Still, you must remember that you’ll need to fine-tune your resume for each position you seek. As a result, a resume should be considered a work in progress, since it is constantly being updated and reworked. The minute you believe you’re finished with your resume, think again, since there is a great amount of tinkering you can do. The Unconventional Approach

If you find the traditional chronological, functional, and combination formats to be seriously lacking, you might consider a skills-based resume. This type of resume is especially appropriate for job seekers who have just graduated from college and do not have a great deal of experience to list.

With the skills resume, you’ll be emphasizing the skills you’ve attained through various means, such as paid positions, volunteer activities, extra-curricular projects, even classroom work. This type of resume informs an employer up front of your abilities, showing them off to your best advantage. If you choose to submit this type of resume, a prospective employer might be impressed by the number of skills you’ve obtained—even though you are a relative newcomer to the job market.

However, it should be noted that not every employer will accept a skills-based resume. It can be confusing—especially to an employer who is accustomed to judging a job applicant by work history. Such a resume may also present a “red flag” to an employer indicating that you lack serious work experience. Engage in Some Experimentation

If you have explored the various resume formats and you’re still uncertain of which one would be best for your purposes, consider engaging in some experimentation. Compose a resume in each of the major formats and compare and contrast them. If you engage in such an exercise, it is highly likely that the most appropriate format will nearly “leap” off the page—it will be that obvious to you, as well as to prospective employers. It may also be advisable for you to ask a friend who works in the same field to proofread your various versions so that you can obtain a second opinion. In a number of cases, a second pair of eyes can catch problems that the initial resume-writer missed. A Word of Caution

While selecting an appropriate format for your resume is certainly important, it is not the only thing to consider when drafting your resume. You also have to be concerned with such stylistic decisions as type font, spacing, and italicization. For the most part, simpler is best, since you want to design a resume that is easily readable and will not cause an employer a great deal of eyestrain.

In the end, the greater consideration you give to the needs of an employer when drafting your resume, the more likely it is that you will construct a document that will serve your needs.

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