Successful Business Development Manager specializing in FinTech

Follow this header with your contact details - location, cell phone number, email address and LinkedIn URL is sufficient here. 

Profile or Summary section 

Next, you’ll need to create a compelling summary. This is a tricky section to get right, so you may want to write it after you’ve finalized the rest of your resume and honed in on your message. It needs to include, within just 5 to 6 lines, what you do, your areas of specialization, your unique selling point, how you can contribute to the business, and your top skills for the role. It’s a tall order, but perfectly feasible with a laser-focused approach. For example: 

An insightful finance professional, with expertise in corporate restructuring, risk mitigation, and wealth management within the commercial banking sector. Confident in client-facing roles, successfully managing client relationships and steering difficult conversations to achieve strategic goals. Engages both internal and external stakeholders and implements robust strategies to restructure and recover debt. Recognized as a strong leader who is committed to supporting others with their personal and professional development. 

Skills

In a chronological resume, the skills section is just a short, snappy summary of the most important skills needed to succeed in your target role. No need for long sentences or examples here, simply a short list of 8-12 keywords. For example: 

Policy Development   |   Stakeholder Engagement   |   Government Relations   |   Lobbying   |   Mediation   |   Negotiation   |   Influencing   |  Contingency Planning   |   Media Communications   |   De-Escalation   

Professional experience

Now we get to the most important part of your chronological resume. This section forms the bulk of the document, so a clear and consistent layout is key to making this accessible. 

Give every job its own sub-heading, comprising job title, employer name, location and dates of employment. Below each sub-heading, you’ll need to summarize the remit of the role and add 3-6 bullet points detailing your achievements and your impact on the business.  

Do this first for your current (or most recent) job. Then duplicate the format for the job before that, and the job before that, and so on. For example: 

Sales Manager

ABC Retail, Texas

2022 - 2024

Brief 3-4 line description of the remit and responsibilities of the role 

• Quantifiable achievement #1

• Quantifiable achievement #2

• Quantifiable achievement #3

Sales Supervisor

XYZ Retail, Texas

2020 - 2022

Brief 3-4 line description of the remit and responsibilities of the role 

• Quantifiable achievement #1

• Quantifiable achievement #2

• Quantifiable achievement #3

Sales Assistant

123 Retail, Ohio

2018 - 2020

Brief 3-4 line description of the remit and responsibilities of the role 

• Quantifiable achievement #1

• Quantifiable achievement #2

• Quantifiable achievement #3

As you can see from this example, the most recent role is first, progressing back in time as the reader goes down the page. This is the key feature of a chronological (or reverse chronological) resume. 

Educational Qualifications

As with the career history above, this section also needs to be presented in reverse chronological order. Give the level of your qualification, subject, the name of the awarding institution and date of completion. For example: 

Master’s degree: Marketing Communications, ABC University, 2023

Bachelor’s degree: Applied English, XYZ University, 2021

You can choose to incorporate courses, certificates, and additional training into your academic qualifications or set them apart in their own Professional Development section. Your choice will depend on how strong each section is on its own – the key tip here is to retain the reverse chronological order we’ve discussed. 

Optional sections

Everyone will need to include the sections above on their resume, but there are also optional sections that you can add if they will strengthen your application. There are no hard and fast rules here, so there’s a great deal of flexibility in what you may choose to add. 

Consider sections for language skills, IT proficiency, personal projects, volunteering, hobbies and interests, or security clearances. Again, try to keep to chronological order wherever possible – particularly for voluntary roles and projects. 

Chronological resume template

You should have a pretty good idea of what is required by now, but a template is always handy. Here’s a chronological resume template that you can copy for your own document. We recommend saving your resume as a Word or PDF file when you’ve filled in the template. 

Chronological resume examples

With the chronological resume format being so flexible, it can adapt as your career progresses. Here, we have some completed examples of resumes, with tips for a chronological resume that’s adapted to your needs. 

Chronological resume example for a student 

First up, we have a chronological resume example for students, freshers and graduates. With minimal opportunities to acquire paid experience in a field relevant to their studies, entry-level applicants often need to focus on academic qualifications. Therefore, we’ve moved the Education section above the professional experience and fleshed it out with keywords and additional information. Critically though, the section retains the completion dates in reverse chronological order. 

Tips for a chronological resume for freshers: 

• Move the Education and Qualifications section higher up the resume 

• Keep the professional experience focused on transferable skills and achievements 

• Add study modules to get some extra keywords into the document

Chronological resume example for a mid-career professional

The chronological resume was made for mid-career professionals. Stick to the template format outlined above and prioritize career details. 

Tips for a chronological resume for mid-career professionals: 

• Minimize detail in the Education and Key Skills sections

• Ensure your current job is outlined in the top half of the first page

• Add less detail the further back in time you go

Chronological resume example for a senior executive 

As you’ll have significant experience behind you at this stage, you’ll need to take steps to ensure that your resume doesn’t get too long and wordy. 

Tips for a chronological resume for senior executives:

• Summarize your early career and only add detail for the last 10-15 years 

• Only include degree-level qualifications 

• Show your impact with strong, quantifiable achievements for every role detailed

Final thoughts

Though it can sometimes be a challenge to pick the right format for your resume needs, most job candidates can’t go wrong with a well-crafted chronological resume. If you follow the tips for a chronological resume we’ve included in this guide, you should be able to create a convincing resume narrative that helps you earn more interviews.

Have you developed a strong chronological resume that will catch the recruiter’s eye and result in an interview? Why not submit it for a free resume review to find out? Take this opportunity to iron out hitches before you apply for that dream role!

Recommended reading: 

• How to List Your MBA on Your Resume in 2024 (+Examples)

• 50 Resume Dos and Don’ts You Need to Know in 2024

• Utilizing the STAR Method in Resume Writing