Do People Still Benefit from Functional Resumes?

In most cases, a functional

resume

isn't the best option for job seekers. There are two main reasons why recruiters don't prefer this format: it can be used to cover up important career gaps and lack of relevant experience, and it's hard to read. Fair or not, recruiters often view functional resumes as a red flag and may assume that the applicant is trying to hide something. However, there are certain situations in which a skill-based resume can be an effective way to highlight your relevant experience.

Professionals looking to make a career change in middle age can benefit from using a functional resume to emphasize their skills and potential for success in a new position. The functional resume format was created to fill gaps in the applicant's experience, and recruiters know this. Like a traditional resume, a functional design should include your contact information, education, work or volunteer experience, and technical skills. Functional resumes allow you to be more creative with your work history and allow for some flexibility in the skills you choose to highlight.

If you rely on a functional resume format because you believe that your true professional history presented in black and white is something to be ashamed of, then evading your functional resume won't help you. Since this design puts the main focus on your relevant skills, functional resumes allow you to better adapt the content to a specific position you want to achieve, without having to worry too much about job titles that don't seem relevant, gaps in employment or an eclectic work history. Unlike the functional resume, leave the lower half of the resume to adopt a more traditional approach to work history, in which each position is accompanied by an advertising note describing responsibilities and achievements.Choosing between functional and chronological formats when writing your resume depends mainly on how you want to promote yourself. And since functional resumes aren't very common, it may be more difficult for a recruiter to make sense of an alternative format.