order of jobs on cv?

eclectichoney

Do you have to put your employment experience in reverse chronological order or is it ok to go by relevance?? My best experience for the role would be my second to last job so I want to put it first to make a good impression!

Thanks

herya

Newest first I'd say. If you want to draw their attention to a job below the latest, write a separate cover note or add a short summary above all your jobs.

Ellechim

You need to put them in chronological order with the most recent one first - employers need to be able to see you haven't any gaps on your cv and that is the main reason for it.

You point out/sell your relevant skills and experience in your cover letter and also in your profile............

leeroybrown

I'd tend towards sticking with reverse chronological order for clarity/readability. Also, if you put the older job first the dates could indirectly highlight that you haven't got recent relevant experience.

If the most recent job isn't at all relevant then you could consider having two reverse-chronological lists with 'relevant experience' first followed by 'other experience'. Again, I'd probably stick with the simpler more readable list.

eclectichoney

Thanks guys - that's what I thought! Just trying to make sure I sell myself I guess Really want the job (like everyone!)

thanks again

Maglight

Keep the jobs in date order so that the employer can scan them easily. However, start the CV with a Key skills and achievements section. This is where you can bullet point the experience you want to get across.

A skills based CV is good for people who are looking to change direction or whose work experience isn't a standard match to the profile.

jimmycrackcorm

If you want to change the order then you should use a brief and simple time-line table to show the actual chronological order of jobs - perhaps at the side of the page. This would allow you to highlight the most relevant experience without question of gaps.

There's no rule for C.V. formats other than no verbosity so you can change the format. As someone who goes through a lot of C.V.s what I look for is relevant information and anything that hi-lights and helps this gives an edge.

Manny7

There is a type of CV known as a functional CV - instead of order of jobs you break down your experience into the relevant areas/functions (eg Project Management, Sales etc) and list your experience under these. After that you put in a brief overview of the job order - nothing more than company name, postion and dates - you should cover all the other information that would normally go here in the functions section.