Why Recruiters HATE the Functional Resume Format

Why Recruiters HATE the Functional Resume Format Why Recruiters HATE the Functional Resume Format Recruiters hate the functional resume, a veteran recruiter in the healthcare industry told Jobscan. Its a waste of time.fruchtwein resumes utilize the classic reverse-chronological format. Your name and contact information go at the top, followed immediately by your employment history. Startingwith your current or fruchtwein recent position and walking backwards through time, this format plainly shows recruiters exactly where youve been. It helps them plot and forecast your career trajectory. Its simple, intuitive, and skimmable. The reverse-chronological format is the gold standard for resumes now and for the foreseeable future.But not everyones career follows the same path. There are lane changes, U-turns, and missteps along the way. For some, a linear trip through their past job titles isnt the most effective way to tell their career story. They need to find a different way to communi cate their skills and expertise on their resume.They need a different resume format.What is the Functional Resume Format?Among the alternatives, one of the mostpopular resume formatsis the functional resume. This resume format deemphasizes work history and puts skills and accomplishments front and center. After your name and contact information, you go straight into your most relevant skills and accomplishments. Your work history is listed with minimal detail at the bottom of the resume.Here is functional resume exampleFunctional Resume Template. Click to Enlarge. Download .docxThis format is most attractive to job seekers who are switching industries or trying to move their career in a new direction. If your primary functions at previous jobs arent relevant to the job for which youre applying, the functional resume format allows you to highlight instances in which you were able to showcase transferrable skills.For example, you might have held a couple positions as an Administrative Assistant in which you pitched in with customer service as one of many job duties. Now youre applying for a position as Customer Service Coordinator. With a functional resume, you can shine a light on your customer service skills and results without getting sidetracked by clerical and other unrelated admin responsibilities.Unfortunately, for the same reasons the functional resume is attractive to some job seekers, itcauses suspicion in recruiters.How Recruiters Read a Functional ResumeThe recruiter told us a story from his own job search history, back when he tried using a functional resume to make the jump from sales to the HR industryI actually paid someone to do a functional resume for me. Whenever I would greifhand it to someone who was screening at a job fair, I would watch their eyes, and they would skip right past everything at the top of the resume and go straight to my work history and look at the job titles. I would repeatedly watch them do this. Then I finally got myself into the HR industry where I was screening resumes and I do the exact same thing.Why do recruiters hate this format?Youre taking information out of context, said the recruiter. Its easier to BS your way through to make things sound glamorous. Within the context of where skills and accomplishments took place, it gives me a better idea of whats going on.They hate it because they need to draw their own conclusions. The functional resume format was created to cover up gaps in an applicants experience and recruiters know it. They will skip straight down to the work history to try and figure what youre hiding. Its a dead giveaway.An Alternative to the Functional ResumeI definitely want to see everything laid out in context, said the recruiter.Ive seen plenty of people that try to use a functional resume thats not in that context, and I tell them, Youre just shooting yourself in the foot.That said, recruiters understand that people change careers and cant always count on their work histor y speaking for itself.If youre trying to make that transition, yes, youre going to want to try and list your transferrable skills, said the recruiter. But again, I wouldnt do it so much where youre listing everything at the top above your experience. Instead, the recruiter suggested taking a more blended approach.The Hybrid Resume FormatTheres a name for this. In the space between the functional resume and the reverse-chronological resume is the hybrid resume, also known as the combination resume.Like the functional resume format, the hybrid resume has space at the top of the page for skills and accomplishments. Unlike the functional resume, it leaves the bottom half of the resume for a more traditional approach to the work history, where each position is accompanied by a blurb that outlines responsibilities and accomplishments.Here is a hybrid resume exampleHybrid Resume Template. Click to Enlarge. Download .docxFor job seekers changing careers or industries, the hybrid resume is a safer bet than the functional resume. That said, this versatile format isnt just for applicants with a non-traditional work history. Hybrid resumes seem to be growing in popularity amongapplicants of all backgrounds. Most of Jobscans premium resume templates are hybrids.The dedicated skills sections found on both functional and hybrid resume formats can also be beneficial when it comes to making sure you have the right resume keywords for applicant tracking system searches. Find out whether your resume is optimized for the jobs youre pursuing with one click