Functional Resume Format: Free Examples, Tips, and Templates (2023)

What is a functional resume format and who should use one? Plus tips, examples, and free resume templates.

Choosing the right format is one of the first and most important decisions you need to make when writing a resume. This guide will discuss the nuances of the functional format and the circumstances of its use. We also provide customizable examples and many other resources to help you choose the right type of resume.

Afunctional resumefocuses on your skills and talents. It shows the reader how you can contribute to your business goals from day one. It also helps hide any issues with your work history that a chronological resume might reveal, such as: B. limited experience or job gaps. We discussed the pros and cons.

This guide will help you confirm that afunctional resumeis the best choice for you, teaching you:

• Optionally, present the functional resume
• Demonstrate how to create a layout for this type of resume
• What information belongs on a functional resume?
• How to organize each section

The Functional Curriculum: An Introduction

OfunctionalThe resume format is suitable for individuals with extensive education and training and/or strong work-related skills. This includes recent college graduates or veteran workers moving into a new industry where their skills and education can be put to use. It's also good for people who have worked for a limited number of organizations and whose skills are more important than the employers they worked for.

a functional resumehighlights your skills and talents and how they relate to the position you are applying for. Often, the skills you have are the same as those described in the job advertisement. This type of resume is best suited for people working in technical or manual trades or transitioning into a new career.

Format of a functional resume

The format of afunctional resumeit's very specific. It is structured to allow recruiters to quickly determine your qualifications for the job and encourages them to read your full resume to learn more about you. An easy way to create your resume is to choose a functional resumePresentationthat you can find online and simply enter your details in the appropriate sections following the Functional Resume Template instructions. However, you still need to know what the structure of afunctional resumelooks.

The basic structure of a functional resume is:

• Name and contact information (email, phone and possibly location, but never an address)
• Position - Must match the position you are applying for
• Summary of applicable skills and relevant experience for individuals listed in the job posting.
• Hard Skills – The emphasis is here. These are the skills that are directly related to the job
• Additional Skills – Soft skills that complement the job
• Education - Formal, professional and subsequent training in specific skills (note - this may precede the skills section if you have recently earned a college degree or received recent training that would qualify you for the position)
• Experience – Brief listing of employers, dates and positions
• Industry related certifications
• industry organizations
• volunteer experience

Sections to include in your functional resume

The core content you put on your resume is similar for each resume format you choose. However, how it is organized and how much detail you provide for each section depends on the type of resume you are writing. Here are the content and organization recommendations for thefunctional resume.

contact information

The CV starts with your contact details. This allows the employer to contact you to invite you for an interview, which is the purpose of a resume. Your contact details must include:

• Name
• phone number
• Email address
• LinkedIn Profile URL

Each of these dots can be at the top of each page of the resume so the employer knows whose resume they are reading. Your name should be slightly longer than your contact information. Your email address and LinkedIn URL may contain links for the employer to click on. Anything you can do to make it easier for the employer will help you conduct the interview.

Professional Resume

The next item on your functional resume is a brief summary of your work history. This lets the employer know more about you and encourages them to want to read the rest of your resume. It must be the same as yours'elevator presentation'or his answer to the infamous “Tell me about yourself” interview question. It should summarize your skills, experience and your ability to contribute to the employer's business goals in 2-3 sentences.

capabilities

This next section will include both'difficult skills'directly related to the position for which you are applying and'Interpersonal skills', these are character traits. This last category shows your ability to work well in the employer's environment. This includes things like communication, teamwork, attention to detail, and more.

If you choose onefunctional resume,the skills section it is the most important and you will spend more time in this section than in other types of resume. Each skill is grouped into similar categories and described in much more detail. It can also include examples of achievements related to the skills.

Here is an example of the type of skills you can add to your own functional resume:

Experience

Similar to the skills section, theprofessional training or work experienceThe resume section differs depending on the resume style you use. For all formats, the basic information provided is as follows:

• cargo
• Company Name
• Location
• times with job

Positions are listed in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent position and working backwards. You should only list jobs that are around 10 years old. Everything before that is no longer relevant to current job titles or the experience has already been described in more recent job advertisements.

I amfunctional resume,These are all the details you need to provide. The focus is on your abilities, which you've already described in detail.

Training

This section describes your formal and informal education related to the position you are applying for. Formal education is listed in reverse order, starting with the most recent or highest degree achieved. The information you provide is:

• Degree with major and possibly minor subjects
• school or institution
• Activities, including busy offices, organizations, key projects orpublications

If you had any informal education related to the jobs you've held or are applying for, please include that on your resume. Descriptions must include:

• Class name or certificate obtained
• educational institution or issuing body
• Term

These points should only be included if they improve your qualification for the job. If the job posting you're applying for lists education, training or certification as "required", move that section just below "Skills" and before "Experience". If you have a college degree, you don't need to include high school on your resume.

The best example of functional resume

Check out our example of a great functional resume below. You can create one with just a few clicks using ourResume Generator.

Pros and Cons of a Functional Resume

A functional resume comes with certain benefits that can quickly help you jumpstart your career. However, it is not the right choice for everyone, as the structure can be limiting in terms of work history. Let's explore the pros and cons of this type of resume.

Benefits of a functional resume:

• Easy to create without much experience
• Lets you highlight your personality traits
• A great choice for students and graduates
• Can be used to change careers and demonstrate transferable skills
• The best way to highlight education and skills without work experience

Disadvantages of a functional resume:

• No employment history section to highlight past positions
• It can make you look like a young career seeker, even when you're not.
• Less ability to demonstrate difficult skills or lessons learned on the job
• Not preferred by employers for certain roles
• Stands out as a candidate with no experience in the field

Functional resume format for freshmen

When you leave university, you probably don't want your resume to focus on the various student roles you took on to earn some money to socialize on the weekends.

The jobs themselves are not important. What matters are the skills you've developed.

Since freshman students are likely to have a variety of odd jobs to complete, the format of a functional resume allows them to highlight the specific skills each role requires. Employers will understand why they avoid a long list of roles in chronological order - they are interested in your assessment of whether you have what it takes to succeed.

What is a combined curriculum?

A functional resume is most useful in situations where you need to highlight skills and knowledge that don't directly map to a previous position. But what if youAgaindo you have some experiences? Then the combined curriculum can be a great asset.

The blended resume takes elements of a functional format and adds a shorter work history section, similar to that found in a standard reverse chronological resume. Generally, the skills/experience section taken from the functional resume is placed at the top of the page and the employment history follows later.

The blended resume is a good choice if you have some work experience to show for it, but not enough to switch entirely to the chronological resume. It might also be a good idea to create a combination format if you work in certain creative fields where your skills are more important than previous employers. Freelancers also find this format useful as it focuses more on the services they offer and allows them to highlight just a few awesome clients.

Functional Curriculum: Final Considerations

Most people are good at what they do for a living, but find it difficult to describe it in writing. Fortunately, there are many resources online to help you create and write a resume. The key is choosing the right format for your particular situation and filling it with the right content, written correctly.

After choosing the format, you can write the resume yourself or find a functional resumePresentationYou can use. They are available online and make it easy to create a professional looking resume. You simply fill in your details in the appropriate section and save or print the resume.