functional resume summary examples

How to Write a Functional Resume [4 Free Templates Included]

Struggling with your resume because you just graduated from university and don’t have much work experience?

Or maybe you’re switching careers, and aren’t sure how to make your past position relevant for the new field?

Whichever the case, the solution is pretty simple:

Use a functional resume format!

• What’s a Functional Resume?

When to Use a Functional Resume?

How to write a functional resume.

• What Are Some Other Resume Formats (and When To Use Them)

What is a Functional Resume?

A functional resume, also known as the skill-based resume, is a resume format that focuses on your professional skill test as opposed to work experience.

If you were to create a traditional resume, you’d list out your work experience in reverse chronological order as follows:

Whereas, in the case of a functional resume , you list out each of your skills, and then back them up by highlighting how you’ve practically applied them in the past:

It’s better to use a functional resume in the following situations:

• You’re a recent graduate with no work experience. As the functional resume focuses on skills rather than experience, it can be very helpful to students.
• You’re switching careers . If you have some work experience, but the said experience isn’t relevant for the position you’re applying for, you can use a functional resume to highlight how your skills make you the right candidate.
• You have a long history of unemployment (or gaps between jobs). Since the functional resume format focuses on skills, you can use it to downplay your work experience gaps.

That being said, in around 90% of cases, we don’t recommend using a functional resume .

While it does have its perks (e.g. standing out as a recent graduate), it also comes with significant downsides.

First off, it’s nowhere near as popular as the traditional resume format, and in certain parts of the world, recruiters might not even know that the functional format is a thing.

In addition, some recruiters might find the lack of work experience in a resume suspicious because it can hint the candidate isn’t being truthful (e.g. red flags, being fired from previous employment, etc.).

These 2 disadvantages combined make a compelling case against the functional resume format.

So, if you do decide to create a functional resume, weigh the pros and cons and proceed at your own risk!

Want to also learn how to create a traditional resume ? Check out our guide!

First things first - pick a compelling resume template to get started. We recommend using our Functional Resume template:

Then, create the following sections on your resume:

• Contact Information
• Resume Summary
• Skill Summary

If you have additional space once you’re finished with these sections, you can fill it up with some optional sections (which we’ll explain a bit down the line).

Now, let’s walk you through each of these sections and explain how to do them right:

#1. Contact Information

While it might sound elementary, there’s a ton of tid-bits you need to know about getting the contact information section right.

Here’s what you need to include in the contact information section:

• First and last name
• Current job title
• Email address
• Phone number
• City and country you’re based in

Optionally, you can also include links to relevant social media profiles. For example:

• If you’re a writer, you can link your portfolio page or website.
• If you’re a developer, you can link your GitHub profile.
• If you’re a marketer, you can link your Instagram or Twitter page.
• Your LinkedIn profile link (if it’s up-to-date).

#2. Resume Summary

The next section on your functional resume is the “resume summary.”

This section goes right under your contact information, and looks something like this:

In a nutshell, a resume summary is a 2-4 sentence recap of your biggest professional achievements and career highlights.

The goal of this section is to show the recruiter (in one glance) that you’re qualified for the position you’re applying for.

Here’s what a well-written resume summary would look like:

• Professional executive assistant with experience in supporting high-level CEOs and other executives for over 5 years. Experienced in customer support, data entry, and scheduling meetings. Skilled in time management, MS Office, and Adobe Photoshop.

#3. Skill Summary

This one’s going to be the bulk of your functional resume.

In a skill summary section, you mention the top 3 skills required for the position you’re applying for and then provide information on how you’ve gained the said skills right under them.

Let’s say, for example, you’re a recent graduate applying for a role in marketing. Here’s what your skill summary could look like:

Copywriting

• Wrote over 20+ well-researched papers for my university.
• Worked at the university news media as a journalist, interviewing interesting university alumni and publishing their stories on the website.
• Created and published high-quality tech articles on my personal blog (www.exampleblog.com).
• Participated in a university project for a real-life company (Company X), where we had to come up with ideas for expanding to a new market.
• With the help of my team, came up with 5 ideas, out of which 3 were actually implemented by the company.
• Came up with 100+ topic ideas for content on my personal blog, some of which got over 50 shares when published.

Project Management

• Acted as a team leader for most of my university projects, ensuring that they were completed on time, and that every group member contributed.
• Was part of the Startup Weekend organizational committee. Helped source speakers, organize the event, find sponsors, and overall ensured that the event went smoothly.

#4. Education

The next section on your functional resume is Education , and this one’s actually pretty straightforward.

Here, list out the following information:

• Name of the degree (e.g. B.A. in Computer Science)
• Name of the university and dates attended (e.g. Boston State University, 2012 - 2016)

Optionally, you can also include the following as part of your education section :

• GPA. If you had an impressive GPA in your university (3.5 - 4.0), you can list it in your resume. Most companies, however, don’t really care about your grades all that much .
• Honors. E.g. Cum Laude, Magna Cum Laude, etc.
• Academic Achievements. Your thesis, interesting or noteworthy research papers you’ve written, etc.
• Courses Attended. If you’ve taken some very impressive classes (and they’re related to the role you’re applying for), you can mention them in your education section.

#5. Optional Sections

Still have some space left on your resume? Here are some other sections you can include:

• Projects - In our opinion, this one’s the most underrated resume section. Here, you can include any kind of personal or university project you’ve worked on. E.g. blog you’ve started, a piece of software you coded, etc.
• Extracurricular Activities - If you’re a recent graduate, you can include a section about the extracurricular activities you’ve participated in during university.
• Languages - Knowing an extra language or two can always come in handy. When filling these out, though, make sure to include your level of understanding (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Fluent, or Native).
• Work History - Yep, you CAN include work history on your functional resume. If you decide to do this, though, your resume will be a combination resume and NOT the functional one.

Other Resume Formats

There are 2 other resume formats in addition to the Functional one:

• Reverse-Chronological Resume Format
• Combination Resume Format

Here’s what they’re about:

#1. Reverse-Chronological Resume Format

This one’s the most common resume format out there and it’s what most people have in mind when they refer to a “resume.”

This resume format simply lists out work experiences in reverse-chronological order and backs them up with other essential resume sections (skills, education, etc.).

Unless you have specific reasons to use either of the other resume formats (combination or functional), we recommend you stick with this one.

#2. Combination Resume Format

The combination resume is almost the same thing as a functional resume, with a small twist.

In addition to the skill summary section on the resume, you also add a work history section (which helps even out the downsides that come with a functional resume).

Usually, the combination resume is used by senior professionals with a decade’s worth of work experience.

4 Free Functional Resume Templates & Examples

Want to get started with your functional resume?

All you have to do is pick one of our free templates and you’re good to go!

#1. Functional Resume Template

Our functional resume template adds a dash of style to the traditional black-and-white resume.

Use this template to present your skills and talents in the best way possible!

#2. Combination Resume Template

This combination template allows you to showcase your skills without having to cut down on work experience.

#3. College Resume Template

Our College resume template is perfect for recent university graduates, allowing you to emphasize your skill-set over your work experiences.

#4. Professional Resume Template

Looking for something a bit more professional? This resume template is a prime favorite for job-seekers who are serious about their careers.

Key Takeaways

And that just about sums up everything you need to know about functional resumes!

Now, let’s do a small recap of everything we’ve learned so far:

• A functional resume format is a type of resume that focuses more on skills rather than work experiences.
• You can use a functional resume if you’re a recent graduate with little work experience or if you’re switching careers.
• To create a compelling functional resume, you want to get your skill summary section just right.
• Functional resumes, however, are not that common in most parts of the world, so we recommend sticking to a conventional resume format to most job-seekers, instead.

Discover More Resume Templates

• One Page Resume Templates
• 2 Page Resume Templates
• Google Docs Resume Templates
• Word Resume Templates
• Chronological Resume Templates
• Creative Resume Templates
• Minimalistic Resume Templates
• High School Resume Templates

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Functional Resume Example and Writing Tips

• Functional vs. Traditional Resume

Other Types of Resumes

When to use a functional resume, what to include in a functional resume.

• Functional Resume Example

Review More Resume Examples

Depending on your work history, you may want to consider using a functional resume. A  functional resume  focuses on the skills and experiences that make you a strong candidate for a position.  

Unlike a traditional resume, the functional resume does not highlight your chronological work history. Instead, it focuses on the skills you have developed that fit the requirements of the job for which you are applying. 

Functional resumes are ideal for people who have gaps in their employment histories or are new to a particular industry.

Functional Resume vs. Traditional Resume

A traditional resume, also known as a  chronological resume , emphasizes your work history. It includes a list of your work experiences. For each job you have held, you include the dates you worked, the job title, and the company. Most traditional resumes list work experience in reverse chronological order (with your current experience first).  

You should use a chronological resume when you have an extensive work history that is related to the job you are applying for. It is a good way to quickly show that you have related experience.

Functional and traditional resumes are not the only  resume types  to choose from. For example, if you want to both highlight your skills and include your chronological work history, consider a  combination resume .  

If you are in a creative field (such as graphic design), consider using a nontraditional resume. This kind of resume allows you to include visuals, such as graphs and infographics. This way, you can show off your design skills within the resume.

Functional resumes are ideal for people who do not have lots of work experience related to the job they are applying for. If you are switching careers, are new to the field, or have gaps in your employment, consider using a functional resume.

If you frequently change jobs, you might also consider a functional resume. This will help you avoid highlighting the fact that you have not stayed at one job for very long.

A functional resume isn't organized by position, so you'll need another organizational structure. Typically, functional resumes are organized by categories based on your skills or qualifications. Look at the job description for cues about what to emphasize here. 

A  functional resume  does not emphasize your chronological work history. Instead, it highlights your skills and abilities:

• Typically, your skills are organized by theme (for example, “Customer Service” and “Verbal Communication”).
• Under each theme, you provide specific examples of projects, tasks, and assignments you have completed that show you have those skills.

That being said, it is still a good idea to include a brief work history section in a functional resume.

Consider including a short, chronological work history section at the end of your resume.

If you have gaps in your employment or have frequently changed jobs, you can leave out your employment dates.

Functional Resume Example & Template

Read below for an example of a functional resume. This example includes a resume summary statement , which is a great way to quickly demonstrate your skills and abilities. It also includes a concise list of experience and a detailed list of skills.

While this resume includes a work history section (labeled “Employment History”), it provides only brief details about the jobs held. It also includes this information near the bottom of the resume, to avoid highlighting it.

Download the functional resume template (compatible with Google Docs and Word Online) or see below for more examples.

Functional Resume (Text Version)

John A. Doe 999 Main Street Ann Arbor, MI 99999 (123) 555-1234 johndoe@email.com

CAREER OBJECTIVE

Experienced and versatile professional with strong urban planning as well as people, management, and research skills seeks a position in urban planning and environmental impact analysis with a major city or Fortune 500 company.

CORE QUALIFICATIONS

• Background managing direct transportation planning and programs
•  Adept at managing urban planning programs and people
• Able to anticipate and project organizational change
• Background as administrator of office operations

EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS

• Skilled in Government Guidelines
• Quality Control
• Urban Planning
• Environmental Impact Mitigation and Research
• Geology/Hydrology
• Site Evaluations
• Computer Software Tools
• Scientific and Business Grant Writing 

Administrative : Lead coordinator for the daily processing of thousands of checks for payment and the mailing of confidential reports, meeting strict deadlines, and avoiding late fees.

Problem Solving : Designed a waste-management program involving Recycle Ann Arbor and a major book company, intended for the efficient handling of tons of paper, cardboard, plastic, metal, and glass, achieving net savings of $20,000 per building annually and reducing company disposal obligations.

Management:  Oversaw operations of an expanding research lab, providing expertise, commitment, and quality control during a time of significant transition.

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

Senior Process Engineer, September 2018-Present Zezee Corp., Ann Arbor, Mich.

Process Engineer: Technical Support, September 2014-September 2018 Zezee Corp., Ann Arbor, Mich.

Technical Professional , September 2012-September 2014 City of the Stars, Mich.

Master of Business Administration (2017); GPA 3.9 Southern Nazarene University, Bethany, Okla. (Online Program)

Bachelor of Science (Emphasis: Ecosystem/Environmental Business) May 2014 Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti, Mich.

Review more professionally written resume examples for jobs, internships, gigs, volunteering, and other positions.

CareerOneStop. " Select the Best Format ." Accessed March 11, 2020.

CareerOneStop. " Resume Styles ." Accessed March 10, 2020.

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Functional resume: What is it & how to write one (with examples)

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What is a functional resume?

Functional resume templates and examples

4 tips for writing a great functional resume, when should you write a functional skills resume, a resume that functions.

Most hiring managers spend approximately seven seconds looking at a resume . That’s all it takes to decide whether you’ll get an interview . 

While they’re certainly noting your work experience, they’re also looking for things like typos, life experience, and education. If you’re a recent graduate or newly employable , you might not have extensive industry experience, so it’s best to flaunt other notable qualities. That’s where a functional resume comes in. 

What is a functional resume? 

A functional resume is what one uses to focus on relevant skill sets and qualifications and omits work experience. We’ll differentiate between this skills-based resume and other resume types and note when the former is most appropriate, as well as how to write a functional resume.

We’ve outlined the key sections of a functional resume with example templates below:

Contact information

Put essential details like the following in the top right-hand corner of your resume: 

• First and last name
• A work-appropriate email address
• Phone number
• Your city and country
• Links to your website or portfolio
• Links to up-to-date professional social media, like a LinkedIn profile

Summary statement

Include a 2–4 sentence statement about your professional identity and why you’re applying for this position. Make sure to personalize this to each job ad and organization. 

Here are a few summary starement examples for functional resumes:

Recent graduate 

Recent graduate of [program name] from [university name]. Experience with [list skills acquired through internships or other experiences]. Knowledge of [areas of study that apply to job description]. Detailed-oriented and a resourceful problem solver [or other soft skills listed on job description]. 

Why it works : Highlights experience and demonstrates basic knowledge relevant to an entry-level position.

Career change 

Results-driven [or other soft skill] [field or job role] with over [number] years of experience in [industry]. In-depth knowledge of [hard skills]. Strong [skills] with a commitment to [value]. Recipient of [certification or award]. Achieved the [name a specific example of an accomplishment with stats, if possible]. Ability to thrive in fast-paced environments . 

Why it works : Places strong emphasis on hard and soft skills that are transferable to the desired company or industry. 

Significant gaps on functional resume

[Job title] with [years of experience]. Seeking to [goal] at [company name]. Have [most significant/relevant work accomplishments with stats]. Spent the last [number of years] developing my [2–3 soft skills]. 

Why it works : Explains what this person did during the career break and reflects accomplishments or acquired skill, like being a new mom or caregiver.

Here’s an example of a skills section on your functional resume:

Skills and qualifications are the center of any resume. 

Carefully read the job description, study the company's values and mission statement, and align your language to both.

Outline three hard skills that are required or valuable to the job role, and be specific about how you acquired and used those skills with action verbs and statistics.

Imagine you’re transitioning from a sales to a project manager role. Highlight commonalities between the roles and use examples from your previous position to show proficiencies outlined in the job ad. 

Here’s an example:

Sales management

• Acted as liaison between clients and the sales team. Managed five accounts for tech development companies and led and organized more than 10 employees.
• Implemented digitized sales interface and increased team productivity by 25% and turnover by 45%, resulting in 2.5M in sales.
• Increased sales quota by 230%. Exceeded sales quotas for six consecutive years.

Education section

Use this space to outline degree specifics while highlighting honors, achievements, or relevant courses and certifications.

Now that you know what to include in your functional resume, it’s time to start writing. Here are four tips for building an effective document:

1. Match the job description

Hiring managers spend a lot of time perfecting the job description to make sure they get the best candidates. Write down the requirements, responsibilities, and skills, and create a checklist you can mark off as you include each on your resume. 

