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A Functional Resume is most often used by recently graduated students who have little to no work experience. This paper formats main focus is to expose the job applicants’ skills and education to the potential employer. If done correctly, the chances of landing a job interview increase dramatically.

Having chosen to use the Functional Resume format rather than the Chronological or Combination Resume styles, the next step would be to get a feel for how the paper should be written. A sample Functional Resume is displayed for you below and it would be appropriate to read through it as if you were the employer looking for someone to fill in a specific job position in your company. The following resume was made for a fictitious person named Josh Nilton who is applying for a job as a software developer for your robotics company:

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JOSH NILTON

ADRESS: 1220 Alfred Ave                                                            CITY/STATE/ZIP CODE: Salinas, CA, 93900

HOME PHONE NUMBER: (831) ZZZ-ZZZZ                                             MOBILE PHONE NUMBER: (831) ZZZ ZZZ ZZZZ

EMAIL ADDRESS: [email protected]

Objective:

Make an impact in the worlds future and help develop new technologies that will improve lives.

Education / Academic Achievements:

  • Master’s Degree in AI Neural Networking at the University of Kings United
  • Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science at the University of Kings United
    • Honors received for exceptional skills in debugging computer software                            
  • Part of the award winning team in the world renowned DARPA Challenge. Our team built a self-driving car that made it in 10th place out of the 120 competitors.
    • My responsibilities as a team member consisted of developing software that could analyze streaming video images of the outside world and create a virtual 3D map the central processing unit could use to orient the vehicle.

Skills / Abilities:

  • Experienced Python Programmer
  • Experienced C / C++ / C # Programmer
  • Experienced Java Programmer
  • Experienced Html / Html5 / CSS Programmer
  • Experienced in using the Microsoft Office Package
  • Fluent in 4 languages:
    • English
    • French
    • Chinese

References:

  • Thomas Miles, lead programmer of SOLID SOFTWARE INC. (305) ZZZ-ZZZZ.
  • Professor Bill Samwell, Unix Operating System Professor at the University of Kings United.(305) ZZZ-ZZZZ.

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Notes on the previous fields:

Objectives: Keep the details short but relevant to the company’s goal (review the company’s mission statement to get a clear idea of its underlining purpose).

Education: State each academic achievement and elaborate only on the most important and relevant topics listed.

Skills: Do not overwhelm the resume with skills that have no relevance to the topic at hand. Remember to ask yourself what the company is looking for in an employee for the respective job position.

References: This field builds credibility for you as a responsible potential employee, giving you an edge over many of the resumes that do not include a references section.

A Functional Resume is a representation of yourself to a potential employer, with its main focus being your abilities and accomplishments. While writing your resume, remember to always ask yourself what the job in question would require of you and which of your strengths best firsts the company’s desired employee profile.

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