Best Resume Format for Experienced Candidates With Sample

Your days of being a fresher are long gone, and so is your jugaad approach to seeking a career. You’re an experienced professional who deserves a first-class job. The only condition is that your resume must reflect your expertise. 

So to prove you’re the best candidate out there, choose the best resume format for experienced candidates that highlights your professional achievements and skill set.

This guide will show you:

• A sample resume format for experienced job applicants better than 9 out of 10 other samples out there.
• Instructions for making a resume format for experienced candidates quickly and easily.
• How to highlight your accomplishments using a professional resume format for an experienced person.

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Sample Resume Format for an Experienced Person

If you’ve got a few years of professional experience up your sleeve, you may be tempted to think that all the best jobs are within your reach. But I’ve got bad news. According to a Deloitte report on the Indian labour market, over 11 million salaried jobs have been lost since January 2020, and wages in the manufacturing and financial sectors have decreased. It means more professionals, your competition, that is, looking for better-paid jobs.

And that is precisely why you need a great resume format for experienced industry professionals presenting your achievements in the best light possible.

Let’s find out what resume format is the best for you.

What’s the best resume format for experienced workers?

Career experts agree that the best resume format for experienced individuals is the reverse-chronological format. It highlights the candidate’s work history and career achievements while providing space for other important information, such as education and skills. 

The reverse-chronological format is suitable for all professions. It also makes your resume ATS-friendly and easy to adapt to various resume templates.

Got just one year of experience? We’ve got a better guide for you. See here: Best Format for a 1-Year Experience Resume

Now that you know the best resume format for experienced workers, let’s see how to make it from start to finish.

How to make a professional resume format for experienced candidates

Follow these steps to make a resume format for experienced individuals:

1. Start by creating a professional layout

If you’re not too keen on using free resume templates, you must make the layout from scratch.

Begin making the resume format for an experienced candidate by taking the below steps:

• Set the resume margins to 1 inch on all sides and make line spacing 1 or 1.5 wide.
• Choose resume fonts that are easy to read, such as Calibri, Helvetica, or Times New Roman and use different font sizes for headings (13–14 pts) and the contents of your resume (11-12 pts).
• Arrange information in separate resume sections and use white space to indicate the beginning and the end of each section.
• Select a good resume photo or even consider going to a photographer to take a new professional headshot.
• Decide if you want your resume to fit into one column or if you prefer a two-column layout. 

You may also decide to add a touch of colour to your resume. For example, you can use colourful text to highlight your name and resume headings. That can help your resume stand out from other similar job applications. But remember to be subtle—you don’t want your resume to look like a Holi celebration!

Want to brush up on your resume knowledge? Check here: How to Make a Resume: The Ultimate Guide

2. Add a header with contact information

A resume header appears at the top of your resume. It should include the following information:

• Your full name and job title
• Contact information, including phone number, e-mail address, and relevant social media links, such as your optimized LinkedIn profile, a business Facebook page, or an Instagram portfolio
• Date of birth
• Marital status
• Nationality

Be extra careful with your contact details—you don’t want a potential employer to have difficulty reaching you.

Pro Tip: Add some impact to your resume by including a resume headline at the top of the document. A headline is a short sentence written in the third-person narrative that serves as your introduction, for example: “Detail-Oriented UX Designer with Graphic Design Experience.”

When making a resume in our builder, drag & drop bullet points, skills, and auto-fill the boring stuff. Spell check? Check. Start building a professional resume template here for free.

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3. Write a resume summary to introduce yourself

A good resume format for experienced candidates must include a resume profile. Given that you’re an experienced individual, write a resume summary highlighting your relevant qualifications for the position. 

Here’s how to write a resume summary for an experienced worker:

• Start with a strong personality trait.
• Mention your job title.
• Add years of experience.
• Specify how you can help the future employer to achieve their business goals.
• Mention an ambitious achievement from your current or previous job.
• Add relevant information about certifications or other qualifications you have.

Check the example below for inspiration:

Professional resume format for an experienced person: Resume summary example

This candidate provided valuable information about their career in just four sentences—they are enough for a hiring manager to decide they want to invite the candidate to a job interview!

Thinking a CV might be better suited for you? Check here: CV Writing Guide With Examples

4. List your work history with relevant accomplishments

It shouldn’t be surprising that the work experience section is very important in a resume format for experienced professionals. This is the part of a resume where you can highlight your career achievements, show your expertise, and convince potential employers that you’re a good fit for the role.

Here’s how to make the work experience section of your resume:

• Order your jobs from the most recent to the oldest ones—that helps make your most impressive accomplishments pop and show a progression in your career.
• List your job title along with the company name, location, and period of employment.
• Add 3–4 bullets describing your key responsibilities. Use action verbs and quantifiable achievements to prove your worth.
• Mention one key accomplishment for each job.