For example, if a job ad mentions they’re looking for people who can “work independently and meet deadlines,” be sure your resume emphasizes a history of successfully working on your own and borrows their phrasing. Try including language like “comfortable with team and independent work” and “deadline-oriented” in your summary, skills, or work experience sections.

2. Show your hunger for learning

Curiosity is an essential trait for a successful career and a behavior that many employers actively seek out. Demonstrate a love for learning so hiring managers understand how you’ll approach obtaining new skills and experiences.

Like all hard and soft skills on your resume, show rather than tell. Describe experiences where you learned new tools, studied a certification, or polished a craft to advance your career or improve performance . 

3. Make it look good

Hiring managers often sift through hundreds of resumes to fill a position. And an applicant tracking software is likely taking a first pass at your resume, scanning it for essential keywords and moving it along. A cluttered resume with inconsistent formatting could be the difference between getting put in the “Yes” or “No” pile. 

Here are a few general rules to increase your chance your resume is chosen:

• Guide the eye : A hiring manager wants to know one thing: do you have the experience and skills that fit the job description? Use white space, an easy-to-read font size, and appropriate headers to guide the eye to the most important information. Avoid overcrowding — it creates a frustrating reading experience. 
• Don’t go business casual : Comic sans on a resume is the equivalent of showing up to your first day in sandals and bathing trunks — it’s not appropriate. Use professional typefaces such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Helvetica. Avoid bright colors or creative design elements if it isn’t relevant to the job posting or industry.

• Stay consistent : Consistency will take you far on a resume. It shows attention to detail and professionalism. Make sure bullets are the same style and formatted the same across the page, headers are the same size and font, and spacing is consistent. 
• Try a template : If this is your first resume or you expect to make drastic changes to a previous one, try using a free template. Online resume builders offer a variety of styles with different customizing options to help you create a document you feel confident about.

4. Get a second opinion

Fresh perspectives are invaluable. Once your resume is created, ask for constructive feedback . If possible, reach out to someone with industry experience as they’ll better understand what employers are looking for. Friends and family with professional experience can also offer a fresh take if that’s not an option.

While combination resumes give hiring managers the most well-rounded understanding of your experience, functional resumes are a better fit for the following circumstances: 

• Career change : You’re changing professions mid-career or late in life and have little to no relevant work history. 
• New grad : You recently graduated from your college or university program and haven’t yet attained professional experience.
• Big career break or sabbatical : You have a large employment gap that might look worrisome on an application.

Learning how to craft a good resume is an integral part of the job search. If a functional resume is the format that works best for your needs, pay careful attention to aligning your skills with what your potential employer is looking for to stand out from candidates that use the traditional resume format.

Don’t worry too much about lacking work experience. Show off personal achievements and skills with a comprehensive and well-constructed functional resume and you’ll have a good chance of getting that first interview .

Elizabeth Perry, ACC

Elizabeth Perry is a Coach Community Manager at BetterUp. She uses strategic engagement strategies to cultivate a learning community across a global network of Coaches through in-person and virtual experiences, technology-enabled platforms, and strategic coaching industry partnerships. With over 3 years of coaching experience and a certification in transformative leadership and life coaching from Sofia University, Elizabeth leverages transpersonal psychology expertise to help coaches and clients gain awareness of their behavioral and thought patterns, discover their purpose and passions, and elevate their potential. She is a lifelong student of psychology, personal growth, and human potential as well as an ICF-certified ACC transpersonal life and leadership Coach.

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Functional Resume: A Beginner’s Guide with Examples

In today’s competitive job market, it is essential to make a strong first impression on potential employers. However, traditional chronological resumes may not always be the best option for individuals looking to showcase their unique skills and experiences. This is where functional resumes come into play.

A functional resume focuses on a candidate’s skills and accomplishments rather than their work experience. Rather than listing job titles and specific duties, a functional resume emphasizes the candidate’s abilities and how they can add value to a workplace. It is especially useful for individuals who have gaps in their employment history, are changing careers, or have limited work experience.

Why Choose a Functional Resume

A functional resume can be an excellent option for individuals who want to stand out from other candidates. By highlighting their unique skillset, candidates can show potential employers that they have the necessary qualifications and can be an asset to their organization. Additionally, a functional resume can help applicants who have changed jobs frequently, as it emphasizes their transferable skills rather than their work history.

Benefits of a Functional Resume

There are several benefits to using a functional resume. Firstly, it allows individuals to focus on their strengths, making their application more compelling to potential employers. It can also help reduce concerns about gaps in employment by highlighting the candidate’s skills and experience rather than their work history. Additionally, by presenting their qualifications in a clear and concise manner, candidates may be able to attract the attention of hiring managers more effectively.

A functional resume can be an excellent option for individuals who want to showcase their unique skills and experience. By highlighting their strengths and minimizing perceived weaknesses, candidates can increase their chances of getting hired and landing their dream job.

Anatomy of a Functional Resume

A functional resume is a type of resume that focuses more on skills and achievements, rather than the chronological work history. This style of resume is perfect for job seekers who have significant gaps in their work history or who want to highlight their transferable skills.

Structure of a Functional Resume

The structure of a functional resume typically involves a few key sections, which include:

Header : This section includes your contact information, such as your name, email address, phone number, and address.

Summary/Objective : This section is a brief statement that highlights your top skills and experiences. This is where you can showcase your unique value proposition and communicate what you can bring to the company.

Skills : In this section, you list your relevant skills, such as technical skills, hard skills, soft skills, and language proficiency.

Experience : This section lists your work experiences and accomplishments, but it is organized by relevant skills rather than by job title or date.

Education : This section includes your educational background and any certifications or awards you may have earned.

Sections of a Functional Resume

All the sections included in a functional resume are designed to showcase your transferable skills and achievements. Unlike a chronological resume which is primarily focused on your work history, a functional resume is tailored to highlight your areas of expertise.

The Difference between a Functional Resume and a Chronological Resume

The key difference between a functional resume and a chronological resume is the focus on your work history. A chronological resume is organized by dates and job titles, while a functional resume is organized by skills and achievements.

A chronological resume is best suited for job seekers who have a consistent work history with minimal gaps. Meanwhile, a functional resume is ideal for job seekers with limited experience or those who want to highlight their transferable skills.

A functional resume is a powerful tool for job seekers who want to stand out from the crowd by showcasing their skills and achievements. The structure and sections of a functional resume are strategically designed to highlight your unique value proposition and communicate what you can bring to the company.

When to Use a Functional Resume

A functional resume is a great choice for certain job seekers depending on their work history, experience, and career goals. Here are some factors to consider when deciding whether to use a functional resume:

Who Should Use a Functional Resume

Functional resumes are ideal for job seekers who have gaps in their work history, have changed careers frequently, or have relevant skills from other work or life experiences. These types of resumes highlight those skills and experiences rather than focusing on specific job titles or employers.

Another scenario where a functional resume might be appropriate is for recent graduates who have limited work experience but have developed relevant skills through internships, volunteer work, or extracurricular activities.

It’s important to note that functional resumes may not be the best option for recent graduates who are applying to entry-level positions in their field.

Situations that Call for a Functional Resume

There are several situations in which a functional resume may be a better choice than a traditional chronological resume.

If you are returning to work after a long absence, such as raising children, taking care of a family member, or dealing with a personal health issue, a functional resume can help you emphasize skills and experiences gained during that time.

Job seekers who are changing careers may also benefit from a functional resume as it allows them to highlight transferable skills and show how they are relevant to the new industry or job they are seeking.

Finally, if you have had a lot of short-term jobs or freelance work, a functional resume can help you highlight your skills and achievements across those different roles rather than simply listing each job and its duties.

How to Know When a Functional Resume is Appropriate

If you are unsure whether a functional resume is the right choice for you, consider talking to a career counselor or professional resume writer who can help you assess your skills and experience in relation to the jobs you want.

You should also carefully consider the job listing and the employer’s needs. If the job posting emphasizes specific job titles or required experience, a traditional chronological resume may be a better choice.

A functional resume can be a great option for job seekers who have varied work history or skills gained outside of traditional employment. By emphasizing skills and experiences over job titles and employers, it can help you stand out to potential employers and showcase your strengths.

Preparing to Write a Functional Resume

Before you start writing your functional resume, it’s important to take the necessary steps to ensure that your final document is effective in highlighting your skills and qualifications.

Steps for Preparing a Functional Resume

Research the job description:  Start by reviewing the job posting or job description thoroughly. Highlight and make note of the skills, experiences, and qualifications that the employer is seeking.

Make a list of your own skills and qualifications:  Next, make a list of your own skills and qualifications, taking into account the job requirements that you have identified. This list should include both hard and soft skills, as well as any relevant experience, education or certification.

Evaluate your career history:  Take time to evaluate your career history and consider any significant achievements, projects, and experiences that demonstrate your strengths and key competencies.

Decide on resume sections and order:  Once you have compiled your list of skills and qualifications, you can start organizing your resume sections. Decide on the order of your sections based on what is most relevant and eye-catching to employers.

Identifying Your Skills and Qualifications

Hard skills:  These are specific, measurable technical skills that you have developed through education or experience. Examples include proficiency in a particular computer program or language, hands-on experience with a specific tool or machinery, or certification in a particular discipline.

Soft skills:  These are personal attributes that reflect how you interact with others and contribute to an organization’s culture. Examples include communication skills, time management, problem-solving, and leadership skills.

In a functional resume, you will want to prioritize your skills and qualifications above your experience. This way, any potential employer can quickly see what you bring to the table and how you can benefit their organization.

Choosing the Right Format for Your Functional Resume

There are three main formats to consider when writing a functional resume: chronological, hybrid, and functional.

Chronological:  In a chronological resume, your experience is listed in reverse chronological order, with your most recent job at the top. Skills and qualifications are typically listed in a separate section below the experience section.

Hybrid:  A hybrid resume combines elements of both a chronological and functional resume. The top section of the resume highlights your skills and qualifications, followed by a chronological listing of your work experience.

Functional:  In a functional resume, your skills and qualifications take center stage. This format de-emphasizes your work history, but still includes a brief summary of your career achievements, along with a list of relevant work experiences.

When choosing the right format for your functional resume, consider the job requirements and the employer’s preferences. By using the appropriate format and putting your skills and qualifications front and center, you can create a winning functional resume that effectively markets your talents and experience to employers.

Writing a Successful Functional Resume

A functional resume is a great way for job seekers to showcase their skills and experiences without emphasizing their job history. By highlighting your professional accomplishments and qualifications, you can create a powerful resume that will capture the attention of potential employers.

Here are some writing tips to help you craft a successful functional resume:

Writing Tips:

Start with a strong summary statement that highlights your skills and qualifications.

Use bullet points to organize your achievements and skills.

Use action words to describe your achievements and skills, such as “created”, “managed”, “designed”, etc.

Be concise and clear with your language. Avoid using overly complicated industry jargon or long sentences.

Use a standard, easy-to-read font and format your resume consistently throughout.

Next, it’s important to consider what keywords to include in your functional resume.

Keywords to Include in a Functional Resume:

Using relevant keywords can help your resume get through automated applicant tracking systems (ATS) and improve your chances of getting noticed by human recruiters.

Here are some common keywords to include in a functional resume:

• Industry-specific skills and qualifications
• Software and technical skills
• Professional certifications and licenses
• Project management experience
• Leadership and team management skills

Remember to include any relevant keywords that match the job description, as this can increase your chances of getting selected for an interview.

Lastly, here are some common mistakes to avoid when writing a functional resume:

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Functional Resume:

Not including specific achievements or accomplishments.

Listing irrelevant work experience.

Using a generic summary statement that doesn’t match the job description.

Using buzzwords or industry jargon that may not be understood by recruiters outside of your field.

Focusing too much on job duties and not enough on accomplishments and skills.

By following these tips and avoiding common mistakes, you can create a functional resume that showcases your unique talents, accomplishments, and qualifications. Remember to highlight your skills and experience and tailor your resume to each job description to increase your chances of landing your dream job.

Examples of Functional Resumes

Functional resumes are an excellent option for job seekers who want to draw attention to their skills and abilities instead of their work history. Here are three examples to help you understand how to structure a functional resume:

Example 1: Functional Resume for a Recent Graduate

[Your Name]

Recent Graduate | Seeking Entry-Level [Industry/Position]

Motivated and enthusiastic recent graduate with a [Degree/Major] from [University/College]. Strong academic foundation in [relevant coursework/skills]. Passionate about [industry/field] and eager to apply knowledge and skills in a professional setting. Excellent communication, problem-solving, and teamwork abilities.

• [Relevant Skill 1]
• [Relevant Skill 2]
• [Relevant Skill 3]
• [Relevant Skill 4]
• [Year of Graduation]
• Relevant coursework: [Coursework 1], [Coursework 2], [Coursework 3]
• [Project 1]: [Brief description and key achievements]
• [Project 2]: [Brief description and key achievements]
• [Project 3]: [Brief description and key achievements]

Intern, [Company/Organization]

• Assisted with [specific tasks/responsibilities].
• Conducted [research/analysis] to support [project/initiative].
• Collaborated with team members to [achieve goals/outcomes].

Volunteer, [Organization]

• Contributed to [specific tasks/responsibilities].
• Assisted in organizing [events/activities].
• Demonstrated strong [skill/ability] in a team environment.

Additional Skills

• Proficient in [Software/Applications]
• Strong written and verbal communication skills
• Detail-oriented with excellent organizational abilities
• Adaptability and willingness to learn

Certifications

• [Certification 1]
• [Certification 2]
• [Certification 3]
• [Language 1]: Native proficiency
• [Language 2]: Intermediate proficiency

Example 2: Functional Resume for Experienced Worker

Experienced Professional | [Industry/Position]

Results-driven and accomplished professional with [number of years] of experience in [industry/field]. Proven track record of success in [specific areas/achievements]. Strong leadership, problem-solving, and communication skills. Committed to driving [goals/objectives] and delivering exceptional outcomes.

Professional Experience

[Current/Previous Position], [Company/Organization]

• [Key Responsibility/Achievement 1]
• [Key Responsibility/Achievement 2]
• [Key Responsibility/Achievement 3]

[Previous Position], [Company/Organization]

Additional Experience

[Related Experience 1], [Company/Organization]

[Related Experience 2], [Company/Organization]

• Strong leadership and team management abilities
• Excellent problem-solving and decision-making skills
• Detail-oriented and highly organized

Formatting Your Functional Resume

When it comes to formatting your functional resume, there are key design and layout decisions you must make to present a well-organized, polished document that will catch an employer’s attention. Below are some important design guidelines, font and layout considerations, and tips for creating a professional look.

Design Guidelines

Make sure to choose a clean, easy-to-read design that is visually appealing. Use a standard paper size and keep margins at 1 inch all around. Avoid too much white space, which can make the resume look sparse, but don’t clutter the page with too much text or graphics. Sticking to a one-page format is ideal, but ensure that all relevant and important information is included.

Fonts and Layout Considerations

Your choice of font is important, as it can impact the readability of your resume. Choose a font for headings that stands out, such as Arial or Times New Roman, and use a slightly smaller font size for body text. Avoid fonts that may be harder to read, such as script or cursive styles.

In terms of layout, use bullet points to make information easy to scan and digest. Avoid long, dense paragraphs. Use headings and subheadings to organize content and lead the reader through the document. Additionally, use bolding, italicizing, or underlining to highlight important information, but use these effects sparingly.

Creating a Professional Look

In addition to adhering to design and font guidelines, there are other steps you can take to create a professional look for your functional resume. First, make sure that you have consistent formatting throughout the document. Use the same font, font size, and spacing throughout the body of the resume. This helps create a cohesive, polished look.

Secondly, don’t forget the importance of proofreading. Spelling errors, inaccuracies, or other mistakes can detract from the overall impression of your resume. After drafting your functional resume, take time to review and proofread it thoroughly to ensure that it is error-free.

Finally, consider tailoring your design and format to the job you are applying for. Review the job posting and consider the industry or company you are applying to. Adjust the layout or design elements to fit the desired “feel” of the position or organization.

