What Is A Functional Resume?

The functional resume is a resume format that focuses on skills and experiences rather than chronological work history. Also known as a skills-based resume, it shows that you are capable of performing essential responsibilities, even if you haven’t worked similar jobs in the past.

Unlike a chronological resume, a functional resume devotes more space to the skills section, which, combined with the summary of qualifications, dominates what the reader sees. Although work experience is included, it is given minimal attention at the bottom of the page.

Key Features of a Functional Resume

A functional resume can be broken down into five main features:

          1. Skills and Competencies Focus: Instead of listing jobs in chronological order, a functional resume organizes work experience by skill categories. This allows you to highlight your strengths and areas of expertise.
          2. Grouped Skill Sections: These sections are typically broken down into key skill areas relevant to the job you’re applying for, such as “Project Management,” “Customer Service,” or “Technical Skills.” Under each section, you list specific examples of your accomplishments and experiences that demonstrate your proficiency in that area.
          3. Brief Work History: While the main focus is on skills, a functional resume still includes a concise work history section. This section is usually placed at the bottom and contains a simple list of your previous positions, companies, and employment dates without detailed job descriptions.
          4. Objective or Summary Statement: At the top of the resume, there is often an objective or summary statement that provides a brief overview of your career goals or a snapshot of your professional background.
          5. Education and Certifications: Like other resume formats, it includes sections for education, certifications, and other relevant qualifications, usually following the skills sections.

Why Might You Choose to Create a Functional Resume?

A functional resume allows you to draw attention toward your abilities and away from any issues with your work history. Due to this, functional resumes are good if:

  • cap iconYou have little to no experience: If you’re a first-time job seeker, then you don’t have a lot of experience to show on your resume. A functional resume will help promote your abilities and make you look qualified.
  • pen iconYou work as a freelancer or contractor: If your work history is scattered among various job experiences, you can summarize your qualifications more efficiently with a functional resume.
  • suite iconYou are changing careers: Use a functional resume template to discuss your transferable skills to show why you are qualified for the job even if your past work history is unrelated to the field.
  • note iconYou have significant gaps between jobs: A functional resume barely discusses your work history. This means it is not as apparent if you have any gaps, however, understand that you may still need to explain them if asked.
  • tick iconYou are applying to jobs prioritizing skills over experience: Some positions are more concerned about your skills, especially if they are highly specialized and/or require hard skills. A functional resume will bring these desired traits to the reader’s attention.

Are Functional Resumes ATS-Friendly?

Many recruiters and hiring managers, and by extension, Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS), prioritize work experience over skills and generally do not like functional resumes. They may disregard the attention placed on your skills, and focus only on the little information given about your past jobs, which means it will be harder to convince them you are qualified.

That is not to say functional resumes are bad. They are not. However, you should be careful when using one. Make sure you are using a functional resume because its focus on skills over experience is beneficial to your professional goals.

Challenges with Functional Resumes and ATS

Functional resumes can pose challenges when it comes to ATS (Applicant Tracking System) compatibility. Here’s a detailed look at the potential issues and some best practices to improve their ATS-friendliness:

          • Parsing Issues: ATS software is typically designed to read and parse chronological resumes. A functional resume’s focus on skills over work history can confuse the system, causing it to misinterpret or skip important information.
          • Keyword Placement: Keywords from the job description, such as specific hard skills, might be harder to match if they’re buried in skill sections rather than in job titles or responsibilities that are more prominently placed in chronological resumes.
          • Work History Overlooked: ATS may prioritize clear employment dates and job titles to gauge a candidate’s experience level. A functional resume’s de-emphasis on dates and job titles can lead to a lower ranking.

Best Practices to Make Functional Resumes More ATS-Friendly

          • Use a Hybrid Format: Also known as the combination format, this incorporates elements of both functional and chronological resumes. Start with a strong skills section, but include a concise chronological work history section as well.
          • Include Clear Job Titles and Dates: Even if your focus is on skills, provide a straightforward list of your job titles, company names, locations, and employment dates. This helps the ATS understand your work history.
          • Keyword Optimization: Ensure that you include relevant keywords from the job description throughout your resume. Place them in the skills section, job titles, and descriptions to increase the chances of being picked up by the ATS.
          • Simple Formatting: Use a simple and basic resume template. Avoid complex formatting, such as tables, graphics, or unusual fonts, as these can confuse the ATS.
          • Consistent Headings: Use standard headings like “Work Experience,” “Skills,” “Education,” and “Certifications.” This helps the ATS easily identify and categorize the information.
          • Bullet Points and Simple Sentences: Present your skills and accomplishments in bullet points and simple sentences to ensure they are easily parsed by the ATS.