The example below shows how to do it correctly:

Sample work experience section in a resume format for experienced candidates

The above candidate for sure has an itching left palm right now.

The example includes all crucial elements of a good work history section, such as quantifiable accomplishments, key achievements for each job, and action verbs describing their responsibilities.

Pro Tip: Don’t list all the jobs you’ve had in your life. Limit the selection to only 2–3 most recent or most relevant positions you’ve held up to 10–15 years back.

5. Add your educational background

No matter what’s your level of education, adding information about it is a must. In a resume format for experienced candidates, the education section appears right after the work experience.

Remember to include the following information in the education part of your resume:

• Your highest degree or the highest school level you’ve completed
• School name and location
• Years of study
• CGPA, if it’s above 80%
• Relevant coursework, academic achievements, or extracurricular activities (optional)

In a resume format for experienced professionals, it’s fine to provide just the necessary information about your education. That’s because your career is the main focus of your resume. Additional details on education are more useful for freshers and candidates writing a resume without much work experience.

Check this example education section:

Best resume format for experienced: Education section example

See? Just the essential information is enough if it’s served professionally.

Pro Tip: Lack of higher education doesn’t mean you can’t get good jobs. Many employers care about work experience more than about diplomas. You can also learn the basics of many professions through online courses and even get professional certifications that serve as proof of your qualifications for the job.

6. Make a list of key skills

You might be surprised to learn that skills are among the most important hiring factors. According to the India Skills Report 2021, there is a growing skill gap among the Indian workforce. Employers expect jobseekers to possess not only industry-related skills but also a good level of computer literacy and transferable skills.

Complete the steps below to make a strong skill section for your resume:

• Make a long list of all the industry-related professional skills you have.
• Add soft skills that match your personality and computer skills for a resume that you’ve mastered.
• Compare your list with the job advertisement that caught your eye.
• Keep only 7–10 skills that match the job requirements and add them to your resume.

The example below will help you understand:

Resume format for experienced individuals: Skill section sample

The candidate will easily get a job in India’s Silicon Valley with these skills. 

Certain skills can make you more employable than others. See more: Why Are 21st-Century Skills Important?

7. Select additional resume sections

If you’re ambitious, the resume sections I’ve mentioned might not be enough for you. Luckily, a few extra parts of a resume can also be used to add information to your resume.

Additional sections that match the resume format for experienced professionals include:

• Language skills: they’re especially important if you want to get a job at an international company or abroad.
• Certifications and licenses: list them together with the name of the organisation that releases them and the year you’ve got them.
• Professional associations: they exist for pretty much any industry and profession, so check if you can become a member asap!
• Conferences: attending conferences can help you keep updated with industry trends, and speaking at conferences is a great way to widen your network.
• Publications: essential for academic jobs, but also other professionals. Use the publications section on your resume to show your expertise, e.g., by contributing to online magazines as a subject-matter expert.
• Hobbies and interests: list only the ones related to your job. For example, if you’re a financial analyst, mention writing reviews of online financial services or providing economic advice on YouTube.
• Volunteer work experience: not only shows you care about others but also provides a chance to show off additional skills.

Of course, don’t add all of the above! Be selective, just like the candidate in this example:

Sample resume format for experienced candidates: Additional sections

See? In a resume format for experienced industry professionals, it’s all about quality, not quantity.

Maximise your chances of getting the dream job with a cover letter. Here’s how to write one: Cover Letter Writing from A to Z

A great cover letter that matches your resume will give you an advantage over other candidates. You can write it in our cover letter builder here. Here's what it may look like:

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See more cover letter templates and start writing.

Key takeaways

Here’s a reminder of the key points of this article:

• A professional resume format for experienced individuals puts emphasis on work experience.
• It’s best to follow the reverse-chronological resume format, as it is preferred by recruiters and passes ATS screening easily.
• A resume summary provides a chance to introduce yourself, mention the key qualifications for the job, and highlight career achievements.
• Experienced candidates should list the relevant jobs from the most recent to the oldest and add a few quantifiable accomplishments for each position.

That’s it!

Thank you for reading my article. Now, let me know in the comments below:

• How many years of experience do you have in your profession?
• Do you always use the reverse-chronological resume format or prefer other types?
• What’s your best tip for finding a new job for other experienced candidates?

Feel free to share in the comments, and thanks!

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Our editorial team has reviewed this article in depth to make sure it follows Zety’s editorial guidelines. We’re committed to sharing our expertise and providing actionable career advice that brings real value. Each year, the high quality of our content draws 40 million readers to our site. But that’s not all—we conduct original research to obtain an exhaustive understanding of the labour market and pride ourselves in being cited by top universities and leading media outlets worldwide.