By following these guidelines and tips, you can create a professional, well-organized functional resume that effectively showcases your unique skills and experience.

Tailoring Your Functional Resume to a Job Posting

When it comes to job hunting, tailoring your functional resume to a job posting is crucial. A functional resume is designed to highlight your skills and accomplishments, rather than just your work experience, which makes it a great choice for those who have gaps in their job history or who are changing careers. However, to really make your functional resume stand out, you need to tailor it to the specific job you’re applying for.

Job Posting Analysis

Before you start tailoring your functional resume, you need to carefully analyze the job posting to understand what the employer is looking for. Look for keywords and phrases that are repeated throughout the posting. Pay attention to the qualifications and requirements that the employer is looking for. Think about how your skills and experience match up with what they’re looking for.

Targeted Functional Resumes

Once you’ve analyzed the job posting, it’s time to start tailoring your functional resume. Start by creating a master resume that includes all of your skills and work experience. From there, you can create targeted functional resumes for each job you apply for. Use the keywords and phrases you found in the job posting to highlight your skills and accomplishments that match up with what the employer is looking for.

As you’re creating your targeted functional resume, keep the job posting in mind. Customize your objective statement to align with the position you’re applying for. Use the same language and terminology that the employer uses in the posting. Highlight your skills and accomplishments that are most relevant to the position.

The Importance of a Tailored Functional Resume

Tailoring your functional resume to the job you’re applying for is important for a few reasons. First, it shows the employer that you’ve taken the time to research the position and understand what they’re looking for. Second, it highlights your skills and accomplishments that are most relevant to the position, which makes you a stronger candidate. Finally, it helps you stand out from the other applicants who may be using a generic functional resume.

Tailoring your functional resume to a job posting is a crucial step in your job search. By analyzing the job posting, creating targeted functional resumes, and highlighting your most relevant skills and accomplishments, you can increase your chances of standing out from the crowd and landing the job you want.

Cover Letter Writing Tips for a Functional Resume

When it comes to job hunting, a functional resume can be an effective tool to showcase your skills and qualifications. However, it’s important to remember that your cover letter also plays a crucial role in the application process. In this section, we’ll discuss some tips on how to incorporate your functional resume into your cover letter, highlight your skills and qualifications, and address any employment gaps.

Incorporating Your Functional Resume into Your Cover Letter

Your cover letter should complement your functional resume and not simply repeat information. Therefore, it’s important to think about how your skills and qualifications can be integrated into your cover letter. One effective approach is to use specific examples of how your skills and experience match the requirements of the job you’re applying for.

For example, if you’re applying for a marketing position and your functional resume highlights your experience in social media management and content creation, you could mention specific campaigns you’ve managed in your cover letter. This shows the hiring manager that you have the skills they’re looking for and have experience applying them in a professional context.

Highlighting Your Skills and Qualifications in Your Cover Letter

Your cover letter is a chance to really highlight your strengths as a candidate. Rather than simply listing your qualifications, take the opportunity to explain how your skills and experience make you a good fit for the position.

For example, if you’re a recent graduate with limited work experience, you could focus on your academic achievements and any relevant coursework or projects. Alternatively, if you have years of experience in a particular field, you could explain how that experience has given you a unique perspective on the job you’re applying for.

Addressing Employment Gaps in Your Cover Letter

If your functional resume includes employment gaps, it’s important to address these issues in your cover letter. Rather than trying to hide or explain away the gaps, be honest about what you were doing during that time and emphasize any skills or experience you gained.

For example, if you took a break from work to care for a family member, you could explain how that experience taught you valuable communication and organizational skills. Alternatively, if you pursued a personal project during your employment gap, you could highlight how that experience gave you new perspectives or taught you new skills.

Your cover letter offers a chance to expand on the information in your functional resume and showcase your skills and qualifications. By incorporating specific examples and addressing any employment gaps, your cover letter can help you stand out as a strong candidate for any job.

Submitting a Functional Resume

When it comes to submitting a functional resume, there are several tips and strategies that can help increase your chances of landing an interview. Additionally, it’s important to be prepared to follow up on your application and deal with rejection if necessary.

Tips for Submitting Your Functional Resume

Here are some tips for submitting your functional resume:

Customize your resume for each job application. Your functional resume should be tailored to the specific job you’re applying for. Highlight the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the position.

Use keywords from the job description. Many companies use applicant tracking systems (ATS) to scan resumes for relevant keywords. Make sure you include keywords from the job description to increase your chances of passing the ATS screening.

Focus on achievements rather than duties. Instead of listing your job duties, highlight your accomplishments and how you added value to your previous roles. This will help the employer see the impact you can make in their organization.

Keep it concise and easy to read. A functional resume should be no longer than two pages, with clear headings and bullet points to organize the information.

Following up on Your Functional Resume

After submitting your functional resume, it’s important to follow up on your application to demonstrate your interest and enthusiasm for the position. Here are some tips for following up:

Wait a week before following up. Give the employer a chance to review your application before reaching out.

Send a brief email. Keep your follow-up email short and to the point. Thank the employer for their time and express your interest in the position.

Showcase your skills and experience. Use your follow-up email as an opportunity to highlight your relevant skills and experience, and why you’re a good fit for the job.

Be persistent but polite. If you don’t hear back after your initial follow-up, it’s okay to send another email or make a phone call. However, remain polite and professional in your communication.

Dealing with Rejection

Unfortunately, rejection is a part of the job search process. Here are some tips for handling rejection:

Don’t take it personally. Rejection doesn’t mean you’re not a qualified candidate or that you’ll never find a job. It’s simply part of the hiring process.

Ask for feedback. If possible, ask the employer for feedback on why you weren’t selected for the position. This can help you improve your resume and job search strategy moving forward.

Keep a positive attitude. It’s important to maintain a positive attitude and stay motivated during the job search process. Surround yourself with supportive friends and family, and focus on the opportunities that lie ahead.

Submitting a functional resume can be an effective way to showcase your skills and experience to potential employers.

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Functional Resume: Formatting, Examples, and Templates

A functional resume is an efficient way to balance your work history with your skills on your resume - find out how to create yours!

If your career journey has taken some unusual turns, a traditional chronological resume may not be right for you. It might expose some career gaps that may jeopardize your resume’s chances of success, or it might not leave you with enough room to cover the wide range of skills you’ve acquired across multiple roles. If any of this applies to you, you may be wondering how best to present yourself as a candidate.

That’s where the functional resume comes in! It’s an efficient way to balance your work history with your skills on your resume, without relying on a chronological list of what you’ve done in the past. If you’re making a career change, or if you’re looking for a way to obscure a career break, this format could be perfect for you.

To help you out, we’ve written this guide to the functional resume format. On this page, we’ll cover the following points:

• What a functional resume actually is
• Why you might opt for a functional resume
• How to write a functional resume
• Which templates work best for a functional resume
• An example of a great functional resume

What is a Functional Resume?

A functional resume is a resume format that prioritizes your skills over a chronological outline of your work experience. It’s designed to call attention to your transferable skills, instead of focusing on a laundry list of roles that may not be relevant to the job you want. You might also have heard it described as a skills-based resume.

A good functional resume will tie your relevant skills to a non-chronological list of the roles where you’ve used them. This ensures that both your skills and your work history remain visible—just in a slightly unusual format. It shouldn’t hide any relevant information! Instead, it should arrange the information in a way that shows you at your best.

This resume format can be contentious among hiring managers, because it can be harder to skim-read than other formats. As such, it’s a good idea to opt for a standard reverse-chronological resume format if you can. But if you have a strong, compelling reason to choose a functional resume, it might just be worth the risk for you.

Why Might You Choose to Create a Functional Resume?

There are two main reasons why you might choose to create a functional resume. The first is that you have one or more career gaps that might ring alarm bells for a hiring manager on a reverse-chronological resume. The second is that you’re making a career move—or have made one in the past—which has left you with a lot of work experience that may not be relevant to the jobs you’re applying for now.

You could also consider a functional resume if you have a history of freelance work, which has allowed you to build up a lot of skills without also building up a coherent or consistent work history. These conditions often apply to creative workers, whose portfolio of past work is usually more important than their actual work experience.

Candidates who are overqualified for the job they want may also benefit from a functional resume, which focuses more on skills than educational background or comprehensive work history. This can help these candidates to brush over highly-specialized positions that may raise red flags for hiring managers, focusing instead on the skills relevant to the position they want.

It’s worth keeping in mind that a functional resume is a highly specialized resume format, and it will only work for a very limited number of job searchers. Most people will get more out of a reverse-chronological resume format than a functional resume format. In particular, you should avoid the functional resume format if you have no work experience at all!

But if you have an unusual work history or a compelling reason to focus on your skills over the specifics of your experience, a functional resume will give you the tools you need to make a successful application. As long as you approach it carefully, it’s a great resource for job searchers with a less conventional background.

How to Write a Functional Resume

If you’re going to write a functional resume, you need to know how to do it right! A standard functional resume will contain all of the following sections, usually in this order:

• Your name, job title and contact information
• Your resume summary, focusing on your skills and achievements
• A skills section, which will be the longest and most substantial section of your resume
• A work experience section, which can be omitted
• An education section, featuring your highest academic qualification and your most recent certifications or licenses

As a matter of course, your name, job title and contact information can form a header for your resume as a whole. It’s important to note, though, that you should omit a job title if you’re making a career change! Otherwise, it may confuse the hiring manager who reads your resume.

Your resume summary should focus on your biggest professional achievements and how they have required you to use your skills. Remember, this type of resume should be all about your skills, so make sure you refer to them here! If you’re making a career change, you can also incorporate an objective statement into your resume summary—this can help hiring managers to get a sense of where you hope your career will take you in the future.

The skills section is the centerpiece of a functional resume, so you need to make sure it shines! To start, look through the job description and identify the skills needed for the position—these will usually appear in a list. Then compare them to your own strongest skills. Wherever these lists of skills overlap, you have a skill that can be included in your skills section.

For each skill you list—and you should aim to list between 3 and 4 skills—include 3 or 4 bullet points. Each bullet point should contain evidence that you have used these skills in the past. We’ll give an example of this section later in the article, so you can see exactly what this looks like in practice!

If you decide to include a work history section, it doesn’t have to be long, and it doesn’t have to include bullet points as it would on a reverse-chronological resume. Select two to three items from your recent work history and list them from the most recent to the oldest—including your job title, your dates of employment, the company where you worked, and the location of the company. If your recent work experience involves a career break of over a year, you can list that as well, along with an indication of the reason for your time away from work.

Lastly, your education section shouldn’t differ much from the education section on a reverse-chronological resume. If you’re a recent graduate or a current student, you can list achievements like academic prizes and honors that you’ve earned while studying. Otherwise, list your highest qualification and any recent certificates you’ve earned—you don’t need to do more than that.

Functional Resume Template

At VisualCV, we pride ourselves on our versatile resume templates. Any of our templates will work with a functional resume format! But it’s worth keeping in mind that hiring managers may struggle to skim-read a functional resume—so ideally, you should choose a template that will make it as easy as possible for them to read.

That means choosing a template that’s fairly stripped-back, without too many distracting design flourishes. Here are some of our favorite templates that work well with a functional resume format.

This ATS-optimized template is one of the most simple, clean templates we offer—which makes it ideal for a functional resume. All you’ll need to do is switch the Work Experience section out for the Skills section, and the rest will be taken care of for you. And when you submit your application, this template will be readable enough to limit the risks of using a functional resume format at all.

This is another streamlined, uncomplicated template that makes a point of being easy to read. From the fonts to the color choices, it’s geared toward presenting you in the most elegant and professional way possible. And you can arrange the sections of this template in whatever order you need, so you can choose what to focus on and what to minimize on your resume.

If you’re looking for a template that makes subtle but stylish design choices, without being impossible to read, Monte is a great choice. The key is that its eye-catching fonts are still very readable, and the pops of understated color don’t distract from what you’re saying in the body of your resume. That makes it an ideal option for you to present your functional resume in an aesthetically satisfying way.

Functional Resume Example

Want a head start on your functional resume? Here’s a great example of a functional resume, to show you how it all comes together:

Gail Edwards Freelance Writer [email protected] | New York, NY

Summary Dedicated and self-motivated copywriter with a BA in Marketing from New York University. Experienced in writing, editing and researching for both print and digital media, with a strong track record of increasing clients’ visibility. Strong time management skills, with a history in project management. Enthusiastic about leveraging my skills and experience in a full-time career in advertising.

Skills Copywriting

• Produced groundbreaking and innovative digital copy for a range of major brands and clients, working to specific briefs
• Developed and enacted a framework for the successful production of print copy, in collaboration with graphic designers and artists and in close communication with clients
• Met and exceeded company KPIs every quarter while employed at Content Solutions Ltd

Copy Editing

• Edited all drafts of written copy before submitting work to clients, ensuring a high standard of quality across all work produced
• Supported junior colleagues by offering editorial assistance on an ad-hoc basis, helping Content Solutions Ltd to maintain its high standards of client satisfaction
• Performed meticulous and in-depth market research for each new client, ensuring that all new copy responded directly to the needs of each campaign
• Sought out relevant statistics to support all print and digital copy, positioning clients as trustworthy thought leaders in their fields

Work Experience Freelance Writer | Content Solutions Ltd, New York 2021-present

Career Break | Parental Leave 2019-2021

Administrative Assistant | New York University, New York 2015-2019

Education Bachelor of Arts in Marketing | New York University, New York 2012-2015

Copyright © 2024 VisualCV

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The Functional Resume: What It Is & When To Use It (Spoiler: Never)

3 key takeaways

• What a functional resume is
• How using this resume format might put you at a disadvantage
• How to use Teal's resume templates (+ functional resume examples)

Considering a functional resume format because your skills outweigh your work experience?

A functional resume focuses on specific skills rather than roles and companies—moving away from a traditional or chronological resume layout. And while it sounds like a good strategy if you're looking to highlight certain abilities, using a functional resume still requires some consideration. 

What is a functional resume?

A functional resume (sometimes called a skills-based resume format) focuses on the skills that qualify you for a role. This resume format prioritizes the tools and aptitudes you've used to do the job over where and when you've done it. 

Teal Note: We can provide guidance for building a functional resume, but this resume template doesn't exist in the Teal platform.

As the workforce evolves, functional resumes have become increasingly popular—but not universally accepted; the trend toward functional resumes is more prevalent among job seekers than hiring professionals. Here's why:

By emphasizing transferable skills and abilities, a functional resume allows anyone with a non-linear career path or limited work experience to present areas of strengths and potential rather than a job history.

But while the core of a functional resume emphasizes skills and competencies, it doesn't focus on:

• Comprehensive work history 

Recruiting expert and Teal Social Media Manager Leah Dillon says:

"Anyone can list a skill, but just listing it doesn’t add value. It’s about showcasing that skill through experience, whether at a company or independently: How do you know it? How did you use it to have an impact alongside other skills?"

The elements above are critical for hiring professionals to assess your qualifications, especially during the initial screening. Direct, relevant experience, reflected through a clear timeline and job titles, is crucial to many job requirements.

Dillon echos this sentiment:

"Companies are looking for people to help drive the business forward, and those who showcase they’ve helped drive initiatives along tend to have higher interview rates."

Disadvantages of a functional resume

• Lack of familiarity:  Recruiters may find a functional resume less intuitive, making it harder to extract critical information quickly.
• Potential for skepticism:  The absence of a chronological work history can look like an attempt to hide gaps in employment or a lack of specific experience.
• Difficulty establishing career progression:  Demonstrating professional growth over time is often key to emphasizing the evolution of roles and responsibilities.
• Limited skills showcase: Functional resumes miss the opportunity to show the breadth of your abilities. A range of skills throughout your resume will help align your experience with a job's requirements. Merely listing skills without showing how they've been applied collectively to have an impact undermines the effectiveness of your entire resume.

Functional resumes vs. other resume formats

Chronological resume.

A chronological resume (or reverse-chronological resume ) is the most widely accepted resume format—presenting your work history in reverse chronological order.