How To Write A Functional Resume

The functional resume template is broken down into the following sections:

Animation 1

Contact Information

In any resume format, you will write your contact information in the header of your document. This heading will contain the following:

          • Your first and last name.
          • Your phone number.
          • Your professional email address.
          • The city and state where you live.
          • Any links to professional websites or social media.

Summary or Objective Statement

A resume summary is your pitch to the reader that explains why you are the best candidate for the job. In one to four sentences, briefly describe your qualifications.

If you lack experience, you may want to use an objective statement that declares your professional goals and what you want to achieve through employment.

Summary of Qualifications

In the next section of your functional resume, you will include a summary of your qualifications highlighting your most relevant skills. Your summary should be brief and easy to read, so use bullet points that list three to five skills required for the job.

It is important that you include examples of how you used these skills. Even if you don’t have professional experience, consider including volunteer or academic work demonstrating your value.

Professional Skills

The skills section will be the center of attention for your functional resume. You will want to tailor this section with skills required for the job position.

Use a combination of hard and soft skills based on keywords found in the job description. Additionally, mention any transferable skills from previous experiences that would be useful.

Under each skill provide a bulleted list that shows capabilities. Provide experiences of when you used the skills and be able to quantify your achievements. Keep your bullets concise to create a clear picture of your skill set.

Work History

Unlike a chronological resume, the work history section of a functional resume is brief and appears at the bottom of your resume.

You want to list the name of your company, your job title, and your dates of employment. Though you can write a brief description of responsibilities, you will provide most of this information in the summary of qualifications or skills section.

Education

Finally, provide any education, such as degrees, courses, training, or certifications that show you have the knowledge and thinking skills to help you succeed at the job.

Functional Resume Template

Here is the basic structure of a functional resume that you can use as a template when writing one:

Contact Information

Professional Summary/Objective

Key Skills and Competencies

          • Skill Category 1

            Achievement/Experience

          • Skill Category 2

            Achievement/Experience

          • Skill Category 3

            Achievement/Experience

Work History

          • Job Title, Company, Dates
          • Job Title, Company, Dates

Education

          • Degree, Institution

Certifications and Training

          • Certification Name, Issuing Organization, Year

Functional Resume Example

Here is a good example of what a functional resume can look like:

Jane Doe
[Phone Number] | [Email Address] | [LinkedIn Profile]

Professional Summary

Results-driven professional with over 10 years of experience in project management, customer service, and technical support. Proven ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, improve customer satisfaction, and deliver technical solutions efficiently.

Core Competencies

Project Management

          • Led cross-functional teams to deliver projects on time and within budget.
          • Implemented project management methodologies, resulting in a 20% increase in efficiency.
          • Managed budgets of up to $500,000, ensuring financial accountability.

Customer Service

          • Achieved a 95% customer satisfaction rating through effective issue resolution.
          • Trained and mentored customer service representatives, improving team performance.
          • Developed and implemented customer service protocols, reducing response times by 30%.

Technical Support

          • Provided Tier 2 technical support for software and hardware issues, resolving 90% of issues on the first call.
          • Created technical documentation and training materials for end-users.
          • Conducted system analysis and troubleshooting, reducing downtime by 25%.

Professional Experience

ABC Corporation, New York, NY
Project Manager
June 2017 – Present

          • Managed a portfolio of projects, ensuring alignment with company goals.
          • Collaborated with stakeholders to define project scope and deliverables.
          • Conducted risk assessments and implemented mitigation strategies.

XYZ Inc., New York, NY
Customer Service Supervisor
April 2012 – May 2017

          • Supervised a team of 15 customer service representatives.
          • Monitored performance metrics and provided feedback to improve service quality.
          • Handled escalated customer issues and implemented long-term solutions.

Education

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology
New York University, New York, NY

Certifications

          • Project Management Professional (PMP), PMI, Issued: June 2018
          • ITIL Foundation Certification, AXELOS, Issued: September 2015

Functional Resume Template and Examples

If you want to know how to write a functional resume, download a template from our collection of examples to get started. By using a sample, you can be sure that you format your functional resume correctly so that it maximizes your qualifications.

