The short answer
A chronological resume lists your jobs newest first, with dates and achievements under each one. A functional resume groups your experience by skill and plays down where and when you did it. Recruiters and ATS software strongly prefer the chronological one. If your history is unusual, use a combination: a short skills section on top, then a normal dated work history.
Updated September 30, 2026
How each one is built
- Chronological: each job has a title, employer, dates and bullets. The reader sees what you did, where and when, and how you progressed.
- Functional: headings such as "Project Management" or "Customer Service" with bullets under each, and a bare list of employers at the bottom, often without dates.
Why recruiters distrust the functional format
A functional resume removes the context a recruiter needs. "Managed a team of 8" means something different at a job you held last year than at one you held in 2012, and the format doesn't say which.
Because it's mostly used to hide gaps, short jobs or a lack of recent experience, many recruiters assume that's what it's doing, even when it isn't.
How an ATS handles each
Applicant tracking systems expect jobs with a title, employer and dates, and attach the text underneath to that job. In a functional resume, the achievements aren't attached to any job, so they can be filed incorrectly or dropped, and your years of experience in a skill can't be worked out.
What to do instead
- Career change: a combination resume. Start with a "Relevant skills" section of four to six lines, then list your jobs with bullets chosen for what transfers.
- Employment gap: keep the chronological format and label the gap in one line.
- Many short jobs: group them ("Freelance designer, various clients · 2021 – 2024") instead of hiding the dates.
- Returning after a long break: open with a summary and recent courses, projects or volunteering, then the dated history.
TRAINING SKILLS • Designed and delivered training sessions Work history: Riverside School, Oakwood College
RELEVANT SKILLS Training design · Workshop facilitation · E-learning tools Teacher · Riverside School · 09/2019 – 07/2025 • Designed 40+ online lessons used by 600 students
When a functional resume can still work
Occasionally: for a one-page skills profile a recruiter or agency has asked for, or for a portfolio-based field where your work samples matter more than your job history. Even then, include your employers and dates somewhere on the page.
Checklist
- Every job shows a title, employer and dates
- Achievements sit under the job where they happened
- A short skills section leads the page if you're changing careers
- Gaps are labelled, not hidden by the format
- Headings are standard so an ATS recognises them