Due to his sister’s recent lay off, my next-door neighbor asked me if I might be able to connect her with potential employers. I said sure, and then he indicated that she was working on her resume.
As it turns out, she has about 22 years of experience and has been advised to use a functional resume, apparently because her work has involved two hi-tech disciplines.
Though I’m in finance, I told him I’ve always heard that HR officials consider functional resumes quite suspect–as though the candidate is trying to hide gaps in employment, etc.
He countered that they have become fairly common these days, especially in the hi-tech field, for people with considerable experience.
Without getting into IMHO Land, what is the accepted word on functional resumes?
As someone who reads resumes to decide whether we’re interested in interviewing the author, I definitely like functional resumes. They make it easier to determine a candidate’s experience and expertise.
Most – almost all – of the resumes I see are in the traditional format. I guess I prefer them because that’s what I’m used to, but I would not disqualify a potential candidate for using a functional resume.
OTH I went through a lengthy job search of my own last year, and months of sending out traditional resumes got me no where (as in, only one interview from 20+ resumes sent). When I reluctantly switched to a functional resume, I had an almost immediate interview and offer from a Big accounting firm (no, not Andersen!) Could have been a coincidence, though.
Why is this bad? (assuming there’s no negative reason for it) I got laid off three months ago and have been fevervishly seeking employment since. It’s not my fault employers are being tight-assed right now!:mad:
I am not in HR but I am a manager and have hired many people over the last 15 years. For some candidates a functional résumé is the best way to showcase their experience, but because it less common it sometimes raises an eyebrow. I would not rule out anyone based on the format alone but I would want to evaluate their employment history to determine stability. History with specific employers with dates should still be listed later in the résumé, IMHO, and even if they’re not most company applications ask for it.
There is no crime in being laid off, especially in this economy, and many other periods of unemployment are explainable. However, a firing for incompetence or repeated periods of unemployment would be of greater concern.
I have been a hiring manager for about 20 years, and spent a couple of years as the head of HR for a multi-thousand employee firm.
A functional resume is wonderful, especially when the candidate has a variety of differing experiences. However, I agree with CookingWithGas in that the timeline of employers and dates are critical to include. Without that information, it appears like the candidate is trying to hide something.
I landed my current job using a resume that had the functional accomplishments and competencies first, and the second half showed my previous employers, titles held, and dates.