Functional Resume Templates and Examples

What is a functional resume?

A functional resume is a type of resume format that prioritizes skills and accomplishments over work experience. Rather than listing your jobs and the duties associated with each one like you do in a traditional resume, a functional resume groups duties and skills by category–technical skills, customer service skills, etc. Work history is formatted as a simple list and takes a lower position on the page.

A functional resume is useful for calling the hiring manager’s attention to your relevant experience even when the job titles you’ve held are in a different field or are unrelated to the one you’re applying for. It’s a useful format for new grads who don’t have much work experience to showcase.

Note that a functional resume is not the preferred format of most hiring managers. Since it follows a different structure than the traditional resume, it takes more time to scan and can require more work on the reader’s part to find the information they’re looking for. So, this format should be viewed as a secondary choice to other, more widely accepted formats.

Who should use a functional resume?

Recent graduates with limited work experience
People who are switching careers or re-entering the job market
Applicants who want to downplay job hopping
Candidates looking to emphasize relevant experience over job titles

Who shouldn’t use this type of resume?

People with a solid career progression
Candidates in fields with rigid application requirements, like public-sector jobs
Most job seekers, as it’s not the preferred format of hiring managers

Functional resume format and key components

A functional resume contains some of the same components as a traditional resume, like contact information and a summary (which is optional). In a functional resume, however, skills and experiences are featured more prominently than work history, which appears lower on the page or even at the bottom.

Sample functional resume including contact information, objective, skills, employment, and certifications

Here are the main resume components in a functional resume:

Contact information
Provide hiring managers and recruiters with the best method to get in touch with you. Be sure your email address is something professional, preferably including your full name or first initial and last name. It’s best to use an email provider everyone’s familiar with, like Gmail.
Objective or summary
This optional section gives an overview of your professional credentials. If you’re using a functional resume because you’re entering the job market for the first time or switching career paths, this is a good place to provide a little more background information.
Various skills or abilities section
This is the predominant focus of a functional resume. It might be a single section or several sections broken into different categories. These should be customized depending on the candidate and the types of things they want to emphasize. Our sample resume uses two abilities sections: technical experience and management experience, which makes sense since the candidate is an IT project manager.
Employment history
In a functional resume, the employment section is concise. Jobs–with the position title, company, and employment dates–are formatted in a list in reverse chronological order.
Education and certifications
Include the degree you obtained and the name of the school, as well as any relevant professional credentials. The position of this section can be moved up or down depending on what you want to highlight.

FAQs

Why are functional resumes used?

Functional resumes are used to highlight a candidate’s relevant qualifications over their specific work history. This is helpful when the jobs you’ve held in the past aren’t directly related to the type of position you want to obtain, or when you have limited professional experience.

What are the most important parts of a functional resume?

The most prominent part of a functional resume is the skills or abilities section. In this section, you list your relevant qualifications or accomplishments as they pertain to the role you’re applying for, rather than grouping your experience by job.

What is the difference between a functional and traditional resume?

In a traditional resume, work history is listed by job in reverse chronological order, with accomplishments grouped under the corresponding job. In a functional resume, the most significant accomplishments or skills are grouped together regardless of which job they’re associated with.

What should I do if I have a lot of short-term jobs?

A functional resume is a useful format to minimize the focus on having several short-term jobs, as it emphasizes relevant qualifications over work history.

What are red flags on a resume?

A functional resume can be a red flag for some hiring managers, as it may be a sign the candidate is trying to hide a history of job-hopping or going long stretches between jobs. If you use this resume format, be prepared for questions about short stints at jobs or gaps in your employment. Writing a strong cover letter to accompany your resume can help ease any concerns the hiring manager may have.

What should I do if I have had multiple positions at the same company?

If you’ve held multiple positions at the same company, it’s best to use a traditional or chronological resume, since those formats allow you to better showcase career progression.

How should I organize a functional resume?

In a functional resume, your abilities should be grouped by category or theme. For example, you might create one section for technical skills and one for soft skills, or a section for managerial skills and a section for industry-specific skills.

What is the most important thing to communicate with a functional resume?

When using a functional resume, it’s critical to include experience that’s directly relevant to the job you’re applying for. Mention successful projects that are similar to what you’d be working on and skills that are listed in the job description.

How can I make a resume with no work experience?

If you don’t have any work experience, you can still use the experience you’ve gained in school, during internships, while volunteering, or at part-time jobs on your resume. Position the experience as it pertains to the job you want. If you’re applying for an administrative assistant position, for example, you might cite relevant experience from your time as class secretary, like ‘kept detailed records of meetings and minutes’ and ‘verified and maintained student contact details.’