Will you get DYSFUNCTIONAL results using a functional resume?
Photo by iamNigelMorris
Every so often I get a client who wants a functional resume. They aren’t even asking for a true functional resume which would remove the dates from the resume. The job seeker just wants to focus on skills before they get to a chronological history of employers.
But they don’t want to list any correlating information with the chronological section or indicate where they gained the experience in the functional summary. Perhaps they are trying to hide a spotty work history, cover up a period of employment or highlight information that is 25 years old.
What happens to your resume when you use a true functional resume?
The employer or hiring manager is now red flagging the resume. They don’t know where you got the experience or when you worked there and they can’t verify it. What most likely will happen is that your resume will be ignored or tossed!
You worked hard to list all that information, categorize it into specific areas: Operations Management, Sales Management, Program Development and no one cares! Looking for a job is hard enough but thinking you hit a home run only to find that you are out of the game is disheartening!
What should you do to highlight your talent in your resume?
You can add a section entitled “Selected Highlights and Accomplishments” and even divide it into topics, such as Project Management, Sales Training, Vendor Management or whatever fits your particular talents.
I recommend you keep that section relatively brief in most cases but when you use it, illustrate how your talents were used with citing of the employer’s name either as a subheading or in the bullet point text. Kudos to Dawn Bugni for sharing that subheading strategy with me recently!
In most cases, when you list the actual employer history, give more content and bullet points to describe your own achievements and accomplishments with the company. Employers want to know where you gained the experience.
Don’t let your resume be dysfunctional! You need it working for you not working against you!
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Julie Walraven
Professional Resume Writer
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