Functional Resume Writing Guide & Examples

The best way to write a functional resume quickly and efficiently is to start with a bit of prep work. Make a list of your skills organized by category or job title, and be ready to provide examples of how you used each skill to achieve your career goals. Once you’ve got that info and key details like past job titles and employment dates (if any), you’re ready to begin!

Most resumes require the same contact information: full name, phone number, professional email address, and general location. You can add information like job-relevant social media accounts or hyperlinks to your professional website or online portfolio as needed.Sample functional resume contact information:

A resume profile sits near the top of your resume to help you persuade hiring managers to review your document carefully rather than toss it. Since most hiring managers spend less than seven seconds to make this decision, take care with what you include here.

You can choose from two approaches when writing this section:

• Use a resume objective if you have little to no experience and want to focus on your career goals. 

• Opt for a resume summary if you have some experience, even if not precisely relevant to the role, and want to showcase strong skills and qualifications.

Review this example of a functional resume objective: 

Creative and detail-oriented graphic designer with a strong foundation in visual storytelling, layout design, and Adobe Creative Suite. Eager to contribute fresh ideas and a strong work ethic to a collaborative design team. Seeking to grow within a forward-thinking company where I can apply my design skills to support branding, marketing, and user experience goals while continuing to develop professionally.

An optional section you can add to your functional resume to compensate for limited experience is the summary of qualifications. This qualifications summary is a great way to reassure recruiters that you possess key skills and practical knowledge to thrive on the job.

The ideal placement of this section is right below your resume objective or summary, especially if you’re mentioning that you’re a recent graduate or career changer in it. The summary of qualifications quickly refocuses the employer’s attention on your strengths and not on any perceived weaknesses.

A successful summary of qualifications should include three to four bullet points demonstrating that you possess high-priority skills for the job.

Here’s an example of a practical summary of qualifications from a freelancing social media content creator:

A summary of qualifications covers only a few job-relevant skills. You should create an additional skills section to highlight your other talents and accomplishments.

This main skills section differs from the simple bulleted list you might be used to seeing in traditional resumes. In a functional resume, the skills section replaces the work history and shares your professional accomplishments under three main skill categories. 

When choosing the core skills categories you want to highlight, aim to show diversity by including hard skills that prove your subject matter expertise, soft skills that denote good interpersonal work relationships, and technical skills that prove you know your industry’s tools.

Here’s an example of a functional resume’s main skills section so you have a clearer idea of how it should look:

Functional resume examples of skills:

If you need help figuring out which skills you possess and which ones to put on your resume, check out our definitive list of 350+ Must-Have Resume Skills.

In the functional vs. chronological resume debate, this skills-based format helps you downplay employment red flags like short-term jobs, job hopping, and work gaps by minimizing work history.

When adding the work history section, be strategic about how many jobs to list on your resume, focusing only on those that reinforce your skills. Simply mention the job title you held, the company name, dates of employment, and location (city and state). You can leave out the usual bullet points describing your achievements.

Check out this example of a functional resume’s work experience section:

In a functional resume, the education section is important because it allows inexperienced job seekers to convey they have the required and advanced academic accomplishments that help counter limited formal experience.

In addition to showcasing essential education details like your degrees, you can supplement this section with relevant coursework, GPA score, certifications, and honors or awards.

Check out how this recent graduate optimizes their education section in a functional resume: