Recently, clients are having difficulty creating a resume that downplays temporary or short-term experience without looking like they’ve been job hopping or have an unstable work history. Here are some hints to help if you are in a similar situation.
Many like to resort to a functional resume and although this seems like a good idea, it isn’t. Recruiters and employers have become wary of functional resumes, knowing there’s most likely something the applicant is trying to hide. As a result, functional resumes have become less effective.
Instead, I recommend using a hybrid / combination resume. This type of resume follows the formatting of a chronological resume, however in the “experience section” of the resume, instead of focusing on dates as a functional resume would, it focuses on your skills. What was that you say? Well, here are the nuts and bolts of the hybrid resume:
1 – Maintain the sections as with a chronological resume (i.e. Profile, Professional Experience, Education, Professional Associations, Volunteer, Other)
2 – Instead of a paragraph style profile, consider using bullets, with each bullet highlighting a different skill. An example of this could be:
- Adept multitasker…quickly assess and prioritize projects, based on account deadlines, complexity, process flow, and person-hours required.
- Versatile writing skills…with experience preparing speeches, presentations, dialog, job descriptions, and other business documentation.
- Problem solver…enjoy the challenges of each problem and developing the most effective solution.
- Team player and motivator…create camaraderie and motivate staff to increase productivity.
3 – In your experience section, lump your experience into skill sets and use the cumulative dates instead of separate dates in each position as the example below shows:
Administrative Assistant / Support (2012 – present)
ABC Tax Services, City, State
- Provided administrative assistance to group of five accountants and supported seven staff.
- Served as “face of the company” as first contact person for all incoming clients and phone calls.
- Monitored and managed inventory.
- Organized and filed taxes and supporting documentation for 150+ clients.
Harper and Borrows Inc., City, State
- Recruited to manage complete transfer of files from paper to e-file system.
- Coordinated with staff and managers prioritization of files to be transferred.
- Developed organized filing system for easy location of information within e-file system.
Customer Service Representative / Sales (2010-2012)
Target, City, State
- Served in roles as customer services representative, sale assistant, and cashier.
- Handled incoming calls, product inquires / returns, and fielded customer concerns and complaints.
Southern Bakery, City, State
- Managed store front for small, downtown bakery.
- Welcomed customers in a friendly and helpful manner.
- Additionally assisted with pre-opening preparations and closings.
As you can see, by following this or a similar structure, you avoid using the functional format (which employers don’t like) yet it allows you to show your history without focusing on all the various stop and start dates in each position.
Thank you to one of our resume experts, Jasmine Marchong, for this article and the resume tips. Want more Resume and Cover Letter Tips? Watch these helpful videos Hallie has created by clicking here.