Premium Functional Resume Examples

Free Functional Resume Templates

Functional Resume Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Demonstrates skills even if you lack professional experiences.
  • Can highlight transferable skills which is helpful if you are changing careers.
  • Minimizes any gaps or inconsistent periods of employment.
  • Good for first-time workers, career changers, freelancers, contractors, and those who have taken a break from working.

Cons

  • Less popular, so it can confuse readers unfamiliar with the format.
  • A lack of experience can be viewed negatively by recruiters and hiring managers.
  • Not ATS-friendly.
  • Not suitable for most people looking for work through traditional career paths.

Functional Resume vs. Chronological Resume

The main difference between a functional resume and a chronological resume is that a functional resume showcases your professional skills, while a chronological resume focuses on your professional work history.

Both the functional and chronological resume summarize your technical abilities and break down your experience, qualifications and achievements, but they follow unique formats to do so.

          • Functional resume: Uses multiple skills sections to define and elaborate on your soft, hard and technical skills, adding detail to each of your past successes.
          • Chronological resume: Uses work history to highlight past jobs, and links skills, responsibilities and professional accomplishments to each of your formal roles.

What to use instead of a functional resume

A combination resume would be preferable to a functional resume in most cases. This is because a combination resume integrates the elements of the chronological and functional formats.

A combination resume includes a skills section that allows you to underscore your most valuable skills, including transferable skills, hard skills and soft skills needed for the job.

After the skills section, there is a work experience section that lists your work history in reverse chronological order. Under this section, you will provide more detail about your responsibilities, including quantifiable achievements and valuable results.

Functional Resume FAQ

Updated: June 27, 2024

You might use a functional resume if:

          1. You have no professional experience: Without professional experience, the work history section of your resume will look pretty slim. The template of a functional resume gives you the chance to focus on the transferable skills that you have learned at school, through volunteer work, or in any other type of environment.
          2. You are changing careers: A functional resume can help you contextualize your past work history based on the transferable skills that apply to the needs of an open job.
          3. You have long gaps in your work history: There are many valid reasons for gaps between jobs, but they stick out like alarming red flags on a resume without the proper context. Since a functional resume doesn’t focus on jobs and dates of employment, it’s easy for you to put your talented best foot forward.
          4. You freelance: A freelancer might have inconsistent periods of employment or projects. A functional resume lets you showcase the skills and achievements you developed over years of collaborating with multiple brands and teams.
          5. You are a short-term contractor: Similar to a freelancer, the short-term nature of your work might alarm recruiters or hiring managers without context. The functional resume lets you assert your qualifications and provide a better picture of your experience.

To write a functional resume, tailor it by focusing on your skills that are relevant to the job.

This is accomplished with the help of the “Summary of Qualifications” and “Professional Skills” sections at the top of your resume. A “Work Experience” section will follow and provide minimal information about your past job titles, employers, and dates of employment.

The overall format of a functional resume is:

          1. Contact information heading.
          2. Summary or Objective Statement.
          3. Summary of Qualifications.
          4. Professional Skills.
          5. Work Experience.
          6. Education.

The strengths of a functional resume are that it provides those with limited related professional experience to showcase their skills.

This is especially helpful for transferable skills that can come from past academic experiences, trainings, volunteer work, or jobs in other industries.

The main weakness of a functional resume is that it does not provide direct detail about your work history.

Many employers, hiring managers and recruiters place a high value on work experience because it provides tangible evidence of a candidate’s qualifications. They want to see how your skills were successfully put into practice.

Additionally, applicant tracking systems (ATS) do not read most functional resumes very well.

This does not mean you should never use a functional resume.

However, it does mean you need to put in a little extra effort to ensure your resume is given its proper respect. To help you avoid any issues, use our resume builder to save you from the stress.

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Conor McMahon, CPRW
Conor McMahon, CPRW
Content Writer

Conor is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) for Hloom.com. He has over four years of professional writing experience as well as experience in professional development training. As a member of the Professional Association of Resume Writers & Career Coaches (PARWCC) Conor has written on career development topics ranging from resume and cover letter best practices, employer/employee communication, job seeking help, and more. He received his degree in Music Industry at Northeastern University and plays guitar in his free time.

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