It used to be fairly commonplace for an employee to be hired at a company and work there for most of his professional life. These days it can be much more difficult to stay with the same business for more than a few years. If you have worked at the same company for 20 years and find your employment suddenly terminated, entering the job market again may seem intimidating. However, when creating a resume, your previous company loyalty and years of experience can work in your favor.

List your work experience first. Your education information is likely to be fairly old and possibly irrelevant. Besides, you have at least two decades of work experience to pull from, which can give you an advantage over less-experienced candidates.

Divide your work history by position. Because you worked for so many years at your previous employer, the odds that you had been given a title change or promotion are fairly good. You will want to list each position you held at the company individually, treating each as a separate entry. Be sure to include the dates during which you held each position.

List the duties you performed under each position you held. Be sure to use actionable language. For example, avoid saying, "I was in charge of proofreading all memos." Instead, write, "Oversaw the accuracy of all internal communications." You will also want to highlight any additional skills or duties you acquired with each position change. For example, if you were promoted to a managerial position, highlight that you acquired leadership skills.

List your education. Do not include the dates you received your degrees as they are irrelevant. If you have acquired any additional certifications through your previous employer, be sure to list these. In this case, dates may be relevant, so you will want to list them.

Create a section after your education history. This section can be used for one of two things. If you have been given any awards or honors that are relevant to the job you are applying for, then you will want to create a section called "Awards and Honors." In this section, you will want to list the name of the award you received and the date you received it. If you have no relevant awards or honors to speak of, then create a section titled "Skills." In this section, list all transferable skills you have acquired including software proficiency and typing speed.