Whether your work history runs in a straight line or zigzags between fields, employers still rely on your resume to see what you did, where you did it and when. The key to picking a type, then, is to decide which part of your story should be read first and build the page around it.

The raw material never changes. Every type below works from the same jobs, dates, skills and education; what shifts is the order and the emphasis, and that shapes what a hiring manager sees before deciding whether to read on.

Chronological resume

A chronological resume lists your jobs from the most recent backward, with education and skills below them. Recruiters know it well and can follow your career path at a glance, which is why it suits anyone with steady work in one field.

The trade-off is that every gap and every short job is on show. That alone is no reason to switch. A one-line note that explains a gap usually does more good than a new layout, and our Work Experience Section guide shows how to write one. Our Chronological Resume guide and template walk through the format entry by entry.

Functional resume

A functional resume groups what you can do under skill headings, such as Customer Service or Budgeting, and shrinks your job history to a short list near the bottom. It can help if you are returning after years away, moving into a new field or drawing mostly on unpaid work.

Its weakness is well known. A page with no dates can look as though it is hiding something. Keep yours honest by listing every employer with your job title and years, tying each skill group to the place where you used it and backing each group with two or three bullets. The Functional Resume template shows how.

Combination resume

A combination resume, sometimes called a hybrid, opens with a short skills section and then gives your full work history in order. It suits career changers with solid experience, people whose best skills came from several different jobs, and senior applicants who want their main strengths seen first.

Because the dates are all there, it avoids the suspicion a functional resume can attract. It does take more room. Keep the skills section to a few lines and let the job entries below it carry the detail, since that is where a recruiter checks whether the skills are real. The Combination Resume template on this site follows the layout below.

Combination resume layout

Header

Summary: two lines naming the job you want

Key skills: three themed groups, each with one or two proof bullets

Experience: every job, most recent first, with dates

Education and certifications

Targeted resume

A targeted resume is any of the types above rewritten for one posting. In other words, it is a habit you apply to whichever type you choose. You tweak the summary, reorder the bullets and swap in the skills the employer names, while your jobs, dates and facts stay exactly as they were.

It takes longer for each application. That is why it pays to keep a master resume holding every bullet you have ever written, then copy and trim it for each job.

Example: one summary, targeted two ways

For a warehouse lead role: Shift lead with five years in high-volume distribution, certified on forklifts and inventory scanners, known for safe, on-time order picking.

For a dispatcher role: Shift lead with five years in distribution who plans driver routes, answers carrier calls and keeps delivery records accurate under time pressure.

Other formats you may be asked for

A few situations call for something outside the main three, and most of them have their own page on this site with an example you can copy.

  • Plain-text resume: a version with no formatting at all, for pasting into online forms and emails. The Electronic and ATS-Friendly Resumes guide shows how to make one.
  • Academic CV: the long record of research, teaching and publications used for university and research jobs. See Resume vs CV and the Academic CV template.
  • Mini resume: a half-page summary for job fairs and networking events, with your top achievements and contact details.
  • Government resume: public-sector postings often spell out exactly what the resume must show, so follow them line by line. The Government Resume template is a starting point.
  • Visual resume: a designed page for creative fields, best sent alongside a plain version and a link to your portfolio.

Which type fits you?

Let your situation decide. If two seem to fit, choose the chronological one, since it is the easiest for a stranger to check.

  • Steady work in one field with no long gaps: chronological
  • Moving into a new field with plenty of experience that carries over: combination
  • Returning after a long break, or relying mostly on volunteer or freelance work: functional, kept honest with employers and dates
  • Applying for a university teaching, research or fellowship post: academic CV
  • Applying for a public-sector job: whatever format and details the posting asks for