Functional Resume: Tips & Skill-Based Examples

This article will cover what exactly a functional resume is, whether or not you should use one, and some tips and examples to help you get started creating your own functional resume.

What is a Functional Resume?

A skills-based resume (also called a functional resume) is a format that puts your capabilities front and center. Instead of listing jobs in reverse-chronological order, it groups your experience by specific skills, like communication, leadership, or software proficiency. The skills-based resume format differs from:

• Chronological resumes, which emphasize your work history
• Hybrid resumes, which balance the job history and skills summary sections

Instead, a skills-based resume focuses on transferable skills and strengths, which makes it ideal if you:

• Have gaps in your employment
• Are switching industries
• Lack extensive job experience 

Choosing the right resume style can help you stand out from other applicants and showcase your greatest strengths. Let’s take a closer look at whether a skills-based format is right for you.

Who Should Use a Functional Resume?

There are a few specific job searching situations where a functional resume format may be the most flattering or represent your qualifications most accurately, such as:

• You are aiming to change careers and do not have much (or any) work experience that’s relevant to your new industry.
• You are a student or a recent graduate and do not have work experience to list.
• You have multiple and/or long gaps in your professional history.
• You have developed your professional skills outside of your past workplaces, e.g. in school, certification courses, through mentorship, etc.
• You work in a creative industry where your portfolio and skills are most important. For example, your work history may only include something like ‘Freelance Graphic Designer, 2014-present’ but you have gained skills and experience in many different styles from a variety of projects.
• You are overqualified for the position, such as if you were previously a CEO and are now applying for a lower level job.
• You are transitioning out of the military and your work history is classified or too complicated or specialized to present clearly on a resume.

Ultimately, if you feel that your skills and qualifications appear a bit lackluster or underrepresented when listed in the typical reverse chronological format, consider showcasing your skills with a functional resume instead.

However, keep in mind that a skill-based resume is more difficult to scan, both by hiring managers (who spend an average of 7 seconds looking at each resume they receive) and by applicant tracking system (ATS) software. If you are applying to a large company that you know will use an ATS, you may want to opt for another resume format.

Tips for Writing a Functional Resume

If you’ve decided that a functional resume format is your best option, here are some tips to help you get started:

1. Start With Your Name and Contact Information

As with any resume format, start with a heading that contains your full name and contact information, including your email, phone number, address (or at least your city and state), and your website and social media links if applicable.

2. Include your Job Title in a Resume Headline

A resume headline is a brief snippet that sums up your work experience, including your most recent job title and your achievements, certifications, and key skills. This headline grabs the attention of potential employers and encourages them to keep reading the rest of your carefully crafted resume.

Your resume headline can be placed in your header just under your name, or it can be incorporated into your resume summary or resume objective as the title of that section.

3. Add a Resume Summary or Resume Objective

Your resume summary or resume objective should come next. Use a resume summary if you have plenty of skills, experience, and accomplishments to highlight. Opt for a resume objective if you do not have substantial work experience, you are looking to change careers, or you are aiming to gloss over some gaps in your work history by showcasing your skills and other achievements.

4. Group Your Skills into Categories

Now it’s time to highlight your skills. Generally, it’s easiest to group your skills by theme or divide them into categories. Refer to the job description for ideas of what types of skills to include and how to group them - it’s always a good idea to customize your resume with our resume templates to each job that you apply for.

Once you’ve established your skill categories, list a few skills for each, supporting the skill with short descriptions that further explain your skills or show how and where you acquired them.

5. Mention Your Work Experience

Even though your work experience isn’t the focal point of your resume, it’s still a good idea to include your past positions below your skills. You can present this simply as a list of past roles and omit the date ranges, so any gaps are not immediately highlighted. Or, if you have shorter gaps, you can opt to include only the years of employment but not the months. Be sure to include your past job title, the name of each company you worked for, and the location of the company.

For example, your work experience section could look like this:

6. Include Your Education Details

Under your work experience, outline your educational background, including the name of the schools and/or universities you attended, the dates you studied there, your area of study, type of diploma or degree you earned, and any other relevant achievements.

If you are a student or recent graduate, you may want to highlight additional education details in lieu of work experience, such as:

• Your GPA
• Coursework that’s relevant to the job
• Your minor if you have one
• Study abroad experience
• Internships
• Whether you are in the honors program
• Scholarships
• Awards such as making the Dean’s List or President’s Honor Roll
• Membership in business fraternities or academic honor societies

However, if your education details are not relevant to the job or could bring up questions for potential employers, you may choose to leave this information off your functional resume.

7. Look Into Optional Resume Sections

Finally, if you still have room on your single-page resume, you can include optional functional resume sections, such as:

• Additional skills that you didn’t include in your main skill sections
• Other accomplishments that aren’t directly related to your work history
• Languages
• Volunteer experience
• Publications
• Hobbies and interests

Functional Resume Skill Section Examples

Here are a couple of examples of ways to structure your skills section on a functional resume:

Customer Service Skills Section Example

CUSTOMER SERVICE

SALES

STOCKING

Graphic Designer Skills Section Example

GRAPHIC DESIGN

CONCEPTUAL DESIGN

ILLUSTRATION

Tips for making it ATS-friendly

To ensure your skills-based resume makes it through automated systems, you should:

• Use standard resume headings
• Mirror keywords from the job listing in your summary and skills sections
• Stick to a clean, easy-to-read layout without tables or unusual fonts

If your documents get past the ATS, you need to give yourself the best chance of landing an interview. That means submitting a resume that is clean, crisp, and engaging. Lastly, make sure that your cover letter and resume are complementary documents that build on one another.

Common mistakes to avoid

Be wary of common mishaps, such as the following:

• Listing too many vague soft skills without evidence (i.e., team player)
• Not tailoring the resume to match job descriptions
• Forgetting to include results or quantifiable achievements
• Skipping a work history section entirely

Compare your documents to resume and cover letter examples to assess for these common mistakes.

Key Takeaways: Use a skills-based resume to revitalize your job search

A functional resume can be a great way to showcase your skills and abilities over your work experience. Arranging your skills into categories or themes helps potential employers see exactly what you have to offer. Although reverse chronological resumes remain the standard option, functional resumes can work to your benefit in certain job searching situations.

Need help creating the perfect functional resume? Jobseeker offers a professional resume builder tool that allows you to enter your details and then easily switch between formats, fonts, and color schemes to see what you like best. Then download your resume instantly so you can get started applying for jobs right away! Resume and cover letter templates can help jumpstart the process and ensure all of your documents give you the best chance of landing an interview.