Step 2: Find out what skills and experience is necessary
(Functional Resume)

After writing your job objective, you need to find out what skills, knowledge, and experience are necessary to do that kind of work. This will help you decide what information you want to include in your resume.

You can find this information in several ways:

1. If you are applying for a specific job opening, review the employment listing carefully and make sure you have the skills listed. For example, if the job asks for proficiency in Excel, you need to tell the employer how you have used it and what you created.
   
   
2. Don't have a job description? You could try to look at general descriptions from either the Occupational Outlook Handbook or O'Net online (see example on next page).

3. Search online for company descriptions for the position you are seeking.
   
   
4. Talk to someone working in the job. We call this an informational interview.

Once you are more familiar with what the job requires you can develop a list of your experiences, education, and skills related to the position you are seeking.