It offers a straightforward view of your career progression, highlighting your work experience and making it easy for hiring managers and recruiters to see your background, achievements, and how you've used your skills to have an impact over time.

View our full selection of free reverse-chronological resume templates to find a style and presentation that suits your career.

Combination resume

The combination resume , or hybrid, blends elements of both functional and chronological resumes while still offering a clear and easy-to-read layout. It typically starts with a professional summary, followed by a section for hard or technical skills, and then a reverse chronological listing of your work history. 

When to use a functional resume

If you've made it this far and still feel the best resume format is a skills-based resume, here are the best use cases.

Career pivoters

Suppose you're transitioning to a new industry or career path. In that case, a functional resume can help highlight transferable skills relevant to your new field—regardless of where you've acquired them.

Those with employment gaps

If you have a gap in your employment, you can use a functional resume to emphasize your skills, highlighting what you bring to the table rather than focusing on your employment history.

Reentering the workforce

If you're returning to work after a significant break, a functional resume can help you highlight your relevant, valuable skills.

First-time job seekers

If you're a job seeker creating a resume with no work experience , a functional resume format focuses on skills rather than a non-existent or thin work history.

For applications that request this format

Some job postings might request a functional resume. In these cases, sticking to this format shows you can follow directions and understand the specific preferences of your prospective employer.

How to write a functional resume

Before you choose a resume format, you need the  right  tool to store your skills, achievements, and more. 

The Teal  AI Resume Builder  is a free platform to house all these details in one central location. 

Now, it's time to write your functional resume.

1. Start with your contact information

You want prospective employers to contact you, so you're going to need to give them those details as clearly as possible.

Your resume contact information should include:

• Phone Number
• Professional email address
• LinkedIn profile URL 
• Portfolio or personal website URL (if applicable)
• Your target title

2. Add a professional summary

Below your contact information, write a 3-5 sentence professional summary. Consider this your highlight reel—zeroing in on top achievements, skills, and qualifications while generating enough interest to keep the hiring manager or recruiter reading the rest of your resume.

Pro Tip: If you want to save time writing your professional summary, try Teal’s AI Summary Generator to write tailored, position-specific summaries in seconds.

3. List relevant skills

Next up, list your skills. Because you're using a functional resume format, this section will change each time you apply for a specific role.

The skills in your resume (regardless of format) should  always  align with the job description of the role you're applying to.

Resume skills example: 

If a job description says,

"3 years of experience in an SEO, Growth Ops, or Marketing Ops role, ideally in a startup environment for a B2C audience with strong knowledge building and owning workflows as it relates to SEO, content production, and publishing."

Then, your resume's "Skill" section should focus on at least three skills listed. 

• Content Production

Not sure which skills matter most? Teal's got you covered. The Teal AI Resume Builder pulls the top skills as keywords from any job description, so you know which ones matter most.

Once you've identified the top three skills in the job description, add three to five bullet points beneath each to showcase  how  you used that skill to have impact.

Using the job description above, here's a functional resume example of how this might look.

• Orchestrated a growth ops strategy, successfully improving SEO workflow efficiency by 25%
• Led a team in implementing growth op practices, increasing web traffic by 35%
• Redesigned growth op workflows, improving content production and publishing by 20% 

4. Add optional sections

Once you have your primary skills and the impact of those skills, add job history, an "Education" section, and certifications to support them.

4 tips for writing a functional resume

Now that you understand how to write a functional resume let's go over some best practices that'll help guide you.

• Only emphasize relevant skills : Identify the skills most relevant to the job you’re applying for and provide specific examples of how you used those skills.
• Quantify your achievements : Wherever possible, use numbers, metrics, and data to show the impact of your work. Think efficiency improvements, revenue growth, etc.
• Use a clear, organized layout : Ensure your resume is easy to read. Use headings, bullet points, and consistent formatting to make your skills and achievements stand out.
• Tailor your resume : Customize your target title, resume summary, skills, and bullet points—ensuring your content aligns with what an employer is looking for.

Functional resume format

The functional resume layout differs significantly from other traditional formats. Here's how to do it:

• Contact details
• Your resume summary
• A clear "Skills" section with achievements relevant to the role

If you include an employment history, place it after the skills section. Education and any other relevant details (certifications or volunteer experience) should come last.

3 tips for formatting a functional resume

• Provide clarity: Use a clean, easy-to-read layout. Opt for bullet points to describe your skills and achievements, making the resume scannable.
• Use consistent formatting : Your resume content should stick to one font style and size, with clear and slightly larger or bolded headings to distinguish each section.
• Balance white space and text: A well-balanced layout avoids clutter, making your resume clear and easy to read.

Functional resume examples

A functional resume example can help guide your process—giving you a clear idea of how to create a compelling functional resume.

Data analyst functional resume example

Software engineer skills-based resume sample

Project manager functional resume example

Functional resume templates

A free functional resume template can be a valuable tool in writing your resume.

Functional resume templates provide a structured layout so you can effectively showcase your skills and their impact.

Websites like Teal, Canva, Google, and Microsoft offer a variety of resume templates . These platforms are user-friendly, and the templates cater to different career needs and styles.

How to use skills-based resume templates

1. Copy the template into your editing software : Copy and paste (or download the template) in your preferred editing software.

2. Customize each section : Replace any placeholder text with your own details. Focus heavily on the skills section, making sure to highlight only skills that are 100% relevant to the job you're applying for.

3. Adjust the design : While the template provides a basic structure, feel free to make minor adjustments to the design. (This could include changing font sizes or styles, adjusting the layout of sections, or adding a small pop of color. Just be mindful to keep it easy to read.)

4. Proofread and edit : Make sure your resume is free of errors like placeholder text and the information is current and accurate.

Skills-based resume templates

Below are some free skills-based resume templates that provide a solid foundation for you to start from. Use them as a guide for showcasing your unique skills and experiences effectively.

Student skills-based resume template

[Full Name]

[Contact Information]

[Target Title]

Professional Summary

[Highly motivated and detail-oriented student] pursuing a [Bachelor's/Master's] degree in [Field of Study] with a strong foundation in [Key Skills]. Experienced in [mention any relevant internships, part-time jobs, or projects with impact] and passionate about [specific interest within the field].

[Relevant Skill]

• Achievement with impact

[Bachelor's/Master's] in [Field of Study]

[University Name], [Expected Year of Graduation]

Coursework (Optional)

[Course] - [Brief description]

Recent graduate functional resume template

[Energetic and motivated recent graduate] with a [Bachelor's/Master's] degree in [Field of Study] from [University Name]. I have excellent [Key Skills] and am eager to apply academic knowledge and [internship/academic project with results] experience to contribute effectively to [industry/role]. Strong [relevant soft skills] and a quick learner, ready to excel in a [specific field/role].

[University Name], [Year of Graduation]

Projects (Optional)

• [Project Title] - [Brief description and outcome]

Career pivot skills-based resume template

[Experienced professional in [previous career] with a strong foundation in [relevant skills] and a passion for [new career/industry]. Seeking to leverage [transferable skills] to transition into a [target role/industry]. Accomplished in [mention at least one relevant achievement with impact] and committed to achieving success in [new career/industry].

Certifications

[Certification] - [Organization]

Professional Experience

[Previous Job Title] | [Previous Company], [Years of Experience]

• [Any relevant achievements]

Create and manage your resume with Teal

While functional resumes showcase specific skills, they also have limitations.

Their format, which deviates from the traditional chronological layout, is less familiar and more challenging for hiring professionals to navigate. This unfamiliarity may lead to difficulty in quickly assessing what you bring to the table—leaving you at a disadvantage compared to other candidates.

A chronological or hybrid resume might be a better option if you're looking for a more easily recognized approach. These formats are more familiar and provide a clear, linear view of your skills and how you used them over time to have an impact.

If you're ready to grab (and hold!) the attention of hiring managers and recruiters with a holistic view of your skills and experience—one they can easily follow and appreciate—it's time to get started:

Frequently Asked Questions

Do employers like functional resumes.

Employers typically don't prefer functional resumes because they can obscure chronological work history and specific job titles. Unless a functional resume format is specifically requested, try to use a chronological or combination resume format instead.

What is a functional skills resume?

A functional skills resume focuses on skills and experiences rather than chronological work history, highlighting your top competencies.

When should you not use a functional resume?

You should not use a functional resume when applying to roles that require a clear understanding of your work history and progression.

Kayte Grady

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We help you find the career dream.

24 Resume Summary Examples That Get Interviews

By Biron Clark

Published: November 8, 2023

Biron Clark

Writer & Career Coach

A resume summary statement usually comes right after a job seeker’s contact info and before other resume sections such as skills and work experience. It provides employers with a brief overview of a candidate’s career accomplishments and qualifications before they read further. Because of how early it appears on the document, your resume summary statement (or your CV “profile” in the UK) is one of the first places recruiters and employers look. And without the right information, they’ll doubt that you’re qualified and may move to another resume.

So I got in touch with a select group of professional resume writers, coaches and career experts to get their best resume summary examples you can use and adapt to write a resume summary that stands out and gets interviews.

As a former recruiter myself, I’ll also share my best tips to write your resume summary effectively.

Why the Resume/CV Summary is Important

You may have heard that recruiters only spend 8-10 seconds looking at your resume. The truth is: they spend that long deciding whether to read more. They do glance that quickly at first and may move on if your background doesn’t look like a fit. However, if you grab their attention, they’ll read far more. Recruiters aren’t deciding to interview you in 8-10 seconds, but they are ruling people out in 8-10 seconds. And this is why your resume summary is so crucial. It appears high up on your resume (usually right after your header/contact info) and is one of the first sections employers see. So it’s part of what they’ll see in the first 8-10 seconds.

Your resume summary statement is one of your first (and one of very few) chances to get the employer to stop skimming through their pile of resumes and focus on YOU.

Watch: Resume Summary Examples That Get Interviews

10 resume summary examples:.

These career summary examples will help you at any experience level – whether you’re writing a professional summary after a long executive career, or writing your first resume summary without any experience! After you finish this article you’re NEVER going to have to send out a limp, weak resume summary statement again (and you’ll get far more interviews  because of it).

1. Healthcare Sales Executive Resume Summary Example:

Turnaround & Ground Up Leadership – Concept-to-execution strategies for untapped products, markets + solutions that yield 110% revenue growth – Negotiates partnerships with leading distributors + hospitals—Medline to Centara + Novant Health to Mayo Clinic –  Revitalizes underperforming sales organizations via scalable, sustainable infrastructures emulated as best practice –  C-Level networks of clinical + supply chain leadership acquired during tenures with XXX, XXX and XXX

Why this resume summary is good:

This resumes summary example’s strength lies in the detailed, unique information that has been included. By including revenue stats, names of past employers and partners, the reader right away sees that this person will bring to the role a strong networking ability with key players in his industry, and more importantly can build, grow and revitalize a sales organization, market or product.

By:  Virginia Franco, Founder of Virginia Franco Resumes  and Forbes contributor.

2. 15+ Year Business Owner Resume Summary Statement:

Dynamic and motivated marketing professional with a proven record of generating and building relationships, managing projects from concept to completion, designing educational strategies, and coaching individuals to success. Skilled in building cross-functional teams, demonstrating exceptional communication skills, and making critical decisions during challenges. Adaptable and transformational leader with an ability to work independently, creating effective presentations, and developing opportunities that further establish organizational goals.

Why this is a good summary section:

This is a resume summary statement that was for  a candidate returning to work after having her own business for 15+ years. Because of this, we needed to emphasize her soft skills and what she can bring to this potential position. In addition, we highlighted the skills she has honed as a business owner so that she can utilize these qualifications as a sales professional, account manager , and someone knowledgeable about nutrition, medicine, and the overall sales process.

By: Dr. Heather Rothbauer-Wanish. MBA, Ph.D., CPRW, and Founder of Feather Communications

3. Human Resources Generalist Resume Summary Example:

Human Resources Generalist with progressive experience managing employee benefits & compliance, employee hiring & onboarding, performance management processes, licensure tracking and HR records. Dependable and organized team player with the ability to communicate effectively and efficiently. Skilled at building relationships with employees across all levels of an organization. Proficient with HRIS, applicant tracking and benefits management.

Why this is a good resume summary:

The applicant highlights their experience across a wide range of HR functions from the very first sentence, and continues this pattern throughout the rest of the summary. They then use easily digestible langue to showcase their hard skills (in the first & fourth sentences) and soft skills (in the second & third sentences). They also integrate a variety of keywords to get past automated job application systems , without sounding spammy or without overdoing it.

By: Kyle Elliott, MPA/CHES,  Career Coach and Consultant

4. Social Media Marketing CV Profile Example (UK):

Social media expert with successes in the creation and management of social media strategies and campaigns for global retail organisations. Extensive experience in the commercial utilisation of multiple social media channels including Facebook, Twitter and YouTube; I build successful social strategies that increase brand awareness, promote customer engagement and ultimately drive web traffic and conversions.

Why this summary is good:

This summary is well-written, short, sharp, and gives recruiters a high-level explanation of the candidate’s core offerings in a persuasive and punchy style. A quick scan of this profile tells you the exact type of social media platforms the candidate is an expert in, as well as the campaigns they have experience running and types of organizations they have worked for. Most importantly, the summary is rounded off by showing the results that this person achieves for their employers, such as increased web traffic and conversions.

Editor’s note: This CV profile summary was written for the UK market… this is a great one to use/copy, but make sure you put it through a spell-checker if you’re applying for jobs in the US (utilisation vs. utilization, etc.)

By: Andrew Fennell, Director at StandOut CV , contributor for The Guardian and Business Insider

5. Marketing Manager Professional Summary Example:

Marketing Manager with over eight years of experience. Proven success in running email marketing campaigns and implementing marketing strategies that have pulled in a 20% increase in qualified leads. Proficient in content, social media and inbound marketing strategies. Skilled, creative and innovative.

This resume summary stands out because it gets straight to the point. By immediately introducing the number of years of experience the candidate has, the HR manager doesn’t need to spend time adding up years. The candidate also jumps right into his or her strongest skill, provides a statistic , then gives additional skills.

By: Sarah Landrum, career expert and contributor at Entrepreneur.com and Forbes

6. Warehouse Supervisor Resume Summary Example:

Warehouse Supervisor with Management, Customer Service, & Forklift Experience –  Dependable manager with 15+ years of experience in warehouse management and employee supervision. –  Skilled at managing inventory control, shipping & receiving, customer relations and safety & compliance. –  Certified Power Equipment Trainer, Forklift Operator and Reach Operator skilled at coaching other staff. –  Promoted to positions of increased responsibility given strong people and project management skills.

The applicant was applying for a warehouse supervisor position that required them to have demonstrated management, customer service and forklift experience. As such, the applicant showcased their experience in these areas with a few keywords in the title, followed by additional details in the accompanying bullet points. Their final bullet shows a record of promotions, while reinforcing the applicant’s customer service and project management skills.

7. IT Project Manager Resume Summary Example:

Experienced Project Manager with vast IT experience. Skills include computer networking, analytical thinking and creative problem solving. Able to apply customer service concepts to IT to improve user experience for clients, employees and administration.

Because this candidate is switching career paths, it’s important he or she take skills used for previous positions and apply those skills to the new job listing. This is a great example because the candidate makes it clear that his or her experience is not in the new field, but that they are still able to bring relevant experience to the table. When writing your resume summary, keep these tips in mind: Use writing that is straight to the point, clear and concise, you’ll have a higher chance of getting noticed by the hiring manager.

