I recently got a question from a reader who had a long work history in the energy industry and wanted to get back to it. But how could he craft his résumé to downplay the fact he had taken time off for family reasons and helped to make ends meet by working at a grocery store?

There is a great solution for that – a functional résumé. As more people try to find their way back to work as the economy improves, crafting a résumé that isn’t so chronological is the way to go.

A functional résumé – which highlights four or five key areas of experience or skill rather than a list of what you did at each job – is especially effective if you have gaps in your work history or your career trajectory isn’t logical, said Linda Cooper, a recruiter who focuses on engineering, accounting, sales and office management with Murray Resources in Houston.

It’s a way to point out your strengths and accomplishments without calling attention to the fact you may have stayed home for a few years to raise the kids or gone on an extensive world tour, she said.

It’s also a great format for new college graduates to showcase their research, internships and labs in a way that might get lost in a chronological résumé, she said. Or show a potential employer that the skills learned from a degree in, say, biology would be valuable in the energy industry.

Executives who have been with one company for a long time also prefer a functional résumé, said Jacob Shupe, division director for Robert Half Finance & Accounting in Houston. That way, they can focus more on their accomplishments rather than listing the 20 or 30 jobs they’ve had with the company.

Or maybe someone has unique skills that aren’t evident in the job title such as an accounting manager who has extensive experience with treasury responsibilities such as debt offerings, he said.

A red flag?

But functional résumés also can send up a red flag that – rightly or wrongly – an applicant may be trying to hide something, said Shupe, who is a recruiter for direct-hire, permanent-placement jobs in finance and accounting. It can be a gap in employment or perhaps more jobs than the applicant would like to admit.

So what exactly is a functional résumé?

Most of us know what a traditional chronological résumé looks like: a list of where you worked, when you worked and what you did. Someone reading it can get a pretty good idea of your background and your expertise.

A functional résumé starts out the same with a career objective on top but then the job candidate should zero in on four or five key qualifications/skills/experiences.

Say, for example, you want a job as a cost accountant for a manufacturing company.

One of your highlights could be “inventory management” in which you describe specific success you had controlling inventory, whether it’s the millions of dollars you saved or the efficiency you improved, Cooper said.

Another bullet point could be “cost of sales analysis” in which you describe the money you saved a Fortune 500 company by launching a study of sales and marketing expenses.

Explaining a gap

Cooper recommends putting the work history basics at the bottom of the résumé but make it very simple. Just the company name, job title and dates of employment.

Then leave it to your cover letter or a phone call to explain why there is a gap, she said.