A resume is a marketing document that should be designed to represent the individual job seeker and his/her special assets that he brings to the prospective employer. Many job seekers agonize over which resume format to use for their resume – a chronological format or a functional format? Will choosing one format over the other make a beneficial impact on the effectiveness of the resume? Yes it can, but not in the way that most job seekers think it will.

The two types of resume format are very different. The chronological format is the traditional format that is organized by time (thus, “chrono”). Chronological format details the job history in reverse time order, starting with the current or more recent position and working backward in time to the least recent position. The chronological format is the most common and the format that most people picture when thinking of a resume.

Benefits of the chronological resume are numerous. First of all, it is the format to which most recruiters and hiring managers are accustomed. They like it because it is clear and gives them a linear picture of the candidate’s career history. The recruiter is able to see when and where a candidate achieved results and can easily comprehend in what context those results were accomplished. A chronological resume places the achievements and results of a candidate under each job where they were performed. By doing so, the recruiter has a frame of reference for those achievements. For example, increasing annual revenues by 20% is a bigger accomplishment when performed for a Fortune 500 company than it is for a small business with fewer than twenty employees. The frame of reference the chronological format provides the reader is a benefit of the format.

A resume in chronological format can also show flexibility and reach in a candidate’s abilities. Many job seekers have held varying positions over their careers, often performing in different functions and roles. A chronological format highlights that flexibility.

The chronological resume is also beneficial in showing good progression of a candidate’s career over the years. A chronological format shows records of promotion and increases in responsibility. Both factors attest to a candidate’s performance record and drive to succeed. Some job seekers worry about employment gaps showing in a chronological resume but most of the time, the fears are unfounded.

Small gaps in employment (a year or less) are common and many job seekers have them. Lay-offs, mergers, acquisitions, and personal issues such as maternity leave or care for elderly parents impact everyone’s lives at some point. Having a time gap is not as deadly as it was in decades past when a “good career history” was defined as working thirty years with one company and retiring with a gold watch. Today, gaps often a reality, and, handled strategically, don’t always show in a chronological resume or are minimized.

The functional format resume (sometimes called a skills resume) is the opposite of a chronological in almost every way. A functional format resume has the content arranged according to performance type (thus, “function”). For example, a human resource professional might divide his skills into categories such as Employee Training, Benefits Management, and Workforce Development. Under each category, the relevant information would be listed or described. A brief work history listing would come at the end of the document that lists job title, employer, and dates. I’ve seen some purely functional resumes don’t have the work history section at all and no dates appear on the resume. Mistake! Mistake!

A job seeker who chooses the functional format generally does so when he is attempting to make a career change or has something in his background he considers a significant hurdle that would inhibit his candidacy. Often, the functional format is used when a large span of time has been lost out of the work history. Career changers tend to choose the functional format because it shows skills rather than work history; their work history may be in a completely different field but they have skills that pertain – and are transferable -- to their target field.

The problems associated with the functional format resume are numerous. First of all, recruiters and hiring managers really dislike the functional format because it makes them hunt for the information they seek. Employers don’t hire potential – they hire known performance. Just as in mutual fund performance, future performance of a new hire is predicated on past performance. Recruiters and hiring managers want to see past performance in a resume so they make a judgment on the future performance potential of a candidate. The functional format resume negates that ability because it is not based on past performance but rather on skills and future abilities.

Recruiters dislike the functional format, too, because it takes away all frames of reference for them to measure what skills and abilities are listed. A candidate might claim high sales abilities and track record in the functional resume, but the recruiter is unable to place that in context in terms of time, employer, situation, or history. Were those impressive accomplishments achieved in the last year, or were they achieved 15 years ago? The reader can’t tell.

Finally, recruiters and hiring managers realize the functional format is used to attempt to cover up detrimental factors in a candidate’s past. The functional format serves as a red flag to the hiring manager in-and-of-itself. He/she automatically thinks “What is this candidate trying to hide?” when he sees the functional format. Therefore, use of the functional format to overcome a detriment in the career history is often futile and actually has the opposite effect of drawing attention.

When faced with the choice of using a chronological or a functional format resume, the job seeker is generally better off using the chronological format. The chronological meets all the needs and wants of the reader as far as providing the necessary information to make a judgment on whether to call the candidate for an interview. The functional rarely accomplishes its objective of tempting the reader to call for the interview. The functional format alarms the reader, does not provide the necessary information about past performance, and takes too long to decipher. The job seeker is wise to stick with the chronological and pay close attention to strategy of construction of the document. Career hurdles can be overcome with a good, strategically written chronological resume and still provide the reader with the information he needs.

-Alesia Benedict, Getinterviews.com

About the Author

Alesia Benedict, Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Job and Career Transition Coach (JCTC) is the Director of Getinterviews.com, a firm that aids senior and C-level executives through their job search. She's been cited by JIST Publications as one of the "best resume writers in North America," quoted as a career expert in The Wall Street Journal, and is published in 20+ career books. Her prior experience as a director for a national executive search firm provides her with the insight needed to develop aggressive and successful resumes and career search strategies. She has long been an inspirational mentor and trainer to other resume writers and career professionals. Alesia's services come with a guarantee -- interviews in 30 days or they'll rewrite for free!