8. Career-Changer Resume Summary Example:

Earn trust, uncover key business drivers and find common ground as chief negotiator and identifier of revenue opportunities in sales, leadership and account management roles spanning e-Commerce, air travel and high-tech retail. Navigate cultural challenges while jumping time zones, lead international airline crews and manage corporate accounts to deliver an exceptional customer experience. A self-taught techie sought after as a go-to for complex billing systems and SaaS platforms alike—bridging the divide between technology and plain-speak. – Tenacious Quest for Success + Learning . Earned MBA and BS in just 3 years while working full-time – gaining hands-on experience in research- and data-driven product roadmap development, pricing and positioning. – Results-Driven Leadership. Whether leading Baby Boomers, Gen X or Millennials—figures out what makes teams tick, trains and transforms individuals into top-performers. – Challenger of Conventional Wisdom. Always ask the WHY. Improve the user experience through smart, strategic thinking that anticipates outcomes. Present cases that influence, and lead change that drives efficiency and profitability.

This client was eager for a career change and had moved from role to role and industry to industry. After completing her Master’s degree, she was eager to tie her skills together to land a role – which she did – as a Senior Technology Account Strategist for a global travel company. Although a bit longer than a traditional summary, its strength lies in the details. Without ever getting to the experience section, the reader gets a clear idea of the scope of responsibility, and hard and soft skills the candidate brings to the table.

By: Virginia Franco, Founder of Virginia Franco Resumes  and Forbes contributor.

9. Project Management Executive Professional Summary Example:

15+ years of initiating and delivering sustained results and effective change for Fortune 500 firms across a wide range of industries including enterprise software, digital marketing, advertising technology, e-commerce and government. Major experience lies in strategizing and leading cross-functional teams to bring about fundamental change and improvement in strategy, process, and profitability – both as a leader and expert consultant.

Why this resume summary is good:

“Project Manager” is one of those job titles that’s REALLY broad. You can find project managers earning $50K, and others earning $250K. The client I wrote this for was at the Director level, and had worked for some of the biggest and best tech companies in her city. So this resume profile section shows her level and experience, and the wide array of areas she has responsibility for in her current work. You can borrow or use some of the phrasing here to show that you’ve been responsible for many important areas in your past work.

By: Biron Clark, Founder of  CareerSidekick.com.

10. Startup And Finance Management Consultant Career Summary Example:

Experienced strategist, entrepreneur and startup enthusiast with a passion for building businesses and challenging the status quo. 8+ year track record of defining new business strategies, launching new ventures, and delivering operational impact, both as a co-founder and management consultant. 

Why this resume summary example is good:

This summary was for a highly-talented management consultant looking to break out of finance, and into trendier tech companies like Uber . His track record and educational background were great, so the goal of this summary section was to stand out and show he’s more than just the typical consultant with a finance background. So we emphasized his passion for startups, and his ability to think outside the box and challenge the status quo. That’s something that companies like Uber and other “disruptive” tech companies look for.

14 Resume Summary Examples for Various Industries

Compassionate and effective 5th-grade teacher with experience overseeing the classroom and preparing lessons. Extensive experience encouraging students through positive reinforcement and motivational techniques. Collaborate well with school administration and other members of the teaching team. Ensure all students meet learning requirements, including literacy, social, and arithmetic skills.

2. Teacher’s Assistant

Goal-oriented teacher’s assistant with ten years of experience working with elementary school children. Aid teachers with lesson planning, classroom settings, and group instruction. Model positive behavior and maintain order in the classroom. Willingness to take on additional responsibilities to meet learning objectives.

Tech Industry

3. computer programmer.

Innovative computer programmer with a proven track record of writing high-quality code and supporting team needs with subject matter expertise. Adept in multiple programming languages, including Python, JavaScript, and C++. Ability to troubleshoot complex programming issues with inventive solutions. 

4. Cybersecurity Analyst

Dedicated cybersecurity analyst with ten years of experience in online security research, execution, planning, and maintenance. Proven track record of identifying business risks and proactively resolving them. Experience designing and instituting layered network security for large-scale organizations. Train users and other staff members on IT safety procedures and preventive techniques.

Skilled healthcare professional with ten years of experience in patient care, diagnosis, and providing appropriate treatments and medical services. Manage medical staff and resolve complex medical cases with maximum efficiency. Communicate the patient’s condition and treatment plan in easily understood terminology. Remain current with the latest advancements in medicine and research to ensure patients receive proper care.

6. Registered Nurse

Seasoned registered nurse offering comprehensive patient care in emergency room settings. Experience handling diverse patient populations and caring for various conditions. Proven leadership managing nursing teams and other staff. Focus on enhancing patient care and satisfaction through empathetic communication and excellent customer service. 

7. Digital Marketing Manager

Forward-thinking digital marketing manager experienced in all facets of digital marketing, including social media management, PPC advertising, SEO, and email marketing. Proven experience creating comprehensive marketing plans that improve lead prospecting and enhance brand awareness. Up to date with the newest tools available for digital marketing campaigns.

8. Marketing Analyst

Industrious marketing analyst well-versed in analyzing marketing campaign analytics and making recommendations to improve performance. Collaborate with account managers and use KPI metrics to explain the results of marketing initiatives. Meticulous with a strong work ethic and robust communication skills.

Food and Service Industry

Experienced wait staff member capable of managing orders, processing payments, and upselling menu items. Ensure restaurant guests feel welcome with attentive service catered to their needs. Remain current on updates to the menu and assist guests with selecting orders to meet their dietary requirements. Maintain a positive attitude and focus during busy restaurant periods.

10. Hotel Receptionist

Friendly hotel receptionist with extensive experience handling guest check-ins, check-out, and payments. Facilitate a positive guest experience with polished customer service skills and a readiness to address common inquiries and complaints. Collaborate well with other hotel team members, including executive administration and on-site restaurant staff.

Business/Office Jobs

11. financial analyst.

Highly motivated financial analyst with a proven track record of recommending appropriate financial plans based on financial monitoring, data collection, and business strategizing. Experienced in qualitative and quantitative analysis, forecasting, and financial modeling. Excellent communication skills for building and fostering long-term business relationships across the organization.

12. Tax Accountant

Experienced tax accountant with ten years of experience preparing federal and state tax returns for corporations and partnerships. Monitor changes in laws to ensure the organization properly complies with reporting requirements. Assist with tax audits, ensuring the team receives proper supporting evidence for tax positions. Analyze and resolve complex tax issues. Look for available tax savings opportunities for corporations with an aggregate savings of $500K last year. Excellent analytical skills and attention to detail.

Sales and Customer Service

13. sales representative.

Enthusiastic sales representative with expertise in identifying prospects and converting qualified leads to paying customers. Provide quality customer service and contribute to team sales success. Offer exceptional communication skills and seek to understand client needs before making the appropriate product recommendations. Continually meet and exceed sales goals. Leverage extensive knowledge of available products to provide appropriate client solutions and enhance customer loyalty and retention.

14. Customer Service Associate

Knowledgeable customer service professional with extensive experience in the insurance industry. Known as a team player with a friendly demeanor and proven ability to develop positive rapport with clients. Maintain ongoing customer satisfaction that contributes to overall company success. Highly articulate, with a results-oriented approach that addresses client inquiries and issues while maintaining strong partnerships. Collaborate well with the customer service team while also engaging independent decision-making skills.

Now you have 24 professional resume summary statements and some explanations of why they’re effective. Next, I’ll share tips for how to write your own in case you’re still unsure how to begin based on these examples above.

How to Write a Resume Summary: Steps and Hints

We’ve looked at 10 great resume summary examples above. As you begin writing a resume summary for yourself, here are some helpful tips to keep in mind:

• Read the employer’s job description. Your career summary shouldn’t be a long list of everything you’ve done; it should be a refined list of skills and experiences that demonstrate you’re a fit for their job.
• Mention your current job title if relevant. One common way to begin your resume summary is to state your current job title.
• Explain how you can help employers achieve their goals or solve their problems.
• Consider using bold text to emphasize one or two key phrases.
• Include any relevant metrics and data like dollar amounts, years of experience, size of teams led, etc. This helps your resume stand out.
• Focus on making the employer want to read more. The goal of your resume summary isn’t to show everything you can do, but to grab their attention and show enough that they continue reading.

Creating a Customized Resume Summary

While general summaries are appropriate when applying for jobs requiring similar skills and experience, a customized resume summary can enhance your chances of moving on to the next step in the hiring process. 

That’s because most companies use automated tracking systems (ATS) to review submitted resumes for content directly related to the job posting. If you use keywords and natural language phrases in your summary that interlink to the job description, you’ll have a much higher chance of passing the ATS review.

Let’s look at an example of a resume summary that is customized for the specific job description below:

“Highly motivated social media specialist with strong project management skills. Creative marketer skilled in crafting innovative social media campaigns that resonate with a target audience. Regularly develop compelling copy and social media content to enhance lead generation and brand awareness. Detail-oriented with extensive project management skills that ensure proper prioritization of tasks and projects. Work with various social media management and analytics tools to examine results and make adjustments as necessary.”

This summary directly addresses the key points in the job description but rewrites them so the customization is natural and flows well. It’s personalized for the open role and uses similar terms with a few strategically placed keywords, such as “social media content” and “project management.”  

How Long Should a Resume Summary Be?

As you read the resume summaries above, you probably noticed there are some short single-paragraph resume summary examples and much longer career summaries that are two to three paragraphs plus bullet points. So how long should YOUR professional summary be? If you have relevant work experience, keep your summary to one or two paragraphs. The piece you really want the hiring manager to read is your most recent work experience (and you should make sure you tailored that info to fit the job description). The resume summary is just a “bridge” to get the hiring manager into your experience.

If I were writing my own career summary right now, I’d likely use one single paragraph packed with skills, accomplishments, and exactly why I’m ready to step into the job I’ve applied for and be successful!

Even for a manager resume summary, I recommend a very short length. However, if you’re changing careers, or you’re looking for jobs without any work experience , the summary section needs to stand on its own, and should be longer. That’s why some examples above are a bit longer.

Formatting Your Resume/CV Career Summary

You may have noticed a variety of different formats in the career summary examples above. There isn’t one “right” way to format this section on your resume or CV. However, I recommend either using one or two brief paragraphs, or combining a short sentence or paragraph with bullets. Avoid writing three or four long paragraphs with no special formatting like bullet points. That’s simply too much text for your summary section and will cause recruiters and hiring managers to skip over it in some cases.

Should You Include a Resume Objective?

You do not need to include an objective on your resume, and doing so can make your resume appear outdated. Use a resume summary instead of an objective. Follow the resume summary examples above and focus on discussing your skills, qualifications, and achievements, rather than stating your objective. Employers know that your objective is to obtain the position you’ve applied for, and the resume objective has no place on a modern resume/CV in today’s job market.

Examples of Bad Resume Summaries

Now that we’ve seen a few exemplary resume summaries, let’s look at some that you should avoid at all cost.

1. Typos and Grammatical Errors

“Experienced cashier who knows how to run the register cash. Responsible with the money and can talk with the customer. Knows when to stoc up the invenory and checks it all the time. Can count change and run credit card tranactions. Get the customer happy by good service. I am always cheerful and organized.”

Why this resume summary is bad:

If you read the summary carefully, you’ll notice several spelling errors. The words “stock,” “inventory,” and “transactions” are all spelled wrong. Grammatical errors make the summary choppy and difficult to follow (“Get the customer happy by good service”).  A summary like this probably won’t fly with a company looking for a detail-oriented cashier responsible for managing in-person sales.

2. Lacks Relevant Keywords

“Talented worker with experience managing a team of staff. Creative and responsible with knowledge of organizational processes. Can keep up with the busiest of environments. Stays focused when at work, ensuring prompt task completion. Dependable and willing to collaborate with a team to get things done.”  

In this example, the chef doesn’t use keywords relevant to cooking, restaurants, or kitchens. The summary is very generic and can apply to nearly any job. A manager who receives the application isn’t likely to understand what value the candidate can bring to the restaurant.  To fix the summary, the applicant must rewrite it to include relevant keywords and phrases. 

3. No Numbers to Quantify Achievements

“An experienced and hardworking manager ready to align procedures for maximum revenue and profits. Proven track record of streamlining and strengthening processes, resulting in higher sales and better customer satisfaction. Collaborate well with sales team members, ensuring they have the resources and knowledge to support customer purchases and inquiries. Develop strong rapport with clients and maintain ongoing relationships.”

This isn’t a terrible summary for a sales manager, but it has room for improvement. For one, the first two sentences essentially duplicate each other, mentioning an aptitude for improving processes with the objective of higher sales. The other issue is a lack of quantifying achievements. 

The applicant mentions they have a proven record of increasing sales, but they could strengthen the summary by quantifying their results. For example, they might say, “Proven track record of streamlining and strengthening processes, resulting in a 25% increase in sales over the past year.” The quantifier provides additional credibility. 

4. Not Targeting the Specific Job

“Looking for work in a role that requires great customer service, project management, and communication skills. Able to collaborate with people from diverse and varying backgrounds. Highly organized and reliable worker with a strong work ethic. Responsible and reliable worker you can count on.”

While the candidate lists various skills they have, including customer service and project management, there’s no indication of prior roles held or what position they’re applying for. The summary could apply to numerous positions in a variety of industries. To improve the resume summary, the applicant must specify the job they’re applying for and indicate their prior experience in a similar role, if they have any.

After You Start Getting Interviews, Make Sure to Take Advantage…

If you follow the advice above, you’ll have a great professional resume summary to make your qualifications stand out to employers. But landing the interview is only half the battle… So make sure you go into every interview ready to convince employers that they should hire you, too! If you write a great resume summary example that gets employers excited to interview you, they’re going to ask you questions like, “tell me about yourself” early in the interview to learn more about your background. So make sure you’re prepared with an answer.

I also recommend you review the top 20 interview questions and answers here.

Your resume caught their interest, so naturally, they’re going to follow up with a variety of questions to learn more about your professional background.

The bottom line is: A strong professional resume summary, followed up by other well-written resume sections will get you the interview, but your interview performance is what determines whether you get the job offer!

About the Author

Read more articles by Biron Clark

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I would recommend to customise the skills section of your resume, and ensure that it matches the job posting. The higher the number of phrases within the resume matching the job requirements the more are the chances that the recruiter will pick you for the job.

I just wanted to say, “thank you!”. This was very helpful. Instead of jumping from one website to the next there’s so much useful, relevant information right here.

Hi, I have been having trouble creating a resume as My old one is so long, I’ve worked for a government agency for the past 14 years and held multiple positions doing many different duties for each and now I have to relocate to another area where they do not have an agency like mine in my new area within a 3 hour drive, how can I squeeze all my experience and duties on one page and where do I even start, I’m so nervous, it’s been so long since I’ve attempted the job hunt. So I’m wondering, I do not want to cut anything out that may hurt my chances and I can’t afford to have my resume rewritten by a professional. Can you guide me as to where you think would be a good place to start, I’ve been staring at this laptop for weeks trying to decide on a resume template, there are so many. I thank you for your time and any input will help.

Hi, I am a new graduate and do not have any experience in my field which is Nursing. I want to apply for the jobs but I have no idea about what to mention in my resume.

Hi, this article should help with the resume summary, at least: https://careersidekick.com/summary-for-resume-no-experience/

Other than that, you need to put your academic experience. And internships/part-time jobs if you’ve had any.

Dear Biron,, Thanks for sharing the 10 examples of professional summaries in your article, and especially the reasons why they were considered to be good. However, as a HR professional, I would most likely skip over most of them and would not read much past the first or second sentence. The summaries were mostly too wordy and boring, and did not demonstrate ‘oomph’ at first cursory reading. Simply indicating certain skills or behaviors does not give an idea of the level of expertise, and could simply be wishful thinking on the part of the resume writer.

Just goes to show that there are many ways to see what makes a good summary.

I am a chemical engineer and project management professional with 15+years experience. My experience is between process engineering and project management . How can I marry the two in my profile summary?

It’s not about showing everything you’ve done. It’s about showing employers evidence you’ll succeed in their job. You can show a bit of both but focus heavily on what’s most relevant for the jobs you’re applying for right now. 80/20.

This was absolutely helpful and amazing! Thank you very much!

Hello, I am an active job seeker. I hold a law degree from a foreign country and currently in college for an associate degree. My question is, how do I blend both my foreign job experience with that of the United States in my resume. Thank you.

