A resume is one of the indispensable tools for people who are either planning to start out on a career or people who are planning to advance their career. It is essentially a brief and persuasive summary of one’s qualifications and professional achievements, meant to sell the author to prospective employers. And there are various types of resumes, each more suited to certain positions and circumstances. Here we consider a functional resume, and who should use it.

A functional resume is a type of resume which focuses on the author’s qualifications and professional achievements, rather than the history underlying those qualifications and achievements. Thus a typical functional resume will start by stating a career objective, then set out a summary of skills and achievements, keeping the focus on what one did – rather than on when and where. Similarly, the educational qualifications section will tend to focus on the qualifications and certifications that one earned, rather than on where and when. And properly used, this approach can keep the employer focused on what one has – rather than where one got it – and if that is impressive, give him at least a foot in the door. Once there, of course, one gets a better chance of explaining their case. The resume will have served it primary purpose, which is to get one’s foot in the door.

A functional resume is especially useful for people who feel that their career history might be a liability for them. This includes fresh college and university graduates, who are highly qualified but lack the experience to back their qualifications or who feel that they schools they graduated from don’t have established names. Through a functional resume, they can get a chance to focus the attention of the prospective employer on the qualifications they have rather than on the experience or impressive alma mater they don’t have. And if this works out alright, they might just get an interview where they can argue their case, exhibit enthusiasm and character – and very possibly find themselves taken on.

Another group that can benefit from the use of functional resumes is those that are changing careers mid-course, where they happen to realize that the experience they have accumulated may not be seen as directly related to the new career they intend to take, hence the need to focus on their qualifications. 

Yet another group of people who might find a functional resume useful over a chronological resume are people with broken career histories, like mothers who have had to take career breaks to take care of their young ones, people who have had to do time for one reason or another and that sort of thing. In this respect, one should remember that however genuine the reasons for those career gaps might be, they could still lock someone out of the initial shortlist, if one doesn’t do something about them as employers tend to have tons of resumes at the initial stage of the recruitment process. And one of the things one can do is focus the employer on their qualifications and achievements through a functional resume.

Of course, a functional resume won’t solve all troubles regarding career history. One can still expect to be interrogated about their career history during the interview. But at least, the functional resume removes the first hurdle on the way by helping one to get the interview in the first place. 

The following resume for Nursing reflects an objective, an “Area of Expertise” and a traditional chronological order for someone that has a mid-level professional work history. This format easily shows her two professional positions and highlights the key components of her field. In addition, the Area of Expertise at the top highlights the exact areas in which she specializes. Chronological order easily shows positions from most recent then descending dates from there. She also worked retail establishments during college, however it is important to only include data that is relevant to the position you are applying for. This layout applies, unless there will be a gap in employment dates. If there will be a gap in employment dates, you must use the “Key Points” or “Core Competencies” so as to not highlight your gaps, but focus on your areas of expertise.

Sample nursing resume - 2

A resume has come to be expected of every applicant for almost any professional position. And while there are many types of resumes meant for a variety of uses, they all tend to fall into two broad categories, namely functional and chronological resumes. Our focus will be on the chronological resume and its applications.

A chronological resume is a type of resume which lists one’s professional and academic achievements in a historical (chronological) order, usually starting with the latest and ending with the ‘oldest’. Therefore the typical chronological resume will tend to have a section for career objectives and then sections for experience and qualifications, both starting with the most recently achieved and ending with the first, with the rest listed in between in their chronological order.   

A chronological resume tends to give equal focus on both what the achievements are, as well as on where and when they were earned. This approach works best for people with strong and consistent career histories and people who attended good schools, colleges and universities. Through a chronological resume, they are able to focus the prospective employers on their good histories – which can prove to be the big assets that set them apart – especially in a crowded field where all candidates are essentially on an equal footing in terms of other qualifications.

A chronological resume can also be useful where you happen to have worked with some big players in the industry in the past, and where you feel that the modest mention of those might give you an edge – which you can’t do well with a functional resume which tends to focus on what you did rather than on where and when.

A chronological resume shows that one is confident and proud of the consistent career path they have taken. And if one has it, such a consistent career path is highly attractive to many employers who tend to be wary of what they consider restless employees. And because of this fact, many employers are now showing an open bias to candidates who present chronological resumes. Some are even actually demanding for chronological resumes from all candidates for all professional positions. An added attraction of chronological resumes to many employers is their more logical presentation, based as they are on timelines, which tends to make them easier to skim through and glean the information one is searching for. Busy human resource executives consider this better than functional resumes, which typically require some quite concentrated reading if one is to make any real decisions based on them.

Of course, a chronological resume won’t work well for some groups of people. People with shaky career histories, for example, will find themselves hard pressed if required to develop a chronological resume, where the gaps in their career histories could look awkward.  Another group of people who might find difficulties with a chronological resume are those that have consistent (in terms of timelines) but illogical career histories, like, say someone who has worked consistently for ten years – but at three totally unrelated jobs. These groups of people tend to be uncomfortable with chronological resumes, and if you are one of these, it is advisable to opt for a good functional resume, unless a chronological resume is explicitly mentioned as a mandatory requirement.

Below sample resume contains data for a person with moderate work history. Chrono-Functional resume format is used in order grab the attention. This is a simple, clean and single page resume. This can perform especially well online due to the SEO aspects.

Sara White

 1818 Broad Street • Washington, DC 99999 • (555) 555-1313 • saraw@resume.com

Consulting                  USA Management Systems                          Washington, D.C.

