As a current or aspiring medical sales representative, you may be wondering about the best way to present your skills and experience on your resume. A chronological resume may be the right choice for you.
It’s one of the best options because it saves time for recruiters. Because they get the information related to your most recent job or greatest achievement at the top, it becomes easy to follow your work and study history.
So, if you want to jump into the industry as a medical sales representative, follow these resume writing tips to stand out and impress recruiters.
What is a Chronological Resume?
A chronological resume, also known as a ‘reverse chronological resume,’ is a resume format that highlights your work experience and education in chronological order. This means that your most recent job is listed first, followed by your previous employment in chronological order.
Why Use a Chronological Resume?
According to Capterra, about 75% of employers and hiring professionals use ATS to make the recruitment process easier. ATS is an application that helps track the candidate’s information during the recruitment process.
Chronological resumes are the easiest to scan for the ATS, giving you a better chance of being noticed by recruiters. This gives chronological format an edge in today’s job market and makes it a must for job seekers.
When to Use Chronological Resumes
A chronological format resume is mostly used by people who have a steady work history with no employment gaps. This format is also suitable for entry-level candidates and those who are changing careers.
If you have any employment gap in your resume, a chronological format may not be the best option for you. In that case, you can go for a functional or hybrid resume.
How to Write a Chronological Resume
Continue reading to discover a few steps, tips and tricks to help you write your chronological resume.
Start With a Contact Section
There are many templates available online that you can use to write your chronological resume. Whichever you pick, there’s a good chance that it will follow the following format:
- Your full name (including your surname)
- Telephone number with proper country or area codes
- Professional email address
- Current location
- LinkedIn profile URL (completely optional)
Make sure to follow one of the most crucial resume techniques – proofreading the content to avoid typos or false information.
Add Resume Objective or Executive Summary
Next up is the resume objective or executive summary. This is where you’ll briefly talk about your experiences and goals as a candidate.
If you are a student or have recently graduated, you might not have enough work experience. In such cases, a resume objective can help. In three to five engaging sentences, state your aspirational career goal and highlight your skills in your chronological resume.
You may also want to choose an executive summary if you have work experience. In this case, you should use the summary to highlight your most recent job title, years of experience and notable achievements.
Education and Work Experience
If you have no previous employment you can skip the work experience section in your chronological resume and fill in your education details. The details must fall in chronological order. If you have completed a recently, it should be at the top; next will be your high school degree, and so on.
Here is the format you can follow to fill education data:
- Program Name
- University Name
- Period Attended
- GPA (Optional)
- Honors (Optional)
- Academic Achievements (Optional)
If you’ve worked part-time or full-time jobs, your work experience will be placed above the education section. This section should also include details of a medical sales internship if you’ve completed one. The order remains the same, starting from the most recent employer to the former.
Here is the format you can follow to fill out work experience in your chronological resume:
- Job Title and Position
- Company Name
- Company Location
- Date of Joining and Leaving
- Your Achievements and Responsibilities (in bullet list format)
Add Your Soft and Hard Skills
It’s up to you which skills you want to represent on top and which ones later in the list. But always divide it into two sections: hard skills and soft skills.
Hard skills include any measurable abilities like programming languages, tools and machines you’ve learned to use. Soft skills are your natural abilities like problem-solving, sales and customer relationship skills that help you work with people. Focus on including all the skills related to the job role you’re applying for.
Optional Sections
A chronological resume can also include other sections. Here are a few to choose from:
- Professional Certifications: If you have any professional certifications related to the job role or industry, add them to this section.
- Languages: When it comes to customer relations and public dealing, language skills are always appreciated and considered a valuable asset. So, if you know any other language apart from your mother tongue, don’t forget to add it to your chronological resume.
- Hobbies and Interests: You can also add some hobbies and interests that make you an ideal candidate for the job role you’re applying to. However, make sure they don’t look irrelevant and forced.
- References: You can also include relevant references in your resume from previous employers, professors, or colleagues.
Proofread Your Chronological Resume
Last but not least, don’t forget to proofread your resume several times before sending it across to your potential employer. Check for any spelling or grammatical errors and rectify them. Remove any unwanted or irrelevant information from your resume, as it might negatively impact the employer.
Also, don’t forget to print out your resume and check for any formatting issues. Once you’re done with all these steps, your resume is ready to be sent.
Chronological Resume Template
Contact Information:
John Doe
234 First Street, Los Angeles, CA 90001
xxxxx
example@example.com
Objective Statement:
To secure XYZ position in a reputed organization where I can utilize my skills and knowledge in the field of XYZ and contribute to the company’s growth.
Work Experience:
Jr. Medical Sales Representative
XYZ Life Sciences, New York
11 July 2020 to 12 August 2021
- Assisted a sales staff of ten individuals.
- Recruited and trained new sales staff
- Prepared a strategy for keeping clients and managed to retain 98% of our existing clients and bring in 40% new ones.
Education:
Bachelor of Science
University of Texas
2019 to 2022
4 GPA
Honors in Business Management
Academic Achievements – Won the ‘Student of the Year’ award in 2020
10+2
Texas High School
2018 to 2019
3.2 GPA
Highest GPA in Texas
Academic Achievements – Won national scholarship
Skills:
Hard Skills
- MS Office
- SAP
- Task Management Tools, etc.
Soft Skills
- Sales and customer relationship skills,
- Problem-solving,
- Negotiation, etc.
Optional Sections for your chronological resume:
Certificates
Industry Certificate in Medical Sales Representative (MSR), etc.
Languages
- English (Native)
- Spanish (Amateur)
- French (Beginner)
Hobbies
- Meeting people
- reading self-help books
- watching motivational videos
References
Dr. William Stuart
Sales Manager
XYZ Life Sciences, New York – 1001
xxxxx
example@example.com
Conclusion
Writing a chronological resume is not difficult if you follow the tips and format mentioned above. Just ensure it includes all the relevant information and skills related to the job role you’re applying for. So, without any further delay, start working on your resume so you can stand out from to crowd and impress potential employers.
