Why Functional Resumes Should Be Avoided

If you are about to create your resume, you may have searched through the thousands of templates that are available and realized that there are two distinct types of resume formats. They are the chronological resume (which is most widely used) and the functional resume. Functional resumes summarize your successes at the top in a bulleted list and then follow it with a brief work history.

When making a resume, the option of the functional resume may seem like a good option to you. If you have large gaps between teaching positions or there are points you'd like to omit, like titles or length of time spent at each school, you may think that the functional resume will help cover up this information and, instead, bring attention to your skills and knowledge base. This strategy tends to be a poor idea, however, and here is why.

A functional resume is meant to display only functional skills and eliminate all references to previous employment history. The reasons behind this layout were that it would bring more attention to a candidate's functional and transferable skills and knowledge base without bringing attention to employment gaps or irrelevant work experience.

I must warn you, however, that no employer will be fooled by this. Omitting this important information from your resume will only serve to bring more attention to the fact that it is missing. Employers will be immediately suspicious about why you have chosen to leave this important information out, causing them to dispose of your resume before you have a chance to defend your choices.

As well, functional resumes can be detrimental in the fact that they are confusing to recruiters. The average recruiter spends 15 seconds scanning a resume; therefore, you don't want your 15 seconds being spent with a recruiter getting frustrated over trying to make sense of your resume. Recruiters definitely will prefer a resume that is straightforward and in a familiar format. Recruiters want to see a resume that visually separates each position and highlights job-specific accomplishments instead of bunching everything together in a single section.

In order to get over any hurdles you may have regarding employment gaps or career changing, include as much information as possible in a combination formatted resume, so that the hiring committee will not be able to reach their own conclusions about employment gaps. Include categories in your resume that are specific to your functional skills, while explaining employment gaps right in your resume by stating things like "left school to raise my children" or "left to return to university".

Remember that the more transparent you appear in your teacher resume, the better. You will not fool a recruiter if you are trying to hide something. They will notice what is missing and not bother to offer you an interview so you have a chance to explain. Instead, it is a much better strategy to not be ashamed of any points in your history; show your future employer that you embrace all of your past achievements and prove that you are honest and have nothing to hide. This honesty will pay off in job interviews.

Author and Career Management Specialist, Candace Davies, owner of http://www.candocareer.com/ is dedicated to advancing job seekers' careers by providing strategic, achievement-orientated resumes and cover letters and proactive interview coaching. First impressions last! Need a little help? For 20 comprehensive answers to the toughest interview questions, grab a copy of Candace's powerful free interview questions and answers. It's yours free when you sign up for her free weekly newsletter, the Cando Career Connection. It's a win-win!

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Common Resume Mistakes That Must Be Avoided

Having gone through hundreds of resume, I have noticed certain patterns and mistakes that most people make while preparing their resume. In this article, we will discuss some mistakes that we have come across most often. Some of them are as follows:

1. Resume Lacks Resume: Most resumes lack focus which is the major reason behind most resumes being rejected. Given that employers don't spend more than 20 seconds on a resume, it should be strong enough to grab the attention of the employer. One way to do the same is by writing a sharp objective statement. The objective statement can be very simple and straightforward, simply speaking about the position you are applying for. Sections like summary of qualifications, profile etc. can be also be added to sharpen your focus.

2. Resumes are Responsibilities Driven: Generally it has been noticed that job lookers include expressions like "Duties included," "Responsibilities included," or "Responsible for", which are not much appreciated by employers. Resume should primarily focus on accomplishments that you have achieved and that set you apart from other job applications.

3. CV's Fail to Capture Reader's Interest: One rule of CV writing says that items in CV should be listed in a manner that they are able to grasp the reader's attention. Information on the CV should be listed in order of importance. For instance, while listing information about your previous jobs, most important thing is your title/position. So, list in this preferred order: Title/position, name of employer, city/state of employer, dates of employment. Similarly other section like education should be done in a particular order.

4. Important Skills like Computer Skills Listed in the Bottom: While composing the CV's Job-seekers generally end up mentioning important skills like computer skills at the bottom. If these or any other skills are relevant to your field, it is highly recommended that you list them in your Summary or Profile Section.

5. Resume Lacks Presentation: An attractive and well presented resume is must. Make use of bullets and demarcation marks to make your resume a user-friendly, thus increasing your chances of being called for an interview.

6. Resume Lacks Keywords: Job-hunting today revolves around keywords. Employers depend upon keywords technology to find the right job candidates. So, if your resume is lacking keywords chances are that you will not be called for an interview that you may be best suited for.

7. References are Listed Directly on Resume: While preparing their CV's job lookers tend to directly list their references on resume, which is completely not advisable. It is suggested that you list them on a separate sheet and submit them only when specifically requested by an employer.

8. CV Templates Copied Exactly: CV templates are only to give you an idea on how a CV should like. Copying it word to word will go against your good will. Just take an idea and personalize it as per you needs.

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