There are three well-known types of resume: chronological (or historical), functional and combination. Interestingly, but only one of them is widely used and preferred by both employers and job seekers.
This type is chronological. The chronological format presents your work history backward from the current job, or the latest one, if not employed now, listing job titles, organizations, dates of employment and responsibilities. If you have a stable work history and consistent career growth, the chronological resume is the best choice to demonstrate this.
A functional resume is focused mostly on skills and responsibilities of the applicant. They often think that the functional resume is supposed to be used by those who would like to hide gaps or inconsistencies in their work history. It is regrettable that the functional resume lost its popularity because of this belief. As a matter of fact, the functional resume might convey career’s highlights and achieved skills. This is exactly what the employer looks for – specific accomplishments and identifiable skills. At the same time, it will not look boring and repetitive, if you have a long career and most your jobs entailed similar duties. But we have to mention that the list of organizations you worked for is not the last thing that the employer is interested in. So in order not to rule yourself out, at the end of your resume, put the companies you worked for in a backward chronological order. While listing the companies do not dwell on your responsibilities, as you already mentioned the main functional areas where you acquired necessary skills. Just list the titles first and then companies’ names along with the dates you were employed in those positions.
A combination resume is a combination of a chronological and a functional resume. It usually starts with a functional format which implies summary and job-specific skills and then gets over into a chronological format that lists previous employers along with a brief scope of responsibilities. For those having a long career, the combination resume might be the best choice as it allows encompassing all relevant experience, achievements and skills and helps keep the content of your resume in two-page-limits.
As we mentioned in the beginning, the chronological resume is the most used resume format. Another reason for that might be a prejudice that exists against the other types of resume. Combination or functional resumes can really help de-emphasize some gaps or inconsistency in your work history. But it is not always the case.
When deciding on a resume format there is another crucial thing to consider – a resume size. Particularly, the resume size can sometimes determine a resume format choice. It might sound ridiculous, but irrespective of the work history, whether it is long or just started, the commonly recommended resume size is – no more than two pages. There is a certain rationale behind this and we have to put up with it. If a resume is less than one page, the employer might assume an insufficient work experience of the applicant. As for a too long resume, it is plain to see – nobody will read it till the end. What can really help to deal with this dilemma is an appropriate resume format.
Whatever resume format you choose, make sure you are able to defend your choice and make your resume free from any misinterpretations.