Functional vs. Chronological

One day, while reviewing resumes, I came across a couple of resumes written in the functional resume style.  The candidate seemed to have excellent experience, and generally qualified for the position, but I just couldn’t make out the details.  I put it aside and went on to the next resume.

I’ve heard lots of arguments both pro and con regarding functional resume styles, but the fact is that if a Recruiter has 10-30 seconds to get a general idea of the candidate’s experience and skills and whether they match the job opening you have available, the functional style won’t answer those questions, and can appear very confusing.  After reviewing functional resumes, I usually draw the conclusion that the candidate is trying to sell their skills as a match for the position, although they don’t have the experience. 

To illustrate my point, I have simulated a functional and chronological version of one (fictitious) candidate’s resume:

FUNCTIONAL version

Writing experience:

Writing, editing, and proofing a variety of articles including Financial Outlook, Human Interest, Arts and Entertainment, Weather and Political Commentary.  Prepare age-specific, literacy level and culturally appropriate materials.  Provided documentation support for Accounting and Manufacturing departments. Writing and editing consumer product manuals for financial information and manufacturing production.  Assist in the development of material for the organization’s Web site.  Edited and produced the Government Space Program manual, a procedural manual used to train astronauts and help the organization win grant proposal support.  Communicate with field personnel by email, text and phone. 

Work History:

Writer/Product Specialist - Feedforall Industries, Des Moines, IA      2009-2009
Technical Editor/PC, NASA – Houston, TX                                                2010-2010
Writer/Editor, The New York Times – New York, NY                               2011-2011

 

CHRONOLOGICAL version

Feedforall Industries – Des Moines, IA                    January 2011 to December 2011

Writer/Product Specialist
•             Provided documentation support for Accounting and Manufacturing departments.
•             Writing and editing consumer product manuals for financial information and manufacturing production.
•             Computer programs used in this position are Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel

NASA – Houston, TX                                                  January 2010 to December 2010

Technical Editor/PC
•             Editing and designing government bid proposals for the Proposal Development Department.
•             Edited and produced the Government Space Program manual, a procedural manual used to train astronauts and help the organization win grant proposal support.
•             Communicate with field personnel by email, text and phone.
•             Prepare age-specific, literacy level and culturally appropriate materials.
•             Computer programs used in this position were Microsoft outlook, Microsoft PowerPoint, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel

The New York Times – New York, NY                      January 2009 to December 2009

Writer/Editor
•             Writing, editing, and proofing a variety of articles including Financial Outlook, Human Interest, Arts and Entertainment, Weather and Political Commentary
•             Created end user documentation for clients using article layout standards
•             Assist in the development of material for the organization’s Web site.
•             Computer programs used in this position were Internet Explorer, Microsoft PowerPoint, Lotus Notes, and Word Perfect


From looking at these examples, I prefer chronological, unless you can summarize your experience that you feel makes you qualified for the job opening in the first two sentences.  Two sentences of qualifying experience would definitely, as a Recruiter, pique my interest and encourage me to read further!