Resume Patterns
Although in our digital age the electronic and scannable resumes present new options for resume-preparation, there are two very basic types of resumes: experiential and functional.
Your first job when preparing a resume is to decide which pattern best showcases your abilities and/or experience.
All resume examples were borrowed from Paul Anderson's Technical Communication:
A Reader-Centered Approach (4th ed., New York: Harcourt Brace, 1999).
Experiential Resume
As its name implies, an experiential resume is based on your experiences, whether job history or educational activities or whatever.
Create an experiential resume if
- Your experiences (job, educational) strongly reflect your skills,
- Your experience seems to dovetail or link up nicely with the requirements of the position for which you are applying, or
- You can make your experiences seem directly relevant to the position by focusing on their knowledge rather than action-quotients.
Functional Resume
A functional resume is organized around a list of skills and accomplishments. Although it does not avoid employment history, it does downplay jobs and place skills and abilities center-stage.
Choose a functional resume if
- You have enough experience to list several professional accomplishments and skills, or
- You are attempting to make the transition from one area of employment (which might not seem directly related to your major) to another one (that seems more directly related), or
- You feel that your job experience does not adequately portray the types of skills you can bring to the employer.
Scannable Resume
As its name implies, a scannable resume is meant to be machine (computer) -scanned. During the scanning process, key words that are previousyl identfied by the employer are pulled from your resume. The more of the key words your resume possesses, the better your chances for an interview.
The scannable resume looks different from either of the previously-mentioned resumes.
Choose a scannable resume if one is requested by the potential employer.