Resume format is not a matter of taste. Each structure emphasises something different, and the right choice depends on whether your strength is your progression, your skills or your recent work.
Reverse chronological: the default
Roles listed newest first, with dates and achievements under each. This is what recruiters expect, what screening software parses most reliably, and what you should use unless you have a specific reason not to.
It works when your history is reasonably continuous and your recent roles are relevant to what you are applying for. It exposes gaps and job-hopping clearly, which is either fine or a problem depending on your situation.
Functional: use with caution
Organised by skill area rather than by job, with employment history reduced to a short list at the end.
It is sometimes recommended for career changers and people with gaps. In practice most recruiters distrust it precisely because it is used to obscure things, and they will look for the dates first. Use it only when your work history genuinely cannot carry the story, and expect scepticism.
Combination: usually the right answer for changers
A skills summary at the top, followed by a normal reverse chronological history. You get to frame your relevant capability before the reader sees a job history that does not obviously match.
This is the practical choice for career changers, returners, and anyone whose most relevant experience is not their most recent.
Early career
One page, reverse chronological. Education can go above experience if you graduated recently and your work history is unrelated.
Include internships, significant projects, part-time work and volunteering. Describe them as work: what you did, what resulted. The weakest early-career resumes list duties; the strongest describe outcomes, even small ones.
Mid career
One to two pages, reverse chronological, with a short summary at the top. Detail the last three roles properly and compress anything older into single lines.
Drop your school details and early jobs that no longer support the story. Space spent on a role from twelve years ago is space not spent on what you did last year.
Senior
Two pages is acceptable and normal. Lead with scope: team size, budget, geography, remit. At this level the reader is assessing responsibility rather than tasks.
Include outcomes at the level you operated: what changed in the business, not what you personally produced.
Returning after a break
Use the combination format. State the break in one line without apology, note anything you did during it that is relevant, and lead with a summary that frames your capability.
Unexplained gaps invite speculation. A single factual line closes the question.
What applies to all of them
Consistent formatting, standard fonts, generous white space, no photograph unless local convention requires it, no personal details beyond contact information. Save it with a sensible filename containing your name.