How to list languages on your resume

If you’re part of the more than 50% of the world’s population who speaks more than one language, you’ve probably wondered how to list languages on your resume .

• Whether or not you should include languages on your resume
• Understanding and writing about language fluency on a resume
• Examples showing various ways to include language skills on a resume

Should You List Languages on Your Resume?

The short answer depends on two things: your level of proficiency and how the language relates to the position. Make room for languages on your resume when it is a requirement for the position or feature it in a secondary area when it supports your professional skills . Employers like to know if you have a working capacity in other languages and it can be an added bonus in your application even if it’s not a requirement.

Demand for bilingual employees spreads across the job market, from service positions to C-Level directors. That demand is growing quickly. In fact, 9 of 10 employers responding to a recent survey said they rely on English-speaking employees who also speak another language. That same survey (by Ipsos Public Affairs for the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages or ACTFL) found that employers expect their need for multilingual employers to continue to grow.

A functional resume looks like this.

Format of a functional resume

The format of a functional resume is very specific. It is structured to enable recruiters to quickly determine your qualifications for the job and to encourage them to read the complete resume to learn more about you. An easy way to format your resume is to select a template which you can find online and simply insert your information into the appropriate sections, following the prompts provided by the template. However, you still need to know what the structure of a functional resume looks like.

The basic structure for a functional resume is:

• Name and contact information (email, phone and possibly the location, but never an address)
• Title – This should match the job title you are applying for
• Summary of applicable skills and any experience relevant to those listed in the job posting.
• Hard Skills – The emphasis is here. These are the skills directly related to the job
• Additional Skills – Soft skills which complement the job
• Education – Formal, vocational and subsequent training in specific skills (note – this may precede the Skills section if you are a recent graduate or have received recent training which would qualify you for the position)
• Experience – Brief listing of employers, dates, and title
• Industry related certifications
• Industry organizations
• Volunteer experience

Content of your functional resume

The basic content or information you include in your resume is similar for any resume format you choose to use. However, how it is organized and how much detail you provide for each section differs depending on the type of resume you are writing. Here are the content and organization recommendations for the functional resume format.

Contact information

The resume starts with your contact information. This will allow the employer to reach out to you to invite you to an interview, which is the purpose of a resume. Your contact information should include:

• Name
• Phone number
• e-mail address
• LinkedIn profile URL

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

Professional summary

The next item in your functional resume is a brief summary of your professional background. This enables the employer to begin to know something about you and encourages them to want to read the rest of your resume. It should be the same as your ‘elevator pitch’ or your answer to the infamous ‘Tell me about yourself’ interview question. It should summarize your skills, experience, and ability to contribute to the employer’s business objectives in 2-3 sentences.

Skills

This next section will include both ‘hard skills’, which are directly related to the job you are applying to, and ‘soft skills’, which are character traits. This latter category will demonstrate your ability to work well in the employer’s environment. They include things like communication, teamwork, attention to detail, and others.

When you use the functional resume format, the skills section is the most important and you will spend more time on this section than you would in other types of resumes. The individual skills will be grouped in similar categories and described in much more detail. It may also contain examples of accomplishments related to the skills.  

Employment history

Similar to the skills section, the employment history or professional experience section of the resume will differ depending on the format of the resume you are using. For all formats, the basic information you include will be:

• Job title
• Company name
• Location
• Dates employed

The information is listed in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent position and working backward. You should only list jobs going back for about 10 years. Anything prior to this either is no longer relevant to contemporary positions or the experience has already been described in more recent employment listings.

In the functional resume, this is all the information you provide. The focus in this format is your skills, which you have already described in detail.

Education

This section details both your formal and informal training related to the job you are applying to. The formal education is listed in reverse order, starting with the most recent or highest degree attained. The information you include is:

• Degree, with major and any minors if applicable
• School or institution
• Activities including offices held, organizations, key projects or publications

If you have had informal education related to the jobs you’ve held or are applying to, include it in your resume. The descriptions should include:

• Name of the class or certificate attained
• Instructional institution or issuing agency
• Dates

These items should only be included if they enhance your qualifications for the job. If any education, training or certifications are listed as ‘Required’ in the job posting you are applying to, you may want to move this section to just below Skills and ahead of Experience.

Optional sections for a functional resume

You may opt to include some additional information, but only if it contributes to telling the story of why you are qualified for the position you are applying to. Keep in mind that employers will only hire you if you can do one of the following:

• Make them money
• Save them money
• Save them time
• Fix their problem

Anything you put in your resume should speak to one of these objectives. Otherwise, don’t include it. Having said this, optional items you can include in your resume, regardless of which format you use are:

• Certifications, awards, or recognitions
• Industry or trade organizations you are a member of, and which are relevant to the job
• Volunteer work
• Patents or publications
• Foreign languages you are fluent in

How you choose to format these is flexible but should be consistent with the other section of your resume. Using the same format as in the education section is the easiest guideline.

Functional resume: Final thoughts

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

Once you select the format, you can either write the resume yourself or find a template you can use. These are available on the internet and make it easy to create a professional looking resume. You simply fill in your information in the appropriate section and then save or print the resume.