What Do Employers Respond Best To Chronological or Skill Based Resumes?
This is a question that frequently comes up in the resume talks I give, and is also one of the first questions prospective clients ask when purchasing a resume. The best bet is to use a combination-style resume; basically, this is a chronological resume with a strong skills section to highlight critical areas of value or selected accomplishments. The ‘skills’ resume you are referring to is actually called a functional resume, and is used primarily by people changing careers who want to emphasize transferable skills over their work history.
What it comes down to is that there are several different resume formats, and which one you use depends on your particular situation. There is no one ‘right’ resume for everyone.
Many job seekers have been told that employers only want chronological resumes. On the surface this is true, because if asked most employers and recruiters say they prefer chronological resumes. However, in the open job market employers respond extremely well to good, skill based resumes. Several years ago, I worked with Sharla, a gifted reading instructor. She was completing her master’s degree while working as a teacher full-time and doing part-time sales. Sharla wanted a full-time sales position with a much higher pay rate. We talked and I suggested she use a skill based resume because she had held more than 15 part-time sales positions within the last 10 years. A chronological resume just wouldn’t work effectively for her. Sharla called the day after we completed her skill based resume. She was very agitated and said, “All my friends say I have to have a chronological resume.” She wanted to come right over and write a new resume. I said, “Wait, we haven’t even tested this resume to
