12.4 Types of Resumes

You have three options for organizing a resumé́ based on your situation and what the employer wants:

Reverse-chronological resumé

For each experience section (Education, Employment, and Related), this resumé́ lists your professional activities starting with the present or latest (most recent) at the top and your first (oldest) at the bottom. A key feature is a column with date ranges in months and years beside each educational program, job, and relevant activity you’ve done. This presents the hiring manager with a snapshot of where you’re right now in your professional development, how you got there, and where you came from.

Functional (a.k.a. competency- or skills-based) resumé

Rather than organize the resumé́ around experience sections measured out in months and years, the functional resumé́ makes important skills the subheadings. The bullet points that follow explain in more detail what each skill entails, how it was acquired through training or education, and how it was practiced and applied professionally. The functional resumé́ is ideal if you have gaps or durations in your employment or educational history because it omits or de-emphasizes date ranges.

Combination functional and reverse-chronological resumé

This is the most popular form and the basis for the guide on targeted resumé́ parts given below. It uses the reverse- chronological format for the standard experience sections showcasing the applicant’s educational and employment history but adds a Skills and Qualifications Summary at the beginning to highlight the applicant’s abilities and credentials that match the job posting. See figure 12.2 for an example of a combination resume.

This section is adapted from Resumes and Online Applications in Communication at Work – Simple Book Publishing (2nd Ed.) Copyright © 2025 by Jordan Smith licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.