Professional Experience

Reverse chronological order

The structure of the experience section should follow a logic of temporal relevance.

The most accepted and effective format is reverse chronological, where you cite the current or most recent position first and move down into the past.

The reason is pragmatic: recruiters are interested in the most current and capable version of the candidate, not the candidate's early days as an intern a decade ago.

This format allows the reader's attention to immediately focus on the higher-level, more complex responsibilities that have been recently managed.

If a sales manager begins his resume by detailing his summer internships from 15 years ago, he risks losing the recruiter's interest before he gets to his current managerial accomplishments.

In addition, this order facilitates the detection of career progression and job continuity, key elements in the rapid assessment performed by human and automated filters.

Job description

When detailing experience, it is vital to go beyond simply listing obvious tasks.

Instead of saying "Sales Manager," active language describing action and responsibility should be used.

The use of action verbs at the beginning of each point (such as "I coordinated," "I developed," "I supervised") gives the text dynamism and force.

Imagine a nurse describing her job; instead of "Patient care," she might write, "Comprehensive management of intensive care unit patient care, administering critical medication and coordinating with the multidisciplinary medical team."

This description provides nuance about the complexity and work environment.

It is important to avoid monotonous repetition of the same functions in different positions; if similar roles have been filled, different or evolving aspects in each should be highlighted so as not to bore the reader and to show competency growth.

Focus on results

The difference between an average resume and an excellent one lies in the focus on results. It is not enough to say what was done (the task), but what was achieved (the accomplishment).

Whenever possible, quantitative data, figures or percentages should be incorporated to validate the effectiveness of the performance. For example, a warehouse manager might write "Inventory Manager."

However, a results-oriented wording would be: "I restructured the inventory system achieving a 20% reduction in loading times and a 15% reduction in annual stock losses.

This approach transforms an administrative function into a tangible business achievement.

By quantifying the impact, the candidate ceases to be an order taker and becomes a value generator, something that is extremely persuasive to both search algorithms and managers making the final hiring decision.

Summary

The organization of experience should follow a reverse chronological order, highlighting the current role first. This allows the recruiter to focus on the most capable and recent version of the professional.

When describing roles, go beyond a simple list of tasks by using action verbs. This technique adds dynamism and avoids monotonous repetition, showing the real complexity of the job.

The most important thing is to orient the description towards the results obtained, quantifying the achievements whenever possible. Tangible data transforms the candidate from a mere performer to a value generator.