With Fred Coon
20 Pet Peeves Recruiters Have About Resumes
Courtesy of Mike Worthington, ResumeDoctor.com
# 6 – Functional Resumes
Many recruiters shared with us that a very good way to NOT get your resume read is by sending them what is called a “functional resume” as opposed to a “chronological resume.” Denver recruiter Lura Pittman of Fletcher Frost says, “My number one pet peeve is the functional resume. They are worthless and always raise a red flag.”
Andrew Roach of Suvaalso Staffing Solutions in Toronto states, “I do not like functional resumes. Why do I have to guess in which roles you acquired these skills? How much actual experience do you have with the listed skills? Is it 3 months or 10 years? I prefer a chronological resume with a list of accomplishments for each position. Show what you did to add value to the company… everyone in the same role should have the same job description. I care what you did that was over and above your required duties.”
James Cox adds, “Functional resumes often do not provide the facts — “when, where, and with what effect.” I would estimate that 30-40% of all the resumes that I review, I can not determine what the candidate’s responsibilities were, with what company the candidate has worked, over what length of time (meaning month and year), and with what effect (meaning factual, number oriented outcomes that can be easily understood by anyone who knows anything about the candidate’s field of work).”
So in a nutshell, stay away from functional resumes at all costs.
Recruiter Tip: At the top of your resume, always include an easy to follow general/functional summary. Use bullet-points that can be easily customized to match what the employer is seeking. Hand your reader what they are looking for on a silver platter. Find out what are the “hot buttons” of the employer and make every one hit a home run. Immediately following your summary, provide your reader with an easy to follow chronological history of where you worked and when. It is here you need to detail your accomplishments.
Recruiter’s likes and dislikes in a resume were surveyed nation-wide by Mike Worthington of ResumeDoctor.com. FACE to FACE will publish all twenty pet peeves in this column over the next months.
ResumeDoctor.com is a service provided by Personnel Department Inc. PDI is Vermont’s largest independently owned staffing agency. They have been locally owned and operated for over 14 years. They have been featured in many publications, TV news programs, and radio broadcasts. You may contact them at: http://www.resumedoctor.com.