I’d put your work history in chronological order, starting with the most recent up top. That’s what I’d recommend for 95% of people actually. Then it doesn’t matter where you held each job.

And then in your Education section, I’d include your foreign degree and the current degree you’re pursuing in the US, too (for the US degree, you can say “in progress” or “graduating May 2019” for example).

I am 40 years old & B.A degree holder I have experience in many fields.I would like to join any one fields

I am a fresh graduate, who has five years teaching experience and some months customer service representative experience. Pls kindly assist me to put the resume summary together

I’m an active duty service member and finding in a little difficult creating a good transitional summary from 20 year profession in tactical communications to a drug and alcohol counselor. Do you have any recommendations how I should approach this? Any assistance would be helpful. Thanks

Great piece

How to write the CAREER ABSTRACT in resume for ware super visor retail business?

Just wanted to say thank you.Your advise and information was clear and easy to understand , sometimes there is nothing pertaining to what im looking fot in particular, buy you have sermed to cover everything I n a short quick easy to understand method.It will help tremendously.

Thanks! Glad to hear it helped :)

Very informational

What if you have work experience, but the job your going for(teachingeducation) has nothing to do with warehouse work? How should I build my resume?

In the summary, describe yourself and then say, “…looking to transition into ___” (the type of work you want to be doing now).

This is a bit like a resume “Objective”. I normally don’t recommend an Objective section (and I recommend a Summary section instead), however the one time an Objective does make sense is when you’re trying to change industries or make a big change in the type of role you have.

So that’s why my advice here might seem like I’m telling you to combine an Objective with your resume Summary.

Then “tailor” your previous work to be as relevant as possible. Even if you worked in a different industry you can still show things like leadership, accountability, progress/improvement, hard work, achieving goals, strong teamwork skills, etc. You can do all of that in your resume bullets and work history.

Don’t u have Resume Summary of legal secretary/legal assistant?

No, sorry about that. There are hundreds of different professions/job titles, and we aren’t able to include an example for every scenario out there. These resume summary examples are designed to give you a general idea of how to write yours.

The summaries listed are excellent example and have helped me develop a stand out summary for a new position.

Hello, I been trying to land the job of my dreams. I need help with my resume if i want the recruiters in airlines to notice me. I’ve applied before but haven’t had complete success to making it to a face-to Face Interview. It is a career change – yet i feel i am a great candidate bc i have had many customer service and I even attended an academy for that specific position. Can you please tell me what I am doing wrong on my resume ?

what if i never had a job experience?

Great question. If you don’t have any work experience, take one of the formats/examples above and put your accomplishments and qualifications from your academic studies.

Your headline could say: “Motivated Bio-Sciences Graduate With Expertise in ____”.

And then you might talk about accomplishments in school, group projects you worked on or led, etc.

Basically, when you have no work experience, your school/studies BECOMES your recent work. You should talk about that like it’s a job, because that’s the experience you do have.

really amazing article and too useful , thanks

Hi Mr. Clark, I have been out of the work force for about 18+years and I have been a small business owner for the same number of years. However, I want to go back to the work force. But my problem is that, I don’t know how to prepare my resume or resume summary statement. I had a degree in Communication,Arts and Sciences and a postgraduate degree in Public Administration. I’m a bit confused as to how to incorporate all these experiences into my resume. Please can you help?

Hi Dorothy, I can recommend a professional resume writer if you want. But they’re typically not cheap, so it’s something you’d have to be willing to invest in. If not, there’s a lot of free info online about how to “tailor” your resume for specific jobs. I can’t help one-on-one unfortunately, but I’d recommend thinking about which type of jobs you want, and think of what experience you have that is most relevant. that’s what to put on your resume. Your resume isn’t only about you, it’s about them – what do they want/need? (if you want to get a ton of interviews, that’s how to do it :) ).

Can I have a professional resume writer?

I use a similar format when writing my opening statement for my coverletter. How do you recommend differentiating the two? Or is it ok to use largely the same language?

I think it’s okay to use something similar. I might be more brief in the cover letter… it needs to be about them just as much as it’s about you. Whereas the resume is all about you, at least in the summary section. (The later sections should still be tailored to THEIR needs..)

Struggling to write a Summary Statement for a Secretary/Administrative Assistant position. I have 15 years government experience but have been away from the government since 9/1993 and have spent 15 years as a Substitute Teacher after taking off for 10 years to raise my children.

Hiya! I am a mother of three attempting to return to the workforce. I have been a stay at mom for about 13 years, so I have a (large) gap in my employment history; which doesn’t look great. I have a college education and have obtained a few certifications whilst not employed, plus many volunteer hours. I know that I should probably use a functional resume format. Would love some advice on what I should include in my summary statement.

Hi Juniper,

I rarely like functional resumes, but it might be worth trying. I’d “split-test” it (a marketing term). Create two resume styles, send out 50% one way, 50% the other way, and track results for a week.

I’d treat the resume summary statement just like any other resume. Highlight your skills and past wins/accomplishments.

how do i explain long term gaps in employment? leave them out?

Hi Paulette,

Don’t mention them on a resume summary. But do mention the gaps on a cover letter or lower down on the resume. Here’s an article on how to explain gaps in employment:

https://careersidekick.com/explaining-gaps-in-employment/

I am student in civil engineering field. Have 1.5 yrs of work ex. How should i structure my resume. Thanks.

Hello My name is Shataka and I’m a current job seeker trying to land my dream job as a Counselor. I have Master degree in Counseling Psychology and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work. My experience lies in many different fields. I’m currently a Substance Abuse Counselor, with a teaching background and over 5 years of social service experience. I guess my question is how would I sum up all my experience to help me find a job as a Counselor.

Comments are closed.

The Functional Resume Format: Tips & Examples (2024 - Updated)

Table of Contents

Tips and tricks for writing a functional resume.

Generally, there are three types of resume formats, each with its own benefits and drawbacks. There is no one-size-fits-all template, but the resume-verse does have something for everyone. In order to avoid the resume blackhole , you need a layout that helps you stand out. 

That might sound strange, but many professions prioritize a seasoned expert with cultivated skills. One just needs to know how to use a functional resume to catch the eye of potential employers . Here at Qureos, we plan to teach you exactly that.  ‍

1. What Is a Functional Resume?

The functional resume is also known as a skill-based resume. That is because it focuses on marketing the applicant’s skills rather than work experience. It is the ideal format for those who have curated a highly diverse and effective skill set, which would be greatly productive in any job setting. 

Compared to the chronological or combination resume, this format is targeted towards a set group of employers who require a refined skill set rather than a history of professional work experiences. This resume showcases your ambitions relevant to the job, rather than what you have already accomplished.

‍ 2. What Is the Functional Resume Structure?

Let us guide you on how to make an impressive resume . To help you visualize it, this is what the standard functional resume should look like:

1. Contact Information

Your information should include your full name, city and country, telephone or mobile number, and email address. It can also have links to any professional websites or portfolios, like LinkedIn, Behance, or your personal e-portfolio. 

This is a necessary step because many employers will use your information to get back to you. Make sure to add this in your header, with your name in a larger font.  ‍

2. Resume Summary 

Though a solid cover letter executes this role in detail, a resume summary or objective is necessary to highlight your capabilities as a candidate. A brief yet straightforward passage must explain how you are the perfect fit for this role. If you lack work experience, a resume objective works better on a skills-based CV. Remember to be professional, keeping it relevant to the role you have applied for.

3. Skills Section

Here, you can experiment with that displays your skills in the most attractive, strong way. 

Usually, functional resumes start off with the first skills sections, called ‘summary of qualifications’, ‘relevant skills’, ‘technical skills’, and more. In bullet point format, list down all skills relevant to your job description . To further diversify your resume and intrigue your employer, you can mention self-taught skills on your resume as well!

Remember to give examples of where, when, or how you’ve implemented said skills. 

‍ 4. Professional Skills

Here, you are required to hone in on the important skills that are most likely to secure your acceptance. In a bulleted list, highlight two or three crucial skills that the employer will not be able to turn away. Then, detail when, where, and how you implemented said skills and what you achieved. 

Additionally, to further strengthen your resume, mention metrics, statistics, or any number that validates your accomplishments. Data evidence will give credibility to your skills, which is necessary. 

‍ 5. Work Experience, If Any 

In case you have any work experience, a functional resume has the space to include that. Below are your skills, like your professional history in reverse-chronological order. Start from the latest position held and describe your roles, skills, and achievements during that period. 

On the other hand, if you don’t have any experience – that’s fine! A functional resume is specifically designed to market your skills over everything else. 

‍ 6. Education

Lastly, write your educational background. Your college and degree are the most important to mention. It's not important to mention your GPA unless it is specifically asked for. Also, you can add any certifications, honors, or important medals you have received. However, ensure they are all appropriate for the job you have applied for.  

After curating your resume, it’s best to run it through a resume score calculator . This will further strengthen your profile and give you an added level of reassurance.

‍ 3. Who Should Use a Functional Resume?

For some, functional resumes can be a holy grail. It is vital to create a killer portfolio that guarantees acceptance, so it’s best to see if the functional resume meets your requirements before creating one. 

Of course, this resume is perfect for those job positions that value skills over practical experience. The format allows for your most valuable skills to shine up upfront, allowing potential employers to screen that section immediately.

Secondly, if you’re someone who has frequently switched careers, has worked in various departments, or lacks a career niche, the functional resume helps you stand out. For those with an unstructured career trajectory, this format encourages them to highlight their learning and skill development.

Thirdly, the functional resume is a highly useful format for fresh graduates or students who do not have work experience or are currently in school. Don’t fret, as one’s education and college experience are sources of skill-building that is of value to hiring managers. 

Additionally, the uniqueness of the functional resume intrigues employers. Therefore, this format is excellent for those who have employment gaps. Aside from focusing on your talents and capabilities, it adds another level to your application. 

Lastly, if you’re aiming for a drastic career shift into a different field, this format is for you. You can showcase how your pre-existing skills are flexible and generalizable to every environment. The functional resume can present you as an adaptable and multi-talented individual who can fit into any field!

However, in some cases, the functional resume may not be the right fit. Firstly, if you do have work experience that spans three to ten years and is relevant to the job. Or, if you want to display a steady career trajectory with advancements. In such a case, draft a combination resume or chronological resume. 

‍ 4. Functional Resume VS Chronological Resume?

A noticeable difference is that of formatting. A functional resume begins with your contact details, followed by a detailed outline of your capabilities, and any certifications. Lastly, it ends with relevant job experiences and educational background. 

Whereas the chronological resume starts off with identification details, followed by a resume summary, and a list of your work history. The latter is featured in reverse-chronological order. Unlike the functional resume, this format displays your education, certifications, and skills very briefly, at the end.

Secondly, while some may reject functional resumes for being disjointed or incomplete, some hiring managers prefer candidates who can work in any industry. While, chronological resumes are generally preferred, especially for job positions that require specific expertise and experience. 

Lastly, the functional resume enhances your skills as it does not prioritize what you have or have not done. It is future-focused that portrays you as a flexible candidate with holistic skills, able to succeed in any field, despite minimum work experience. 

However, a chronological resume values your work history, using it to craft a story that is appealing to employers. It focuses on showcasing accomplishments and your evolution as an employee. 

5. Functional Resume VS Combination Resume?

While we’ve mentioned the functional resume’s format, a combination resume is structured differently. It opens with contact information, a resume summary or objective, a bulleted skills list, and a chronological work experience section, ending with educational background. Unlike the functional resume, it bequeaths equal importance to skills and professional history, suitable for mid-level experienced employees. 

While a functional resume is received as an unexpected and non-traditional application, combination resumes are more creative and diverse. Though, this varies from employer to employer.

Finally, while a functional resume is focused on emphasizing your skills, a combination resume bequeaths equal importance to skills and professional history, suitable for mid-level experienced employees. 

This comprehensive guide on functional resumes is enough to kickstart you on your journey of designing an eye-catching resume. There are several brilliant resume templates available online – so don’t wait and land your dream job today!

Your next big career opportunity!

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Click here to directly go to the complete Functional resume sample.

What is a functional resume?

It is a resume format used by professionals who want to highlight their skills over experience.

Before we dive-deeper into the use and meaning of a functional resume, we need to understand the types of resume formats available to us.

There are 3 standard resume formats used by professionals from different industries. This blog will help you understand how and when to choose a functional resume for your job application.

The following questions will be answered in the article:

• What is a Functional Resume Template?
• Difference between Chronological vs Functional Resume
• Why do we use a Functional Resume Template?
• Pros & cons of functional and chronological resume formats
• Who should use a Functional Resume Template?
• How to make a Functional Resume?
• How to structure a Functional Resume Template?
• Tips to write a Functional Resume

Types of Resume Format

There are three different types of resumes that are accepted within the industry. These resume templates are:

Reverse Chronological Resume Layout

In which your information starts from your current/last-held profile and dates back to the beginning of your education. It includes all your major achievements and information listed along with important dates.

The resume template examples follow the below-mentioned structure:

• Contact information
• Resume summary or resume objective
• Work experience
• Additional Sections

Combination Resume Layout

It is a combination of the reverse chronological resume format and the functional resume format. It allows a candidate to showcase their skills and achievements with evidence from their professional experience.

The points on this format of the resume are grouped based on the skills highlighted.

The resume template examples follow:

• Skills Summary
• Additional Skills
• Work Experience

What Is a Functional Resume Template?

Functional resumes are essentially skill based resumes, wherein professionals expand and highlight their relevant skills rather than their work experience.

This format is recommended by resume experts for people with gaps in their employment history or for ones who have changed their jobs a lot.

To help you understand better, here are a few pointer about functional resume:

• It focuses on your skill set rather than your work experience
• It works best for when your work history is not related to your targeted job
• It works in favor for professionals with gaps in their employment history or those who have frequently changed jobs

The ideal structure of the resume template is:

• Resume objective

Also Read: What is the best type of resume format?

Functional Resume vs Chronological Resume

Functional resume template: why do we use it.

People who benefit from a functional resume are:

• Professionals joining creative industries - because your portfolio matters more than your resume.
• Professionals transitioning Industry - as a detailed job descriptions could be too difficult for unfamiliar recruiters to comprehend.
• Overqualified or Under-qualified Candidates - who are joining mid-level jobs.

A few key points about the functional resume format:

• The functional resume can be used by candidates to focus on skills and avoid the work history.
• Since the focus is on the skills, it helps mask the job shifting trait of the candidate.
• The functional resume format is not parsed by most ATS since the ATS only looks for points under the relevant work experience.
• The functional format is not a well accepted resume format as it raises suspicions in the minds of the recruiters that the candidate is trying to hide something.

Functional Resume Template: Who Should Use It and When?

A functional resume template is particularly useful for job-seekers who:

• Have frequently changed jobs
• Have gaps in their work history
• Are reentering the workforce
• Are transitioning into new careers
• Under-qualified or Overqualified for particular job posts

The reason functional resumes work well for these people is that most of our acquired skills are transferable despite our careers not standing well.

For example , if you have been a sales manager, you were possibly responsible for training, coaching, and customer relations. These skills could even be used in your functional resume for a Public Relations Manager.

In a chronological resume , this information might not appeal to a recruiter. Essentially you did not hold the title of Public Relations Manager. However, the functional resume format showcases that despite your job profile you have dealt with PR-related issues.

Eventually it comes to how you illustrate yourself. If you give the employers the same information in an improved package you are bound to increase your chances for an interviews. Functional resumes describes more than just background and experience.

How to Make a Functional Resume?

Before we move on to making a functional resume, first we need to understand the format of a functional resume.

How to Format a Functional Resume?

• Strategically group your key skills into different categories
• Keep the employment section brief
• List your previous designations along with the company in your employment section
• You can omit selective information due to non-compliance with the target profile

Structure of a Functional Resume Format

Follow the order given below to make your resume using the Functional Format:

Contact Information

• Qualifications Summary
• Relevant Skills
• Professional Experience (dates optional)
• The Additional Section

Key Sections In a Functional Resume

Functional resume summary.

