Chronological vs Skills-Based Resume: How to Choose

This isn’t a trend question. It’s a strategy question.

Choose chronological if:

  • Your titles and companies clearly match the roles you want

  • Career progression is clean and logical

  • Brand names do some of the credibility work for you

Choose skills-based if:

  • Your experience spans multiple functions

  • Your titles undersell what you actually did

  • You’re pivoting or stepping up

A skills-based resume doesn’t hide experience.
It reframes it around value instead of job titles.

The right format depends on what you need the reader to notice first.

Amy Phelps