Experience                   Senior Consultant Government Practice                      1998-present

• Ensured operational readiness of a division of the Internal Revenue Service System by preparing a staff gap analysis
• Developed a database to record staffing demand of new organizations
• Developed operational policies, procedures and responsibilities handbook for IRS
• Evaluated underutilization of grant funds for Housing and Urban Development
• Provided analytical and technical support to Department of Energy and Office of Environmental Management.
• Tracked appropriation legislation and managed the researched and maintenance of a portion of EM’s FY 2004 budget request

Research Analyst                                                                                         1996-1998

• Developed organizational redesign and change management initiatives for the District of Columbia, Metropolitan Police Department
• Responsible for facilitating client team working groups
• Developed data collection while conducting best practices research 

Computer                    Howard University                                        Washington, DC

Experience                       Web Developer                                                   Fall 1996

• Pioneered Web page, including HTML tool
• Provided general public access to UR Press publication profiles 

Government                Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee

Experience                  Washington, DC                                                        Fall 1996 

Education                   Howard University                                        Washington, DC

                                          Bachelor of Arts, Political Science                               1996

 Qualifications        

• Able to manage cases from evaluation and data collection to analysis
• Significant knowledge of government terms
• Vast experience using Excel, Word and PowerPoint for research and presentations

When it comes to writing a resume, there are three main formats that you can use – Chronological, Functional, and a Chrono-Functional (a hybrid of both). Each of these formats serves a unique purpose and you will need to choose your format based on your situation. Below, we will discuss each of these three types of resume formats and tell you who should use each format.

Chronological Resume Format

A chronological resume format is likely the one that pops into your head first when you think of the word ‘resume’. This is the most popular kind that is used by professional when looking for a new career opportunity. This is best for anyone who has the past work history and/or educational credentials to perform the job they are applying for. The people who should not use a chronological resume format are entry-level job seekers who don’t have a large educational background to showcase. Nursing resume template (Available for free download) is based on chronological format. This format may not be suitable for you if your career has too many stops and starts or shorter work periods.

Functional Resume Format

A functional resume format is one that allows you to showcase your skills and abilities, rather than your work history and educational background. This type of resume is best for those who are seeking an entry-level position and do not have a large educational background to showcase. This will allow you to tell the employer what you can offer the company, while downplaying your lack of experience and education qualifications. However, you should be warned that some employers are not impressed by functional resumes, since they know that you are trying to downplay those weak areas.

Chrono-Functional Resume Format

A chrono-functional resume is a combination of the previous two resume formats. This is good for those who would like to use a functional resume, but feel that they may have a better chance by offering a few pieces of their background to the employer, or those who have a little bit of work history or educational background to showcase, but not enough for a chronological resume. Although you will briefly mention specifics of your work history with this type of resume format, there will still be a larger focus on your skills and abilities, as opposed to a chronological resume format. Sample resume for sales manager contains similarities to this format.

Remember, the goal of your resume is to land an interview. In order to do that successfully, you need to choose the resume format that is going to make you look the best. While you can use a chronological resume format with little to no work history and educational background, it will look thin and unappealing. Using a functional or chrono-functional resume format will help beef it up. On the other hand, if you have a great background to showcase, then using a functional or chrono-functional resume format would only help to draw attention away from those accomplishments. Choose wisely!

It is true that you job hunt in order to snag a job, but do you know what your resume should really be focused on? There is a great saying that goes “you must crawl before you can walk” – this is also true when it comes to your job hunt.

Although you may not know it, the true objective of your resume is not to get a job. If it were that simple, then there would be no need for the interview processes. Rather, the objective of your resume should be exactly that – to snag the interview and make it to that ‘next round’ of the fight. Once you get to that level, that it when you go in for the kill – otherwise known as the job.

In order to make your resume effective in terms of landing an interview, you need to ask yourself what you would want to hear as an employer, to make you interested in knowing more about a job candidate. This interest is what will persuade the employer to call you in for an interview, which will give you a real fighting chance at getting the job. Before that, you are just another piece of paper in a stack of hundreds – or even thousands – of papers.

As with any marketing strategy, you should keep your customer and your objective in mind. Many times, you aren’t actually selling to the customer, but pre-selling them. In this instance, you are making the case for why the customer should click the link to the website and take a look at the real sales letter. In a job hunt, your resume is pre-selling you. You will do the real selling once you meet the employer face-to-face. If you keep in mind the true objective of your resume, it will help you make a better pitch to the employer.

So remember this when writing your resume: you should not write your resume focused on ‘will this get me the job’; rather, you should write it focused on ‘will this pique the employers interest enough that they will want to know more about me’. You need to distinguish yourself from all of the other pieces of paper and avoid having your resume tossed in the trash. Once you get you foot in the door, then you can convince them that you belong at the company.

This resume template is populated with data of a programmer. Again uses the traditional chronological order. Can be useful for a person with a mid level career without any gaps in the job history.  

You can download the template by clicking on the sample resume image below

This resume template is populated with data of a person looking for a job in the nursing area. Traditional Chronological order is maintained while highlighting the achievements and responsibilities of each position. Simple yet powerful resume template.

You can download the template by clicking on the sample resume image below

Teachers resume template with nice focused approach. Only highlights most important aspects of his carrier and education. This template is in MS Word 2007 format. You can use this as a template in creating your resume.

You can download the template by clicking on the sample resume image below

This sample resume for sales manager uses an innovative format. This is mainly a chronological resume highlighting key strengths and achievements key strengths. This format highlights the innovation and novel thinking, which is required in the sales and marketing areas. So the resume talks even before someone start reading it.

Click on the resume to enlarge