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind while drafting a functional format summary:

• Spend maximum time on crafting your functional resume summary
• It should be the last section that you write in your resume
• Highlight your key skills and achievements that align with your target profile
• Limit your summary to 3-4 lines
• Avoid writing boring and elaborate summary, keep it concise and relevant

Also Read : How to write a resume summary

In functional resumes, the candidate’s skills are more important than their work history.

The skills section in a functional resume template should include at least three skills that are significant to the target job. For each skill, group 3 or 4 points which can provide evidence for the same.

Quantifying your skills in your functional resume instills confidence in the employer. It showcases that you are able to fulfill the requirements of the position.

In a functional resume template, skills come after your personal details and before your professional or academic experience. To best highlight your functional resume skills list ensure a combination of

• Skills listed in the job description
• Skills you possess

Although adding your contact information looks like the easiest part of the resume writing process yet many functional resumes manage to miss relevant contact details. Include your:

• Phone number
• E-mail address
• Home address (city and state)

You may even include your LinkedIn URL but do not redirect the recruiter to an empty profile.

Your name should ideally be the largest text on the page between 20-24 pt. font size. The rest of your font may correspond to the font style and size of the rest of the page.

Professional Experience

In functional resumes, the professional experience section showcases your experience without prominent display. This shifts the focus on the skills and other qualifications you have for the position.

To conceal your missing work experiences:

Label your period of unemployment

You may have been unemployed for legitimate reasons like being a parent or doing an independent study or being a full-time student. You may describe yourself in the following ways to label your period of unemployment:

• Full-Time Student
• Independent Study
• Full-Time Parent
• Family Management
• Adventure Travel
• Personal Travel

You must always demonstrate on your functional resume that you were doing something during your gaps in employment. Refrain from explaining them as a result of:

• Rehabilitation, or

Refrain from specific dates

In the functional resume examples you might notice minimal mention of the periods of employment. This creates the impression that even if you were unemployed during the middle of the year 2010, it appears as though you have been consistently working.

This is an acceptable way of “fudging” in functional resumes.

Drafting the education section of functional resume is similar to reverse chronological format resume.

• Include the name of the university along with the location
• Name of the course along with the GPA
• Date of enrollment and graduation

However, if your educational experience corresponds to the job you are applying for then you must mention the skills you have acquired in due process.

In case your degree is not relevant to your field, keep this section short. You may also consider changing the headline to "Training and Education" to incorporate more volume of relevant skills.

Functional Resume Format Template Sample

An example of a free functional resume sample template is attached for a better understanding of how you can proceed with writing your resume.

Tips for Crafting a Functional Resume

• Employ professional or sans-serif fonts such as, Arial, Verdana, Trebuchet MS, Century Gothic, Calibri, Lucida Sans, Tahoma, etc. over serif fonts
• Maintain the font size larger than 10 pts. but smaller than 12 pts. for the section points
• Maintain the font size larger than 12 pts. but smaller than 14 pts. for the section headings
• Stick to the same date format. The standard date format in functional resumes is (mm/yy)
• Follow the current trends. Resume examples 2019 may differ from resume examples 2022
• Refrain from cramming your resume with gimmicky graphics
• Leave more white space for your recruiters to have a comfortable read
• Do not include pictures in your functional resumes
• Do not try to fit every important information on a one-page resume. Do not, however, exclude key details about your career

Functional Resume or Chronological Resume: Which Should You Use?

Pros & cons of using a reverse chronological resumes.

Pros of using a reverse chronological resume

• It provides a clear view of your career trajectory
• This format is widely accepted by recruiters
• It works in your favor if you have an extensive work history related to your targeted job

Cons of using a reverse chronological format

• It highlights your career gaps in your resume
• Showcases unrelated work to your targeted job

Pros & Cons of Using Functional Resumes

Pros of using a functional resume format

• It helps in hiding career gaps in employment history
• It is advantageous for fresher who have no work experience
• It is the best choice for professionals changing their career trajectory

Cons of using a functional resume format

• It send a message to the recruiters that you are hiding something
• It is not ATS compliant
• It doesn't cover your entire work history

Why do Recruiters Dislike this Format?

Recruiters usually skip to the work history to figure out what you might be hiding. In the process, if you manage to impress with your skills, you are good to go.

• Within the context of skills and accomplishments, it gives you a better opportunity to make yourself stand out despite having significant experiences.
• Recruiters are familiar with that fact that the functional resume format covers gaps in the applicant’s experience.

Use with Caution

Although a functional resume might sound like it could suit your situation yet you must be conscious of the few drawbacks to this approach.

Excluding the dates or titles can raise the recruiter's suspicions that you might be trying to hide something.

It can be frustrating for recruiters to figure out where you performed a particular accomplishment.

So carefully evaluate your situation, weigh the pros and cons and if you consider the functional resume template an the advantage which outweighs the drawbacks you may go ahead with it. The skills-based resume could present you in the best light.

Key Takeaways

• It is critical to choose the best resume format for the job application. The best best format should ideally employ all the necessary keywords .
• Picking a proper format ensures focusing on either of the two - your skills or your career progression
• Make sure that your resume format do not make your recruiters suspicious of your achievements.
• Your resume format should address two points - how well you can you do the job and If you the company can work with you?
• Opt for a functional resume template if you have frequently changed jobs or have gaps in their work history
• Quantify your work experiences with your achievements using the Cause Effect formula
• Write a strong skills section and boast any certifications or awards you have received

Hiration does not recommend the use of functional resumes.

Go to Hiration's career platform which has 24/7 chat support and get professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries.

You can also write to us at [email protected] .

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What is a Functional Resume and When To Use It

• Apr 4, 2024

No matter where you are in your career, writing a resume can be a difficult task. You need to sell a prospective employer on the value you create while touting your skills, achievements, and expertise using the right resume format.

Thankfully, there is an online resume builder with templates and examples that use proven, ATS-compliant strategies to help you create the perfect career document.

Create your professional Resume in 10 minutes for FREE

However, most available free resume templates are what is called a "combination resume" and will suit professionals with an existing and consistent career history.

What if that doesn't apply to you? You could have limited experience or have a professional gap . Then you need a seldom-used resume outline that highlights your skills rather than the experience.

In comes the functional resume .

What is a Functional Resume?

The functional resume (also known as a skill-based resume) places your mastery in the driver's seat. It prioritizes transferrable and pertinent skills to communicate the impacts you can make on an organization.

Instead of the reverse-chronological ordering, you see in most popular resume examples , your experience is divided by overarching skill sets , like problem-solving, data analysis, project management, etc. You still include your professional experience but as an abbreviated section towards the end of the document.

To frame it another way, recruiters always want to see bullets on a resume, right? Rather than placing those bullets underneath a job title with a specific company, you attribute your accomplishments to an expertise category.

When to Use a Functional Resume?

You should explore using a functional resume format if the usual reverse-chronological might uncover something that you would rather a recruiter or HR not see.

Four main categories of people should turn to a functional resume template:

You Should Probably Use a Combination Resume

While one of the above situations may describe you to a "T", you may still want to avoid writing a functional resume. Skills-based resumes are, by far, the least used type of resume format because the disadvantages of style often outweigh the positives.

• Hides employment gaps.
• Organizes a varied work history.
• Displays non-traditional skills.
• Non-ATS-friendly resume.
• Difficult for hiring managers to review.
• Hard to form a cohesive narrative.
• Can highlight lack of experience.

Now, let's compare that to the pros and cons of a combination resume, the professional resume format typically preferred by companies and recruiters.

• ATS compliant.
• Easy for a hiring manager to skim.
• Reverse-chronology easily shows your career path.
• Highlights your most recent, and applicable, experience.
• Adds attention to career gaps.
• Harder to structure and create.
• Lack of experience can make it feel unpopulated.
• Likely requires customization for each job posting.

For over 95% of professionals, the combination resume is going to be the best format. As it is easily parsed by both computer and human eyes , maximizing your chances of getting an interview .

If the combination resume is usually preferred, how can we circumvent some of the cons?

Project Manager, O'Connell Group | 2022 - Present. Full-time Caregiver, Greenholt Inc | 2019 - 2022. Project Supervisor, Casper Ltd | 2018 - 2019.

Confining a resume to a single page is good advice for anyone. Daniel Lyons

How to Write a Functional Resume?

If you still want to use a skill-based resume , how do you go about creating one? Options for templates and guides are much more sparse than a combination resume.

Thankfully, in many ways, most sections are analogous between the two.

Let's go through the essentials, section by section , to ease the process as much as possible.

Header & Contact Information on a Functional Resume

A study by TopResume found nearly one in four applicants will fail to have all the necessary contact data. With this, 52% of employers would instantly reject a candidate if they don't include contact information.

In this section of functional resume, you must have your:

• Phone Number.
• Email Address.

Tip: Always use a professional email address. Ideally, it will be your name with no numbers, using either a Gmail or personal website domain. Consider making a dedicated email for a job search.

It may also benefit you to have your LinkedIn profile , job title , and personal website . For the former, only include the link if your profile is up-to-date and represents something that employers should see.

Ideally, you should be updating your LinkedIn profile every year . Or whenever you start a new job search as you could land your next big opportunity through the growing platform.

You can include your job title if your skills align with the position you are vying for. If you are a project supervisor looking to make the jump to a manager. However, if you are switching industries or focuses, you will likely want to omit the job title as it could confuse employers.

Finally, a website could be a hugely beneficial asset, especially if you are creative with a portfolio of work. Just as with a LinkedIn profile, ensure that it is something you want employees to see.

Refrain from including things like personal blogs or other social media pages unless they are directly related to your career focus.

Functional Resume Example:

John Doe [email protected] | (123) 456-7890 | linkedin.com/john.doe

Functional Resume Summary

Remember, a professional resume summary is very different from an objective statement . For the most part, objectives are outdated and will only invite eye-rolls from recruiters. The goal of your functional resume should always be to present the value you create . And not what you are hoping to get out of the position.

In your summary statement, you want to highlight your expertise, relevant skills, and some type of impact you've made in a previous role.

You want this section to be brief, no more than 3 sentences , since the longer it is, the less likely someone is to read it. Here's a rough template you can use to write your professional summary.

Results-driven professional with a proven track record in project management and strategic planning. Proficient in leveraging data analysis to drive business decisions and optimize processes, resulting in cost savings and efficiency improvements. Skilled communicator with a talent for building strong cross-functional relationships and leading teams to exceed goals.

In a traditional resume, your professional experience is the most important section. For a skills-based resume, you leverage an extended skill section to build your professional brand.

Instead of filing achievements under job titles, you will want to use functional resume headers , or headings that state a broad skill the subsequent bullets exemplify.

Just as with a reverse-chronological or combination resume, you want to omit all pronouns. Start each bullet with a strong action verb to engage the hiring manager.

With this, whenever possible, include some type of metric or number to substantiate your accomplishment, providing important context and enhancing its memorability.

For this example , the applicant is looking to transition into branding and content creation from a background in customer service and retail.

Client Relations Evaluated the needs of over 20 clients daily to synthesize tailored solutions that leveraged proprietary technologies. Cultivated relationships with key, high-spend customers to boost acquisition rates by 15% and retention by 34%. Brand Development Increased personal website traffic by 17% after SEO enhancements driven by Google Trends research. Represented Company X as a brand ambassador at local events and concerts.

Professional Experience

You've put in the hard work with your skills section, so now your experience block should be a breeze.

For a functional resume format, you don't need any bullets, responsibilities, or achievements tied to a specific role.

On a functional resume you will only need the essentials:

• Start and End Years.
• Location (sometimes).

Even if you are using a skill-based resume due to a career gap, you will want to include the years at a given position. Remember you can add the reason for the hiatus as a position (per the example earlier in the article).

For that same applicant, their professional experience section may look something like this:

Project Manager | Acme Solutions Inc., New York, NY June 2018 - Present. Lead cross-functional teams to successfully deliver multiple projects on time and within budget. Operations Analyst | BrightStar Corporation, San Francisco, CA January 2015 - May 2018. Conducted comprehensive data analysis to identify cost-saving opportunities and streamline operational processes, resulting in a 10% reduction in expenses.

Education on functional resume

Most functional resumes will conclude with a straightforward education section.

However, if you are a recent graduate, you may elect to move this section to the top, after your professional summary, as the skills you developed during your schooling are much more relevant.

You can also turn this section into an "Education & Certifications" one. This is especially useful for those looking to change careers as it can show expertise in a skill without practical experience.

Some other tips include:

• If within 5 years of graduation, include any honors gained and your GPA (if it's over 3.5).
• You can likely omit your high school degree. A much better use of space would be another bullet or two to support your skill set.
• Also consider including coursework - a semester dedicated to the study of Tableau fundamentals could lead to an entry-level data analyst position, for example.

Functional resume example

Bachelor of Arts, Communications | Missouri State University, 2017 GPA: 3.8, Phi Beta Kappa Honors Society Relevant Coursework: Introduction to Accounting, Financial Planning & Analysis, Finance Fundamentals for Startups, FinTech Principles

Functional Resume Examples

Recent Graduate

Mary J. Vacca 4118 Dennison Street Stockton, CA 95219 Phone: (124) 325-7458 Email: [email protected] Objective: Motivated and adaptable individual eager to launch a successful career in Business Administration. Possessing a strong work ethic, excellent communication skills , and a commitment to learning and growth, I am seeking an entry-level position where I can apply my enthusiasm and drive to contribute to the success of the team. Relevant Skills: Excellent verbal and written communication skills developed through academic projects, extracurricular activities, and volunteer work. Strong analytical and critical thinking abilities, with a demonstrated capacity to identify issues and develop effective solutions. Proven ability to collaborate with diverse teams to achieve common goals and objectives. Flexible and quick to learn, with the ability to thrive in fast-paced environments and embrace new challenges. Effective organizational skills and the ability to prioritize tasks to meet deadlines and deliver results. Additional Skills: Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint). Basic knowledge of CRM software such as Salesforce. Fluent in English and Spanish. Projects: Marketing Campaign Project , UCLA, January 2023 - May 2023 Developed a comprehensive marketing campaign for a local nonprofit organization, including market research, strategic planning, and promotional materials creation. Led a team of four students to execute the campaign, achieving a 20% increase in community engagement and donations. Education Bachelor of Science in Business Administration University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), CA , August 2020 - May 2024 Relevant coursework : Marketing Principles, Financial Accounting, Business Communication, Organizational Behavior. Participated in group projects simulating real-world business scenarios, developing teamwork and problem-solving skills.

Non-Traditional Experience

Career Changer

Willie D. Torrance 4118 Dennison Street Gardena, CA 90247 Phone: (254) 864-7878 Email: [email protected] Objective: Enthusiastic and dedicated individual with a passion for teaching, seeking a fulfilling opportunity as a Math Teacher to inspire and educate students. Leveraging strong communication skills, patience, and a commitment to student success cultivated through customer service experience to create engaging learning environments and promote academic excellence. Summary of Qualifications: Strong passion for mathematics and a desire to share knowledge with students. Excellent communication and interpersonal skills developed through customer service roles. Patient and empathetic approach to understanding and addressing students' needs and challenges. Proven ability to adapt quickly to new environments and learn new skills efficiently. Volunteer Experience: Math Tutor Local Community Center, Gardena, CA , September 2019 - May 2020 Provided individualized math tutoring to students in need of extra support. Adapted teaching methods to suit the learning styles and abilities of each student. Fostered a positive learning environment to encourage student engagement and confidence. Experience: Customer Service Representative Johnson & Johnson, Los Angeles, CA , June 2021 - Present Skills: Utilizing project management tools (MS Project, Monday). Word processing (Microsoft Word, Google Docs). Investigating data (Excel, Tableau). Education: Bachelor of Science in Mathematics University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), CA Graduation Date: May 2021

Limited Experience

Writing a Functional Resume: Conclusion

While rarely used (and with good reason), the skills-based resume can be a boon to a professional who has found themselves in a unique situation or is looking to break into a new industry. It highlights your skills, rather than your career history, to showcase the value you can create for an employer.

