The Functional Resume: The Categorical Approach

A familiar job-search paradox states that you need experience to get a job, and you need a job to get experience. The emphasis placed by employers on experience, coupled with the tendency of a Chronological Resume to highlight employment history above all else, can place college graduates and career changers at a disadvantage.

To dismiss these individuals as unworthy of an employer's consideration, however, is short sighted. Skills learned in school are transferable to the job market, and skills developed in one field can be transferred to another. Career changers and new graduates can highlight their transferable skills in a Functional Resume.

The Functional Resume lists the job seeker's skills, rather than employment history, underneath the seeker's contact information. These skills will vary by field; an aspiring office manager should stress business administration and budgeting experience while an Information Technology professional should list Programming Languages and Operating Systems. Employment History follows the skills listing - at a less central location on the page.

A Functional Resume format may also benefit older job seekers, seekers with a previously unfocused career path, and military personnel seeking to move to civilian jobs.

Click here to view a sample Functional Resume.