Recently I have received requests from colleagues or candidates for resume reviews for functional resumes (I got one this morning from a LinkedIn contact.) Most recruiters, myself included, are polarized on the issue of functional resumes. Very rarely do they tell me what I want to know, and I posted this information in response to someone asking for tips and tricks on using a functional resume versus a chronologic format with a Summary. As we all know, a generic resume that gives me no information in the first pass generally doesn't get much consideration, even if I scan the entire document.
1) Hiring managers and recruiters want to see a progression of your skills as it relates chronologically to your work history. A list of skills followed by a bunch of job titles gives no indication what you have been doing in the last 3-5 years. There is no context for how you gained the skills and how they have been applied.
2) Functional resumes don't tend to come up in keyword searches. Boolean searching uses algorithms that search for the *number of times* keywords are repeated within a document. So listing your skills once in the skill section equates to it coming up as a low stack rank in a search return, and this is currently how most recruiters source candidates.
3) Usually functional resumes are used to hide some information like a long gap in employment, or outdated skills (the very thing hiring managers *don't* want).
4) The best time to use a functional resume is if you are in a truly portfolio based industry such as producer, PR/Advertising, or freelancer w/ multiple clients concurrently. If you are using the same skill set across different cients, that is when a functional resume makes sense.
5) A functional resume gives no indication of career progression and how you take ownership of your career and move forward. For example, a few months ago I was hiring a senior accountant. I had a candidate send me a functional resume for the last 15 years. I asked her for a chronologic resume, and she basically copied/pasted her functional skills into each and every job. She had worked at both larger and smaller companies throughout her career, so there should have been some differences. She should have been taking on more responsibility at smaller companies and more training opportunities at larger ones. The message she gave was that she had no ambition, no motivation to better herself and was just looking for a paycheck.
Regarding a summary section, this is actually standard and preferred/appreciated in the industry now. If you are going to use one these are some helpful guidelines.
A) Numbers tell the story. % of productivity increased, $saved/earned, budgets managed, people managed, size of project, etc. Use them if you can.
B) *No more* than 5-7 bullet points.
C) *MOST IMPORTANT* - targeted. Don't give your reader generic glop. Everyone works well on a team, is organized and motivated, has great communication skills blah blah blah. Give your reader *solid examples of what you have done*. Think of crafting your resume as you would go into an interview. These days most companies use some form of behavioral-based interviewing, the premise of which is that past performance and behaviors are a likely indicator of future workstyle and accomplishments. Use the summary section to show *your* strengths and skills.
D) You have the top 2/3 of a page to catch your reader's attention. These days most resumes are sent electronically, so when we open the document/email, it is that prime real estate that needs to be compelling enough to make us want to look more.
2) Functional resumes don't tend to come up in keyword searches. Boolean searching uses algorithms that search for the *number of times* keywords are repeated within a document. So listing your skills once in the skill section equates to it coming up as a low stack rank in a search return, and this is currently how most recruiters source candidates.
3) Usually functional resumes are used to hide some information like a long gap in employment, or outdated skills (the very thing hiring managers *don't* want).
4) The best time to use a functional resume is if you are in a truly portfolio based industry such as producer, PR/Advertising, or freelancer w/ multiple clients concurrently. If you are using the same skill set across different cients, that is when a functional resume makes sense.
5) A functional resume gives no indication of career progression and how you take ownership of your career and move forward. For example, a few months ago I was hiring a senior accountant. I had a candidate send me a functional resume for the last 15 years. I asked her for a chronologic resume, and she basically copied/pasted her functional skills into each and every job. She had worked at both larger and smaller companies throughout her career, so there should have been some differences. She should have been taking on more responsibility at smaller companies and more training opportunities at larger ones. The message she gave was that she had no ambition, no motivation to better herself and was just looking for a paycheck.
Regarding a summary section, this is actually standard and preferred/appreciated in the industry now. If you are going to use one these are some helpful guidelines.
A) Numbers tell the story. % of productivity increased, $saved/earned, budgets managed, people managed, size of project, etc. Use them if you can.
B) *No more* than 5-7 bullet points.
C) *MOST IMPORTANT* - targeted. Don't give your reader generic glop. Everyone works well on a team, is organized and motivated, has great communication skills blah blah blah. Give your reader *solid examples of what you have done*. Think of crafting your resume as you would go into an interview. These days most companies use some form of behavioral-based interviewing, the premise of which is that past performance and behaviors are a likely indicator of future workstyle and accomplishments. Use the summary section to show *your* strengths and skills.
D) You have the top 2/3 of a page to catch your reader's attention. These days most resumes are sent electronically, so when we open the document/email, it is that prime real estate that needs to be compelling enough to make us want to look more.
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