If you find yourself searching for work in a new sector, after a break from the workforce, or as a budding professional, the functional resume could be the style you need to nab your next opportunity.

Trevor Richfield

Career Coach & Professional Resume Writer

Trevor is a professional resume writer, career coach, and Nationally Certified Online Profile Expert (NCOPE) with well over 1,000 resumes under his belt. He emphasizes the importance of building an authentic professional brand you are proud to display to potential collaborators and employers. From recent graduates to executive leaders, Trevor has helped professionals land jobs at Fortune 500 companies and expand their own independent ventures.It's not only about results with Trevor, but about a continuous journey of professional and personal empowerment.

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The Best Resume Format: 20+ Examples + How-to Tips

How to format a resume the right way and how to choose the best of the three standard resume formats, depending on your current career circumstances. Plus, examples of well-formatted resumes you can steal.

The term “resume format” might mean different things: 

• For some, it’s about the nuts and bolts of the document—things like margins, fonts, overall structure.
• For others, it’s about picking the right type of the three standard resume formats—reverse-chronological, functional (skills-based), or combination (hybrid).
• Then there are those who think of “format” as the visual design and layout of a resume.

Whichever of those aspects of resume formatting you’re curious about, you’ll get all the answers you need here.

In this guide:

• How to format your resume to make it readable and professional.
• Which resume format to choose, based on your current career situation.
• Recent resume formatting trends you should know (and not always follow).

Just came here for the TL;DR version? Here it goes.

Short answer:

• Consistency is the most important aspect of resume formatting. Use a standard font like Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, Georgia, or Garamond. Use 10–12 pt font for the main body and 14–16 pt for headings. Set line spacing for 1–1.15 and margins not below 0.5 inches. For dates, choose one date format and stick to it.
• To save time and effort and make sure your resume looks just right, use an online resume builder. Obviously, I’d love you to take Rezi for a spin because we’re strongly focused on ATS-compliant formats, but if you want alternatives, Wozber, FlowCV, and Teal are also worth a try.
• The reverse-chronological resume format is a safe choice for all jobseekers and the best choice for 9 out of 10 candidates. 
• If you’re fresh out of school and have no work history to showcase, still use the reverse-chronological resume, just put your education section above the work experience part. 
• The combination format might work if you’re changing careers, but only if you’ve had a lot of professional experience in that previous field.
• The functional resume format is usually too risky. Use at your own peril. The only scenario where it might be okay is if you’re applying for a highly-creative role and your portfolio matters more than your resume.

How to Format a Resume?

• Set margins for 1 inch. If a few lines spill over to the next page, you can make your margins slightly smaller, but not smaller than 0.5 inches.
• If you have less than 5 years of experience, make your resume one-page. Two-page resumes are fine for mid-level to senior-level candidates.
• Use one of the standard, recognizable fonts like Arial, Calibri, Merriweather, Helvetica, Georgia, or Garamond. You can use a different font for headings: a combo of serif and sans-serif fonts often looks better.
• Go for 10–12 pt font for the main body and 14–16 pt for section headings.
• Put essential information in bold but don’t overdo it—use it for things like company names, educational institutions, or certifications.
• Use single or 1.15 line spacing for the main body, and 1.5–2.0 for the space between headings and sections.
• Structure your sections in the following order: Contact Information, Summary, Work Experience, Education, Skills, Additional Sections (Certifications, Courses, Conference Participation, Volunteer Work, and similar).
• Use bullet points to describe your duties and achievements in your work experience section. Use up to 7 bullet points per job—the more recent the position, the more bullets you can shoot for.
• Save your resume as a PDF unless the job ad explicitly asks for a different file format. Name the file FirstName_LastName_Resume_TargetCompany , e.g., John_Doe_Resume_Apple.

Formatting your resume right won’t automatically get you hired. Formatting it wrong, though, will automatically get you rejected. 

It’s the bare minimum you need to take care of in your job application. So yeah, don’t mess it up.

These essentials make sure your resume isn’t just professional, but also easy to skim and visually appealing.

Set proper margins

Margins frame your resume, giving it a clean, organized look. Aim for one-inch margins all around. If you’re tight on space, you can squeeze them down a bit—just not below 0.5 inches to avoid a cramped look.

Use respectable fonts

Your choice of font matters a lot. Stick to clear, professional fonts like Arial, Calibri, Merriweather or Times New Roman. Keep the main text between 10 and 12 points, bumping up headings a bit to make them pop. The aim is clarity, ensuring anyone can easily read your resume.

Get your line spacing right

Good line spacing keeps your resume from looking like a wall of text. Use single spacing for your content, with a bit more space between sections (1.5 to 2.0) to break things up visually.

Use clear, descriptive headings

Headings guide readers through your resume, so they need to stand out. Whether you bold them or use a different font, keep it consistent. This helps employers quickly find what they’re looking for.

Put the sections in the right order

How you organize your resume sections can make a big difference. Kick off with your contact info and a punchy summary or objective. After that, what comes next depends on what you want to highlight. Usually, you’ll lead with your work experience, followed by education, skills, and any extra goodies like certifications or awards.

Use bullet points strategically

Avoid using paragraphs to describe previous experience. Bullet points are your best friend for listing achievements and responsibilities. Start each one with a dynamic action verb and, whenever you can, quantify your successes. This format is not just reader-friendly, it also shines a spotlight on your contributions.

Save your resume as a PDF

When saving your resume, PDF is usually your safest bet to keep the formatting consistent across different devices. Name your resume file clearly with your name and the word “resume,” like, John_Doe_Resume.pdf . 

For brownie points, you can add the name of the company you’re applying to: Michael_Tomaszewski_Resume_Rezi.pdf (to be frank, I never got to send one).

Understanding these formatting basics sets a solid foundation for your resume, making it look good and read well. 

But that’s the easy part. Here’s where things get a little more complicated (or do they?).

Which of the Three Resume Formats is the Best?

• The three standard types of resume formats are: reverse-chronological (the most common one, focused on your work history), functional, AKA skills-based (focused on your skills), and combination (highlighting skills while tying them to professional experience).
• Reverse-chronological resume format is the best choice for most candidates, no matter their industry or seniority level.
• Combination resume format can work well for senior professionals with stellar achievements or for career-changers with extensive experience in their previous field.
• Functional resume format is generally risky: most recruiters don’t like it, and it might not pass some ATS scans. You can get away with it when applying for creative roles, where your portfolio matters more than linear work experience.

I’ll go into details right below. But first, consult this handy flowchart.

Below, I’ll break down the three main types to help you pick the best one for your current situation and career goals.

Reverse-chronological resume format

This is the go-to format for most jobseekers. Its main focus is in the work experience section, with jobs you’ve held listed in reverse-chronological order (starting with the current or most recent one, then working your way back in time).

This is the standard order of sections on a reverse-chronological resume:

• Contact Information
• Resume Summary or Resume Objective
• Work Experience
• Additional sections (Publications, Courses, Certificates , Volunteer Work , Hobbies and Interests, and similar)

And here’s what a good reverse-chronological resume looks like.

Reverse-chronological resume sample

Pros: it’s a recruiter- and ATS-friendly resume , highlighting your career progression and best achievements. It focuses exactly on what matters the most to potential employers.

Cons: if you’ve had plenty of success over many years of your professional career, some of the best bits might get lost between the cracks of a reverse-chronological resume.

This format is a no-brainer when you’ve had a straightforward career in the same field. 

That said, the reverse-chronological resume will work well even for career-changers, people with career gaps, or recent grads with little to no professional experience. 

Here’s why:

• Career changers: write an effective reverse-chronological resume by expressing your desire for a career switch in the resume summary, then, focus on experience and skills that are transferable to the new industry.
• Employment gaps: a 2014 study has shown that career gaps are far less significant to hiring decision-makers than you’d fear. As long as the gap has been followed by a period of continuous employment, it’s unlikely to bother your potential employer. The same goes for any gap shorter than 9 months. It shouldn’t even be called a “gap” in that case, you were just out of work for a while. Of course, you still need to explain the break, but something as straightforward as “Job Seeking” or “Break for Personal Reasons” will do the trick.
• No relevant work history: still fresh out of school with no work experience? Put your “Education” section above your “Work Experience.” In the education section, elaborate on relevant coursework or extracurricular activities . As for the work experience, list anything that might count, even that part-time cafeteria job or volunteer work.

Note : more recent, post-pandemic studies suggest that Americans do display slightly negative sentiment towards those who were unemployed during the pandemic. That said, those surveys were run on general population, not hiring professionals, so take the results with a grain of salt.

Functional (skills-based) resume format

Here, you focus on your skills rather than when you worked where. 

It’s commonly advertised as *the* resume format for candidates with gaps in employment or who are switching careers and want to highlight transferable skills.

The twist is that, technically, you don’t even have to put in the dates next to your jobs. And that might sound really tempting to those of you who aren’t too confident about your career progression so far.

But it just doesn’t work like that. 

You’ll be much better off honestly addressing any irregularities in work history on your resume than trying to conceal those. A functional resume immediately raises questions.

Honestly, any time I had to write a sample functional resume to show that it MIGHT work, I always ended up creating something closer to a combination resume (more on that in a moment).

This is the standard order of sections on a functional resume:

• Resume Objective
• Skills Summary
• Additional sections

Here’s what it looks like in practice.

Functional resume sample

Pros: it lets you play up your strengths and downplay less relevant positions. Can be a good choice for creative or artistic positions or when applying to small businesses.

Cons: recruiters aren’t fans because it can seem like you’re hiding something. It’s not great for dealing with ATS scans. It conceals what hiring decision-makers are interested in the most—your career progression.

If you’re dead set on using the functional resume format, by this point, I’ve probably run out of options to convince you otherwise. 

My final piece of advice: provide concrete examples that prove the skills you’re listing. And if you have an online portfolio, by all means include a link in the contact information section.

Combination (hybrid) resume format

Also called a chrono-functional resume. A mix of both worlds, this format showcases your skills upfront, followed by a reverse-chronological work history. It’s ideal for highly experienced senior candidates or career-changers who’ve had long stints of employment in their “previous” careers.

• Extensive Skills Summary

Combination resume sample

Pros: highlights your most important skills and achievements up top. The magic sauce is tying a skill you mention to concrete evidence from your work history.

Cons: it’s fairly difficult to write it well. The whole point is compiling the highlights from your career in the skills summary at the top, but you don’t want to repeat all that information all over again in the work experience section.

A great example of someone who benefited from a combination resume comes from my individual client from a few years back, we’ll call him Jose.

Jose had over a dozen jobs throughout his 20-year career. He wasn’t much of a job hopper, more like a jack of all trades, taking a part-time gig here and there or holding two jobs simultaneously at times. 

He spent most of his life as a goalkeeper coach for a soccer club in Florida. Jose also handled some promotional activities for the club, was responsible for fundraising, and worked as a sales rep for a niche goalkeeper gear manufacturer. He was looking for a job in sales. And—

As we started talking, I realized he was an amazing salesperson! 

For instance, he single-handedly closed a sponsorship deal with the then Real Madrid’s first-choice goalkeeper (to those of you in the US—trust me, that’s a huge name in Europe) despite competing with the Nikes and Adidases of this world, and other companies he wouldn’t have been able to outbid. He also did spectacularly well managing sales initiatives for the soccer club.

And yet, if two of his most recent job positions had just read “Head Goalkeeper Coach” and “Goalkeeper Coach,” all of those other relevant achievements would have gotten buried. And recruiters won’t dig for information they don’t have readily available at first glance. 

Long story short, we wrote a combination resume for Jose and quickly landed him his dream sales gig. If your current situation sounds even a bit similar, this might be your cue!

CV format vs. resume format

Just a quick note here. If you’re looking for a job in academia, none of the above holds true. You’ll need to follow a CV format—and it’s an entirely different document.

A CV (Curriculum Vitae) is not just a “fancy” resume. It’s way more detailed and used primarily in higher education teaching and research positions, covering your entire career. 

How to choose the best resume format for you?

Depending on your experience level:.

• Entry-level with no experience: lean towards a modified reverse-chronological resume with the education section above the work experience.
• Mid-level: use the reverse-chronological format, which showcases a solid work history and upward career trajectory.
• Senior-level: go for a combination format as it allows you to display a rich mix of skills and impactful career milestones.
• Career-changers: the combination format is a good bet, letting you emphasize relevant skills over past job titles. You can also use a reverse-chronological resume, but provide some context for your desire to change careers in the resume summary or resume objective.

Depending on other factors:

• Linear work history: when you have a solid, consistent work history in the same field, use the reverse-chronological resume format. If your work history is varied with gaps or changes in career paths, a combination resume format might be better.
• Your industry: creative fields are more open to unique formats and designs. For more traditional fields, stick to the basics of standard resume formatting and, ideally, use the reverse-chronological resume.
• The role’s requirements: no matter the exact structure you end up using in your resume, always tailor any resume format to highlight the skills and experience that the role requires.

Here’s what you need to know about resume formatting and resume formats:

• Make your resume presentable. Treat it as any other formal document. Use an elegant font, single line spacing, 1-inch margins, and clear, visually-distinct headings.
• Always include the following sections: contact information, summary or objective, work experience, education, and skills.
• It’s best practice to throw in additional sections that back your expertise up: certifications, conferences, publications, volunteer work, projects, and similar.
• There are three standard resume formats: reverse-chronological, functional, and combination.
• The reverse-chronological resume is the best pick for a majority of candidates.
• Senior candidates or career-changers with a rich history of employment can benefit from using the combination resume format.
• Functional resumes are a less-than-perfect choice. They’re not exactly ATS-friendly, and they conceal some of the most important information.

Thanks a ton for reading and, as always, keeping my fingers crossed for your job hunt! Got any questions unanswered? Check out the FAQs below or hit me up via a DM on LinkedIn, always happy to talk careers!

Should my resume be one page?

For most early-career professionals, keeping your resume to one page is ideal. It forces you to highlight your most relevant experiences and skills. However, if you’re a mid- to senior-level professional with extensive experience relevant to the job you’re applying for, it’s acceptable to extend to two pages. The key is relevance and value—every section should add something meaningful.

How do I create an outline for my resume?

Start by listing the essential sections: Contact Information, Summary or Objective, Work Experience, Education, Skills, and any other relevant sections like Certifications or Projects. Next, under each category, bullet point the items you plan to include, focusing on achievements and skills. Adjust the order based on the resume format you choose and what you want to emphasize most.

What’s the best resume format for college students?

College students often benefit from a modified reverse-chronological format with education placed above work experience. It allows you to highlight your academic projects, and extracurricular activities, especially if you lack formal work experience. However, if you’ve had significant internships or relevant work, a traditional reverse-chronological format that showcases this experience can also work well.

Can I include a picture on my resume?

Generally, it’s best to avoid including a picture on your resume, especially for jobs in the US and UK, where it can actually work against you due to anti-discrimination laws. However, there are exceptions based on industry (like acting) or geographic location (some countries outside the US expect a photo). Always research the norms for your specific situation.

What’s the best resume format for ATS scans?

A reverse-chronological format is the safest bet for ATS (Applicant Tracking Systems) because it’s straightforward and easy for the software to parse. Regardless of format, ensure your resume includes relevant keywords from the job description, uses standard headings (like “Work Experience”), and avoids overly complex layouts or elements that could confuse the ATS.

What should I always include on a resume ?

Always include your contact information, a summary or objective (tailored to the job), your work experience (with achievements and quantifiable results), your education, and relevant skills. Depending on the job, you might also include sections for certifications, languages, volunteer work, or projects. Remember, customization based on the job you’re applying for is key.

Michael Tomaszewski

Michael Tomaszewski, CPRW, is a resume and career advice expert with 7+ years of experience in the hiring industry. He has helped millions of readers and dozens of one-on-one clients create resumes and cover letters that *finally* do their talents and accomplishments justice.