One Louder

I prefer a chronological resume too.

I agree with you.  I don't mind a highlights section at the beginning of the resume that points out 3-5 major accomplishments, but I think that functional resumes are largely an attempt to hide gaps in employment or other discrepencies.  Good old fashioned chronological resumes are the best way to go.

p.s. Just found this series.  Great job!

Depends on the type of job. Im a creative marketing person and switched to a functional resume and got alot more responses versus a chronological one. It highlights the core functions of a job I am good at and have success at. Of course if someone asks for the chronological one I have it. But I feel those are better for finance, banking and corproate people (no offense to those of you who are corporate)

I agree with Wine-Oh: I drifted towards a more functional resume which landed me this job.

Also, my resume had pictures.  :D

Chronological.  Almost always.  I like to see how the candidate has progressed and chronological makes it much easier to do that.

The only time I would say functional makes sense is if:

1. The position is very technical and requires a very specific set of skills or a specific background, AND/OR

2. The person has a long list of employers, some of which are totally irrelevant to the position being applied for (i.e. the person may have been an airline pilot five years ago, been laid off, gone back to school to learn computer engineering, and is now applying for a position as a software engineer)

Heather's getting into recruiters' heads to help jobseekers. You'll want to look at their answers to her questions. What is the first thing you look at on a candidate's resume? What are common red flags on a resume? What will...

I can speak to it without dwelling on it too much. I can go either way on the resume. Im not stuck on a functional resume by any means.  Nor am I hiding dates of employment. For the job I am at now the functional one allowed me to highlight specific skills and accomplishments that best mateched this kind of job.  I dont have a common job ie a lawyer, or a cpa. My background is a hybrid type marketing/project management/high tech gig. The functional resume was needed for that type of job and they did like it and I was complimented on ti. Of course as I get older, wiser and into a bigger position I would go back to a chronological one.

PS-I also had a chronological version that I had handy during interviews in case it came up.

Chronological.  Hands down.  No contest.

Hmmm.... this has me a bit spooked. I'm trying to switch fields and make use of my marketing and PR experience. I've been working in one industry and am trying to make the leap to another without being pigeonholed by the most industry of my most recent employer.  Also, I haven't had the most direct career path and am hoping to get out of the box I seem to be stuck in due to the industry of my most recent employer.  I've gotten positive feedback from my functional resume and was hoping to ditch my chronological resume. Maybe I'll revisit that....

As a recruiter I hate the functional resume.  It feels like a test to see if I can find what the candidate is trying to hide.  I immediately flip to the bottom of the last page where they usually (I hope) put their brief chronology of employment.  The information I need to screen resumes is job titles, length of employment and education.  Hiding those makes my job harder and that doesn’t endear the candidate to me.

I have a weird issue:  I have a lot of good experience but my resume looks terrible because I have 2 jobs that didn't last very long and I don't know how to explain them without my resume looking worse.  

I worked for a huge company for 3 years and moved up the ladder very quickly, went to San Francisco during the dot-com boom and worked for a compaany with no idea what they were doing.  I left after 6 months and moved back to Minnesota to start my own company which I sold a year later.  I then did some consulting for an investment group for a couple of years before going to work as a VP for a small software company.  I would have stayed there forever except that the investors in the company pulled the plug on the area of the company where I worked and forced the comany to re-focus on its core.  My area was successful and the change came as a complete shock to everyone.  I then got a director level position at a company and found out that I was hired under EXTREMELY false pretenses.  In short, I was hired to do strategic development but was told after three months that the company didn't have the cash to actually enact any of the programs that I was hired to develop.

So, now I have a resume that says, in chronological order...

analyst 3 months

Manager 4 months

Sr. Manager 2+ years

self-employed/CEO 1 year

Consultant/self-employed 2 years

VP 1 year

Director 3 months

Self employed 1 1/2 years

I am not a job jumper but I don't know how to get this across in a resume sent to someone that I have never met.  Chronological obviously doesn't work for me but everyone says my resume should be in that format.

WHAT DO I DO?

Recruiter and sometimes hiring manager of recruiters.

Chronological resume. No exception - not even career change.

I don't want to read a functional resume - it's frankly irrelevant if I don't know the context of what you did, where and when. And for a career change, I want to see progression and growth and contributions over time.

However, I don't mind an extended "professional summary" section that brings out a few key functions that you think are important.

Functional resumes I think are a neat INTERNAL tool for you to prepare your Chronological resume - it makes you think hard about what skills matter to you and what you want to share with a potential hiring company. Then take those details and highlight them in your Chronological resume.

What REALLY bugs me is when I ask candidates about why they choose a Functional Resume - shockingly, the sheer majority of them claim "a recruiter did this for me". Aagghhh! No!!!! Take some personal responsibility for your career. Get advice, but make your own decisions and be able to support them.

I have a weird issue; chronoligical or functional resume?: I have a lot of good experience but my resume looks terrible because I have 2 jobs that didn't last very long and I don't know how to explain them without my resume looking worse.

I worked for a huge company for 3 years and moved up the ladder very quickly, went to San Francisco during the dot-com boom and worked for a compaany with no idea what they were doing. I left after 6 months and moved back to Minnesota to start my own company which I sold a year later. I then did some consulting for an investment group for a couple of years before going to work as a VP for a small software company. I would have stayed there forever except that the investors in the company pulled the plug on the area of the company where I worked and forced the comany to re-focus on its core. My area was successful and the change came as a complete shock to everyone. I then got a director level position at a company and found out that I was hired under EXTREMELY false pretenses. In short, I was hired to do strategic development but was told after three months that the company didn't have the cash to actually enact any of the programs that I was hired to develop.

So, now I have a resume that says, in chronological orderbeginning in 1997...

analyst 3 months... Manager 4 months... Sr. Manager 2+ years... Self-employed/CEO 1 year... Consultant/self-employed 2 years... VP 1 year... Director 3 months... Self employed 1 1/2 years

I am not a job jumper but I don't know how to get this across in a resume sent to someone that I have never met. Chronological obviously doesn't work for me but everyone says my resume should be in that format.

WHAT DO I DO?

Excellent info , I'm glad I stumbled upon this site .... how would you organize a functional resume that showed promotion within the organization?  It seems like a silly question, but the "one-page-only" brownshirts have been beating me up and I'm trying to go ultra-minimal.  

Thanks in advance.

David

I have held several positions which were stepping stones the position I am in now.  By that, I mean, that although the primary focus of those jobs was not my current title, many of the skills I acquired as a result of the daily responsibilites. I have a very diverse employment record because many of my skills are transferable across industries. As a result, my resume is too long and I believe impeding my ability to be noticed by hiring managers.  Who wants to read a detailed 3 1/2 page resume.  Could I use a functional resume to highlight the relevant skills and offer to provide a chronological resume for more detail in my cover letter?

I have been having some difficulty getting a "return" on my resume.  I have been told to switch over to a functional resume but after reading this I really don't know.  My background is diverse (I was a Purchasing Manager for an I.T. dept. at a Mortgage Company, Team Lead for a Mortgage Company and now for the past 6 years I have been working in a capacity of a Business Development Manager.)  I have been involved in many diverse projects and I have just having a difficult time relaying who I am and what I can do for a company....help!?!?  Can anyone give me some direction?