A functional resume is considered most useful for changing or starting careers.
Also called a skills-based resume, a functional resume lists your relevant professional skills rather than your jobs and the dates you worked them.
Functional resumes use skill categories that relate to your:
- accomplishments
- work history
- education
- life experiences
For example, if you’re changing your career from an art teacher to an administrative assistant, a functional resume lists your most relevant hard and soft skills without drawing attention to employment gaps or your lack of experience in your chosen field.
Create a strong functional resume by providing examples of times you took on relevant tasks that are similar to the job you want. You’ll then list these examples in bullet point form within the key skill sections your employers are looking for.
However, remember that the most common resume format is the chronological resume. It’s what most employers are used to seeing, so if possible, you should use this format. If you have experience that is relevant to your target job but isn’t work-related, you can use a chronological resume but replace the work experience section with one called “relevant experience.”