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Rarely does the location of your employer matter more than what you accomplished while there.

However, in some cases location does matter. This would generally apply to someone who has international experience and is continuing to seek a position internationally.

Rather than hope the hiring manager notices the location of your employers, it’s best to bring this information out quickly and effectively.

One way to do that is to mention it in the Qualifications Summary or Profile paragraph that begins your resume.

Because hiring managers are bombarded with dozens, perhaps even hundreds, of resumes on a daily basis, the key in writing an effective resume is to make the data as easily accessible and readable as possible.

In presenting dates you must:

1. Make certain that years of employment are in reverse chronological order. That is, the most recent job should be presented first, followed by the next most recent, and so on.
2. Indicate exact dates of employment for each position if you have had more than one at the same company.
3. Format your resume so that dates are easily located, rather than hidden within other data.
4. Avoid using months, except on resumes for federal government jobs that require such data, or on resumes going to graduate schools as part of the application process.

Presenting data in reverse-chronological order:

If you worked for ABC Company from 1999 to the present, and at XYZ Company from 1989 to 1999, your data would be written in this manner:
ABC COMPANY, City, State

1999 – Present

XYZ COMPANY, City, State

1989 – 1999

When you have had more than one position with a company:

Let’s say you worked at ABC Company from 1989 to the present and held three positions of increasing responsibility. The best way to present that would be:
ABC COMPANY, City, State
Controller (1999-Present)
Chief Accountant (1994-1999)
Accountant (1989-1994)

1989 – Present

The above provides specific information about your dates of employment for each position, with total employment for that company provided in the first line.

Formatting dates:

Because a hiring manager will most often scan, rather than read, a resume, it’s best to provide dates of employment immediately after the company’s name and location, preferably with those dates flush right. This separation avoids the dates getting lost in the other data, yet still showcases them for potential employers.

Using years of employment, rather than months & years

By excluding months, you can improve the readability of the data, while also downplaying brief periods of employment. For example, indicating that you worked during the year 2000 is certainly more positive than indicating that you only worked January - February 2000.

How your name is displayed on your resume not only personalizes the document, but also sets a conservative or stylish tone for the rest of the resume. It's important that the choices you make here will appeal to hiring managers in your chosen industry.

Regardless of your industry or targeted position, your name should always appear at the very top of the resume, in large enough type to distinguish it from the rest of the document.

Remember that your name should be in a font that is representative of your industry (conservative or nontraditional), and one that can be easily read by a busy hiring manager.