Re: Functional Resumes

[Faith Weber <weber -at- EASI -dot- COM>]

Mike Christie asked whether functional resumes are "in" or "out".

Personally, I don't care that much which style of organization
a person uses in a resume. What matters is whether the
organization he or she uses works, i.e. showcases the person's
skills, qualifications, and experience.

I've seen some good functional resumes. Usually, the good ones
include some kind of chronological summary as well, but they
emphasize the specific skill set(s) of the person. For example,
one person listed several "titles" for herself based on her
experience, such as Writer, Illustrator, etc., then
supported those with information about past employment. I liked
that because it provided a sort of overview about her, then
went into the details, rather than presenting all the details
and hoping the reader gets the big picture (as is the case with
a strictly chronological resume).

My feeling is that when you read a good resume, the
essence of the person's skills should come across. For example,
someone might have a wide variety of experience that seems
unrelated, but often there's something all those jobs had in
common, and if so, it's good to get that across. When I see a
resume for someone I think is a good fit, and someone asks me
why, I can answer in one or two sentences. Their specific areas
of expertise jump right off the page.

To me, it seems similar to writing a good essay -- have a thesis
of sorts and an appropriate amount of supporting data.

Faith Weber
EA Systems Inc.
weber -at- easi -dot- com