Chronological (Traditional) Resume
The chronological resume is the most commonly used resume style. It is organized by job titles and presents information about your work experience in reverse chronological order. It allows you to describe each work experience while highlighting important responsibilities and skills needed throughout your experiences.

This resume format works well for most candidates. It is especially good for those with established work histories, new graduates with some work experience, and individuals whose work history is directly related to the jobs they seek. It is suited to people with clearly defined career goals and also those who have job objectives aligned with their work history. It is also the most conservative format and as a result works well for candidates applying to more traditional organizations.

Employers tend to prefer the chronological resume because it lists your prior positions, beginning with the most current. Employers also like this resume style because it is fact-based and easy to skim through.
A chronological resume is advantageous when:

• Your recent jobs are impressive;
• You are staying within the same career field or industry;
• Your job history shows progress; and/or
• You are looking in a traditional field (e.g., education, government).

A chronological resume is not advantageous when:

• You are changing career fields;
• You have changed jobs frequently; and/or
• You have large gaps in your job history.
  

Functional (Skills) Resume
The functional resume rearranges your employment history into sections that highlight areas of skills and accomplishments. It emphasizes skills you have acquired rather than when and where you have worked. Specifically, you don’t describe each work experience as you would in a chronological resume. You group everything into skill headings (leadership, research, computer skills) based on what you think the employer is seeking in a candidate. Then you indicate how you used or developed these skills through work, education, or other activities. This format is highly effective if your training and experience do not match the qualifications for the job. It also works well for job seekers with varied work backgrounds or little direct experience for the type of job they want.

Some employers dislike functional resumes, particularly if it is difficult to match up skills with actual job titles, level of responsibility, and dates of experience. You should avoid this by including the organization name in the “bullet” describing each accomplishment. For example:

Program Coordination

• Coordinated the logistics of opening two Hillcrest Residential Treatment Centers, which included the hiring and training of staff.

To take full advantage of the benefits of a functional resume, you must make it easy for employers to visualize your overall chronological work history and link your accomplishments to it. Always include a chronological listing of your work experience in a functional resume.

The functional resume gives some job seekers leeway to demonstrate how their work history, skills, and accomplishments would be beneficial to an employer, even though it might not be obvious in a chronological format. This resume format is suited to job seekers with a variety of unrelated work experiences or wanting to change industries or careers, new graduates, or those entering the workforce. It is also effective if your previous job titles, such as “administrative assistant” or “sales associate,” do not reflect the level of skills you used.

The functional resume is advantageous when:

• You want to emphasize skills that were not used in a recent job;
• You want to focus on skills and accomplishments rather than an employment history;
• You are changing careers or re-entering the job market;
• You want to market skills and experience that you gained through coursework and/or volunteer experience;
• Your career growth in the past has not been continuous;
• You have a variety of unrelated work experiences; and/or
• Your work has been free-lance, consulting, or temporary.
  

The functional resume is not advantageous when:

• You have little work experience or leadership experience;
• You want to emphasize promotions and career growth; and/or
• You are working in highly traditional fields, such as teaching, accounting, and politics, where employers should be highlighted.

Combination
The combination resume combines the best aspects of the chronological and functional formats. This type of resume usually begins with a skills summary and then a description of work experiences in reverse chronological order. The advantage of the combination format, highlighting skills and describing your work experiences, gives the employer an understanding of your duties and responsibilities.

This format works well for any candidate, though length can be a problem if you have an extensive work history.

By CESER, the Center for Employment Education and Research