Functional Resume

A functional resume is one of the three main types of resume formats used today.  The other resumes include the chronological and combination style.  Most people are confused when it comes to figuring out which type of resume they should write. Fortunately, we have information that can help with that decision.

Choosing the Right Resume

In order to choose the right resume, you need to think about why you are putting a resume together in the first place.  Most of the time, you are trying to highlight your career experience, so that you are asked to interview for a job.  This means your resume is like a personal career advertisement.

Like any advertisement, you want the consumer to buy the product or service.  In today's job market, there is a lot of competition, so you want to use a resume format that will best showcase your skills and accomplishments.  How do we know if a functional resume is the most effective choice?

Let's first take a look at the components of a functional resume, and then we can talk through some of the advantages and disadvantages of this type of resume.  Later on, we can run through several examples of the functional resume format.

The Functional Resume Format

The functional resume places a great deal of emphasis on what you know, and what you've accomplished, rather than where you've worked.  This allows the reader to see all of the skills, accomplishments, and qualifications of the job applicant presented in a logical fashion.

As we examine each of the sections of a functional resume below, the one thing you'll notice is that there is no listing of prior work history.  That particular feature is very well suited to some job applicants.  We will address that "feature" in the advantages and disadvantages section of this article.

Name / Contact Information

Like most resumes, functional resumes start off with a banner that includes your name and contact information such as street address, telephone number, and email address.

Education

The next section you'll find in a functional resume is a table of your educational background.  Many jobs today list a "required" or "desired" educational background.  If it's that important to someone screening a resume, then it might as well be right up front in the document.

Honors / Certifications / Licenses Held

The third section in a functional resume contains a bulleted list of the certifications, educational honors, or professional licenses you might hold.  For example, a certified public accountant would include that certification in this section of the resume.

Careers Skills / Knowledge

The fourth section you'll find in the functional resume is a bulleted listing, or table, of the skills and knowledge you've accumulated over time.  Since this section is so visible on this type of resume, you'll want to take a great deal of time making sure it projects the best image of your experience.

For example, if you're looking for a sales position, you'll want to emphasize skills such as sales training, P&L responsibilities, client development, and product management.

Career Achievements

The next, and final, section appearing in a functional resume are bulleted listings of what you believe are your most significant career accomplishments.

An example of a career achievement might look like:

Developed custom accounting application for use in start up business, reducing the number of accounting data reporting errors by 90%.

It might seem rather strange that a functional resume does not include a listing of where you worked, and the job titles you held.  As we will discuss in this next section, this can actually be a very big advantage to some job applicants.

Advantages of a Functional Resume

The list below details some of the strengths of a functional resume:

• If your career path is not immediately apparent, then a functional resume can help conceal that perceived "problem."  You don't want the recruiter to get the impression that you don't really know what you want to do, because you probably do.  You avoid this problem with the functional format.
• If you're new to the workplace, such as a graduating college student, then a functional resume helps you to highlight what you know, not where you've worked.
• When you have employment gaps in your career, a functional resume can help to cover up those gaps. Unlike a chronological resume, you don't need to show where you worked in the past.
• If you changed jobs every two years, then you might not want your next employer to pick up on that habit. You may have been rewarded with higher compensation, but no one wants to invest money getting you up to speed, only to have you leave their company. A functional resume can help you hide what might look like job-hopping.
• Finally, if you are "overqualified," or are looking upwards from your past jobs, then a functional resume can help to emphasize your skills, and avoid bringing attention to job titles.

Disadvantages of a Functional Resume

Listed below is the major weakness of a functional resume:

• The big disadvantage of a functional resume is that the hiring manager might be looking for the very information that the functional resume allows you to avoid putting on your resume.  Unfortunately, this can make the hiring manager suspicious or nervous when the job seeker uses this format.  You need to make sure the advantages outweigh the disadvantages before using a functional resume.

Functional Resume Sample

If you've been looking for samples of the functional resume format, then we can help.  Now that we've explained the strengths and weaknesses of this type of resume, you can download a free sample here - Functional Resume Sample.  You can use this sample as the starting point, or template, when writing your own resume.

Chronological and Combination Resumes

If you're not sure the functional resume is the correct format to use in your situation, don't forget there are two other resume formats that you can choose from.  In fact, we suggest that you read our information on both the chronological resume and combination resume formats before starting to write your own resume.

You might also want to take a look at many of the other resume writing resources we have on this website, including additional free resume examples for you to download, as well as resume writing tips.

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