Guest Author - Kristen Welcome

Functional resumes can be effective in very specific situations. Read on for tips on how and when to use this resume format.

A functional resume is a resume focused on a job seeker’s skills and knowledge rather than specific work experience. Rather than the traditional, chronological run-down of all of the jobs the individual has held in the past ten years, the information on the resume is grouped by skill-set, with work experiences listed in bullet-points under headings that indicate functional skills rather than listing jobs by employer. The name of the employer is listed after each work experience, and the varied skills you obtained from a single job will usually be scattered throughout the resume rather than grouped together. This format can make it difficult to gain an understanding of the chronological work experience of the applicant.

As you might expect, hiring managers can be easily annoyed by the functional resume format, because it is not immediately clear where you worked or when. Particularly if they are accustomed to receiving chronological resumes—which they usually are—the functional resume can be more difficult to process.

However, there are a few instances when a functional resume may give a job-seeker a better chance at an interview than a traditional format. For instance, if a job seeker is changing careers, a traditional resume may be disadvantageous. A hiring manager could glance at a traditional resume an see that the job seeker has never worked in the industry before, and reject them out of hand. A functional resume, in contrast, would highlight the job seeker’s relevant, transferable skills, which might earn the job seeker a second look, and possibly an interview.

Other times when a functional resume might be worth considering are instances when a job seeker has larger gaps in work history or has job-hopped excessively. A functional resume can help downplay these facts.

If you are considering using a functional resume but you are concerned that this format could irritate a hiring manager and ruin your chances, consider instead using a combination resume to give you both the benefits of a functional resume and the clarity of the traditional format. To create a combination resume, start with a Qualifications section at the top, followed by Selected Career Accomplishments, and then present your job history in chronological order. This method reduces the irritation factor because the hiring manager can read further down the page to find out exactly where you worked and when. However, it can also downplay negative factors such as job-hopping by moving this information further down in the resume or onto the second page, while transferrable skills and other positive information is presented in a position of prominence.