SAMPLE FUNCTIONAL RESUME

Jim Craig
668, Walnut Creek
Hawaii 678904
234 56789 678
jcraig(AT)xyzmail.com

Objective: To seek a position in the airline industry where my extensive front office experience will be used.

Qualifications Summary:

• Extensive customer service experience.
• Good communication skills and able to communicate in 3 language fluently.
• Good interpersonal skills and able to build rapport easily.

Professional skills:
I am familiar with the nuances of the computer and can maintain the requisite data on it.
Trained junior staff in the front office jobs.
Demonstrated leadership qualities in the absence of a supervisor.
Participated and contributed in meetings and seminars.
Have presented two papers on  front office staff.

Employment History:
Marriot hotel 2005 – 2008
Al-Arab hotel 2001- 2005

Education:
BA in Hotel Management and Tourism
Diploma in maintaining customer relations

FUNCTIONAL RESUMES: PROS & CONS

Functional resumes make up one of the three main types of resumes.

Advantages/Pros of a Functional Resume:

• A functional resume hides from an employer the fact that you have no apparant career path. Hence if you still haven’t decided what you are going to do with your life and which profession is your calling then use this kind of resume.
• For a student it helps them bring to the table their knowledge base and not their work experience.
  Gaps in one’s career are covered up by the functional resume.
• If you have been a rolling stone and changing jobs every two years or so you for sure don’t want your employer to know that. The functional resume does just that.
• A functional resume does not highlight titles but skills. Hence if you are looking for upward movement it can help you do so.

Disadvantages/Cons of a Functional Resume:

• If the employer is looking for particular information and does not find that in your resume then he will definitely get the impression as though you are hiding something.
• This will make him suspicious and hence you might not get called for an interview. After all all employers look for transparency in dealing with one another.

FUNCTIONAL RESUMES

The basics of a good Functional Resume: 

If you are looking for a career change then a functional resume is what you should prepare. The main point in a functional resume is that it highlights what have been one’s achievements in one’s job. It enables a person to actually concentrate on the skill sets rather than the designations that the person has held. Here the employer matches the skills with the job requirements. Therefore the role of the resume is an important one.

In a functional resume all the achievements or qualifications that you had however long ago are all taken into consideration. For example if you worked as a Senior copywriter then took a sabbatical to write your own book and now you have joined the work force as a junior copywriter then the functional resume can really help. It will not highlight the designation that you hold now but the transferable skills that you can bring with you to the job. If the job that you hold now is not something that you would like to shout about from the roof tops then the functional resume is the one for.

The main points should be whatever you have accomplished so far and the skills you have acquired in the jobs that you have held. The employer already has a job description on paper and in his mind. They are not interested in just the bare necessities they would like to know what will differentiate you from the others.

Components of a Functional Resume: The main parts of the functional resume are:

• Personal Details
• Education / Qualification (optional)
• Objective / Summary (recommended)
• Professional Experience (cover 3 or 4 Primary skill categories relevant to the job)
• Work Experience Synopsis (optional)
• Awards & Achievements (Relevant to the prospective job) 

Let’s begin by looking at the objective. The objective lines should specifically let your employers know about what your desires are professionally and how they match with what your employer is looking for. Don’t narrow down your search by stating customer service in a bank. Instead state as a customer service professional in a customer centric industry. That keeps various options open for you such as banks, hospitality, airlines and so forth. Hence examples of objective statements that you could write are, Seeking an opening in the hospitality industry where my five years of work experience in the Marriot will be of immense help or Looking to apply my skills that I gained at the Front desk to obtain a position as a flight attendant. So, if you notice a functional resume is good for career changers because it gives the employer a chance to see why you have shifted gears or industries in your career but the basic skill sets have remained the same.

For the qualifications choose the 3 most important skills or abilities that you possess and highlight them. See that you bullet them to gain maximum attention.

Next is work experience which is optional. Do not mention this section if you have not worked before or if you no that your previous employer will not give you a reference. However, not mentioning this section may make a person feel as though you are not being completely transparent.