The Best Resume Formats in 2023
All resume formats are not created equally, so it’s important to identify initially the layout you can use to portray your experience, qualifications, and skills in the best manner. We are all accustomed to the standard chronological resume format, where you start with a short paragraph depicting your key candidate highlights followed by outlining of your relevant work experience in a reverse chronological order. This template is the most advisable, because it is widely used and favored by employers.
In case you are having little or zero relevant experience or you have taken a long career break or have served with multiple gaps in employment, it might be difficult to prove that you’re an exceptional candidate through the odd chronological resume.
How can you create a functional resume?
As far as a functional resume layout is concerned, more focus is laid on your transferable skills and core competencies in alignment with requirements of the role, rather than the conventional work experience.
Firstly, you need to study the job description and extract the competencies listed in the job. Next, you identify your transferable skills from the list, and highlight specific examples of experiences when you have demonstrated the relevant qualities.
Please ensure that the skills enlisted in your functional resume are relevant with a decent combination of technical skills and soft skills.
Begin the resume with your contact information, relevant portfolio links, and a professional summary.
Next, list out the core competencies relevant to the role with a short summary for each, mentioning where you have implemented those skills including relevant success metrics or positive results.
Next, you list out your work experiences including organization, job designation, and tenures worked, without getting into the details about your responsibilities, the same being listed in reverse chronological order as you do with standard chronological resume.
Include a section mentioning your education and professional development certificates, finally followed by any volunteer experiences or other significant projects considered relevant.
Advantages and disadvantages of a functional resume format
Prior to creating a functional resume, the following few points can be considered:
Functional resumes are not ATS-compliant, so the applicant tracking software cannot detect most of the information it needs when a recruiter scans through it, due to its unconventional layout.
Hence, in case you really need to use one, ensure to send it in a format that guarantees readability by an actual human like sending via email or a LinkedIn message.
Moreover, most of the hiring managers prefer the traditional chronological format to the functional skills-based resume format, because of its straight-forward and easy-to-scan nature to obtain key information about experiences and achievements with tenures.
Therefore, in spite of highlighting your skills, opting in for a functional resume format might hurt your chances of successfully landing up with the job.
There is scope to navigate this issue by using a combination resume, known as a hybrid resume format, which includes your professional summary and detailed core competencies at the top, which is not as detailed as seen in a functional format, followed by listing-out previous work history in the same manner a chronological resume would do.
This turns out to be a fantastic option in case you are steering your career with irrelevant work experience, whereas you do not wish to give an impression that you have zero experience.
Which is the best resume layout to use?
Whenever you are applying to roles directly aligned with your industry and experience, ensure to use the traditional resume format.
If case you have little or no experience, or have gaps in your work history, use the functional resume format with caution and care.
Finally, the best option is to use a combination resume to reduce red flags for employers. They are easy to scan, portray consistency and a robust work background, and also bridge the gap between your current position and your career target.
Conclusion
For bagging your type of resume as per your requirements, call Brilliant Resumes today, the Best Resume Writing Services in India. We will provide you with customized resumes, be they conventional resumes, functional resumes, or hybrid resumes, based on your individual requirements. Our affordable resume prices and short turnaround times are the most sought for in the professional resume writing industry.
