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Which is a better resume: chronological or functional?

Question:
My career counselor has advised me that the vast majority of resumes are submitted in chronological format rather than functional format. Chronological resumes list accomplishments under each job section in the order you had the jobs. Functional resumes focus on accomplishments by themselves, with a listing of employment history at the end of the resume. She recommended the chronological format for these reasons:

Recruiters feel you have something to hide (such as gaps) when you use the functional format.
Recruiters prefer the chronological format and may not even read the functional format.

I like my functional format and have gotten some good feedback regarding it (e.g., it has impact, stands out), but I must consider her advice. Do you have any comments or suggestions on this issue?

Reply:
My advice is to fire the counselor because she's too worried about resumes.

This is utter nonsense. How about avoiding the herd strategy and not using a resume at all? What is a resume but a history of all your past accomplishments? While it's useful to an employer who's already considering hiring you, it's lousy as an introduction.

Pretend you're an employer. Two people come along. One hands you a resume and says, "Here, take a look at all I've done. Now go figure out how to apply it to your business."

The other has no resume. She says, "I'm going to help you make your business more successful by tackling these specific challenges you face and by helping you solve these specific problems in your business. Here's how I'd do it."

Who would you hire? The first one is dangling a resume. The second has researched your company's business and is presenting a plan about how she's going to do the job. It's resume blasphemy, isn't it?

Once you're already talking with an employer, a resume is a way to help "fill in the blanks" about you. I prefer a chronological resume for that purpose�simply because it's easier to read. But here's my advice: Use what you believe works best for you. The most important thing I try to teach in Ask The Headhunter is not to follow anyone else's rules, because no one has the vested interest in your job search that you do.

If I were you, I wouldn't be questioning what kind of resume to use, but whether to use a resume at all. The rest is up to you.

Best,
Nick Corcodilos
Ask The Headhunter�

Nick Corcodilos is a nationally recognized headhunter, speaker, and authority on job hunting, hiring, and career success. Nick started headhunting in 1979 in Silicon Valley and has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Fast Company, and on CNNfn, CNBC, and MSNBC. Check out his book, Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job (Penguin/Plume, 1997).

The Croc's got teeth
Each week, Nick Corcodilos shares his iconoclastic perspective on job hunting in The Crocodile�, his column on TechRepublic.com. This week, Nick says call before an interview to make sure the manager has read your resume.

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