Functional Format

This format organizes your experience by skill groups or areas of expertise. It is particularly useful when you have a number of experiences relevant to the job for which you are applying and can be logically grouped together.

Organizing a Functional Resume

Headings might include “Research Experience,” “International Experience,” “Communication Skills,” or “Technical Skills.”

If you have more than one group of experiences to highlight, either list your most impressive or goal-related function first, or use the order of importance listed by the employer in an ad or position description. 

Each of the skill groups you highlight should be qualified with concrete descriptions of your relevant experiences and skills. Your employment history sections would then itemize job titles, employer names and addresses, and dates of employment.