Lets say i am writing a resume… now the company or the job i am applying for is linked to one of my previous work experiences however i have been working with another company in a different atmosphere to the job i am going to be applying for… now the question is.. do i on my resume show the related job experience job before the unrelated one.. even though the unrelated one is recent ?
did that make sense 
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Choronological format is recommended but in your case I would suggest go for the functional format because it will grab attention right at the first glance showing that your skills have been transferred for better and it will take the eyes off the old job title/work.
Be prepared to talk about the shift/ relevenace though in your interview.
Just my two cents but then I am not an expert in writing resumes none the less.
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Like GTG said, a functional resume may be more appropriate for your situation. That being said, I personally prefer to have some idea of a timeline in a resume’ and you can certainly come uo with a combination of a functional and chronological resume’… I’ve seen these being used more and more lately.
Basically, you’ll list your skills and experience first highlighting the skills you have that are relevant to the job you are applying for … and then your employment history is listed next.
I’m sure there are tons of samples for the combo resume online.
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Functional?
Are you in the states?
I've never seen anyone successfully use that format.
I would suggest that you put a few extra bullet points for the related job and put a few less for the non related one.
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Muniya
one of my bosses used a functional resume successfully. but I have not really seen anyone else use one
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Yeh I was thinking that maybe its some common outside of the US.
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Umar, yar, yea C-level position kiya hooti hai? C stands for "Chaprasi"?
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nahi janaab... I meant twaddey wargey Chief Executive Officer / Chief Information Officer material loag.
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^ theres your answer then - I wouldnt use that format.
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It's fairly common at C-level positions.
hahah that explains it, i have not had a reason to hire a C-level executive. I hire rangroots with a few years experience usually..
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hahah that explains it, i have not had a reason to hire a C-level executive. I hire rangroots with a few years experience usually..
Not that I'm in any position to hire any CEOs :)... but I've been on a couple of committees where as staff we've had to give our opinions on various candidates applying for a C-level position.
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I am not sure if B-in-B is applying for a C-level position....
However....
As a hiring manager, I focus on relevant skills. As long as the relevant experience is highlighted, and I can tie-out the work history (no major gaps, or gaps reconciled), I don't particularly care if the resume is right side up or upside down. Just like candidates want to get into a good company, hiring managers also want to hire the best possible person and then refocus on the task at hand, which is to get the job done with their teams. No one wants to drag out the hiring process and torture candidates on itsy bitsy resume formating issues. Seriously. Lets be practical here.
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Faisal, u may not worry about it, but the bored recruiters are pretty anal about that stuff, so ppl hafta make sure they get by them and get to you.
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Thing is, we get resumes from many different sources. And so many of them are in various interesting formats, some have important info missing (e.g. GPA), some are in reverse chronological order and some have multiple pages explaining every minutiae of their work history.
Don't know about technical resumes (engineers etc), but unless you are in an unlucky spot where your resume is one of hundreds (and candidates are to be shortlisted based solely on the formatting of their resumes), a little creativity in bringing out the relevance of your experience to make it easier for the hiring manager is not going to make a negative impact. In fact, unless you are trying to be overly cheeky by exaggerating your experience, a rearranging of your work history may actually be appreciated.
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All past job experiences should be there in a resume..
If a jobseeker feels some of them are not relevant, then just "one line" descriptions e.g. "worked as a Project Engineer from and till this period/date." should be mentioned.
This helps if resume is selected for interview, candidate can avoid explaining irrelevant questions related to specific time periods which is not mentioned their resume (in case interviewer noticed it)
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thanks all for your replies.. ive got pointers from all your posts.. its a pain in the butt makin resumes.. and every one has to be individually tailored to the needs of the jobs being applied for :S ..
and naa i aint applyin for no C level jobs.. i am applying for entry level with experience aswell though.. and the idea of functional formats is not very popular here as in we werent taught about them in uni as well
nevertheless its more of a persons luck then wat the resume looks like in most cases..
Thanks all for reply neways..
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heres wat James Bhaand had to say about the issue.. he was very helpful 
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furthermore...
The resume that you send will focus on the requirements of that particular job.
Thats the problem with chronological resumes. You have to be date specific, and then tied up with should I write this .. should I write that.. etc.
Functional resumes are better in this situation.
DRAFT
SUMMARY (or intro)
<introduces you in a few lines.. dont mention any dates.. mention degree/qualification.. skills (i.e. systems engineer, Dangar doctor, maleria expert), Some acheivement (elected president of Australia - twice, leader of kunwaray kangaroo association etc.)
EXPERIENCE <SYSTEMS ENGINEER> mention what you did / what you can do / what are you strong points / what are your achievements No need to mention employer or dates
<Another similar position> <Another similar position>
EDUCATION Here mention you degree / certificates
OTHER SKILLS Here mention your trainings, foreign exposure, work in any other field, languages you can speak, expertise with computers and softwares etc. Mention something about presentation skills, excellent communicator, etc etc.
WORK HISTORY
Employer / DATE / Position Employer / DATE / Position Employer / DATE / Postion
This saves you from the embarrassment of trying to juggle with what you did for what employer.
REMEMBER The guy who is interviewing you is NOT INTERESTED what you did for your past employers, what he wants to know is what READILY TRANSFERABLE skill you can bring to HIS organization and what you can do for HIM
Thats why its important to highlight your SKILLS ONLY and not try to tell him what you did for X-company and what you did for Y-company. This information is useless for the guy who is interviewing you.
At least thats the pattern we follow here in North America. I dont know if in Australia the standards are different or due to a different job culture the resumes look different
My 2 cents
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I have not seen a functional resume in my entire career as a manager. Atleast in the US that is not used except for C-level or academic fields.
In any job, no matter how different they are, there are always common elements. I suggest you seek out the common elements and highlight them in your description. Skills such as team building/team player, problem solving, multitasking, taking on challenges, time manament, writing, etc. can be highlighted in jobs that are we very different in nature.
Hope this helps,