Many people think writing a resume is as simple as listing all the positions they’ve ever held, then rounding it up with a bunch of impressive achievements and skills. But writing a resume that leads to an interview is more complicated than that. A resume is a marketing tool, a continuously evolving advertisement of your talents, and like any ad in any medium, it needs to be concise and attention-grabbing.

How can you write an attention-grabbing resume? There’s a lot that goes into that process, but it all starts with picking the right resume format. You need to pick one with a strong hook and a narrative structure that paints your professional history in the best light, one that emphasises your positives and downplays your flaws or missing skills.

What is a Functional Resume?

A functional resume is a style of resume that arranges your skills and specific experiences into categories relevant to your job goal. The work history section is simply a listing of job titles, employers, and dates of employment.

In this article, You will learn when a functional resume format is commonly used and how to make one.

A functional resume is particularly useful for people who:

• Are making a career change
• Do not have a lot of work experience like freshers
• Are returning to the workforce after a long absence
• Have many breaks in employment

Sections on a functional resume

Job Title

• At the top of your resume state the title of the position to which you are applying.

Profile or Summary

• Use the Profile/Summary section to list your skills, experience and education that are most relevant to the job.

Relevant Skills and Experience

• Check job posting(s) to determine which skills are the most important for the position.
• Use these skills as headings and list your related accomplishments under each heading.
• For each heading, list 3 to 5 related accomplishments, taken from your employment, volunteering, educational or personal experience.
• Use verbs when describing your accomplishments.
• Include the previous employer’s name when describing an achievement so that is easier for employers to see where it occurred.

Work History

• List your work experience, starting from your most recent job.
• Include the job title, company, city and dates of employment.
• Also include any related unpaid work by mentioning “Volunteer” in brackets, for example, Office Assistant(Volunteer), Social Services.

Education

• List any relevant education and training programs you have taken.
• Include the school or employer where you received the training and the year.

Get free writing help
I get it; it can be tricky writing the perfect resume. Looking to increase your chances of scoring interviews and landing a job? Get a free resume evaluation today from me by dropping your resume in my mail. You’ll get detailed feedback in two business days, including a review of your resume’s appearance and content, and a prediction of a recruiter’s first impression. Whether you choose functional or chronological, your resume should be a strong indicator of your awesomeness.