OCTOBER 28, 2021 – The Military plays an essential role in our nation’s public image; however, after service, servicemembers leave the strict environment to compete for financial security with regular civilians. Unfortunately, the transition isn’t flawless as translating military experience into civilian skills is a tricky process.
If you wish to compose a resumé for jobs after leaving the military, keep reading this article as it provides the key points to ensure your CV is convincing.
Identify your Civilian Job Objectives
The goal of a resumé is to market yourself effectively to corporations; however, you cannot accomplish this goal without clearly defining your objective. Currently, the Census Bureau reveals that the United States military makes up less than 10% of the population, and these individuals possess diverse backgrounds, causing them to make resumés that are too general and ineffective.
For this reason, it’s best to do some soul-searching and find specifics on what you want then search for corporations that are relevant to that career path. Granted, performing this ordeal might still be difficult; therefore, we recommend soliciting help from a career counselor or your local transition office regarding picking a career path and objective.
Write According to your Employer’s Needs
Upon interacting with your resumé, the first thing a client will consider about your document is “what can this person offer us”. Putting yourself in the recruiter’s shoes allows you to predict what kind of resumé would catch their attention.
However, constructing this visual requires you to perform thorough research on the employer, their company, the job, and other related content. Consider visiting their corporate website and reading previous job postings to get a feel of what skills, background, and experience that the company considers relevant.
Performing this research allows you to know which information is worth emphasizing and eliminating, as well as which military awards, distinction, and training are worthwhile. For example, a civilian resumé doesn’t need information about the award you received for impeccable marksmanship.
Note: Only include information that raises your chances of getting an interview
Use a Resumé Builder
Trying to make your first resumé to transition from military to civilian work is relatively tricky because it involves paying attention to factors like structure, length, font, format, and more. Coupling these long requirements with remembering how to structure your military skills and experience makes the task even more complicated.
Fortunately, you can eliminate the trouble associated with doing a resumé for the first time with a professional online resume builder, a platform created to help you produce the most professional resumé possible.
This goal is accomplished through its long list of 4000+ resumé templates that you can choose, and you’ve selected your desired template, you can modify the file to accommodate your skills, experiences, and achievements. It is easy to use, saves you time, and is secure.
Visit Resumé Builder pro and compose a resumé within minutes.
Showcase Your Accomplishments
While putting together a resumé, it’s worth adding your accomplishments while in the military as that career granted you excellent training, practical experience, and advancement. Boldly present your accomplishment; however, ensure it’s broken down to a civilian level as your employer may know little about military terminologies.
For example, you can demilitarize your tech accomplishments with something along the lines of “Earned recognition as one of the most innovative and progressive IT staff in the Army’s communications community”.
You can also flaunt your awards and incorporate them into your Civilian resumé with something along the lines of “Received Army Achievement Medal for executing 400+ medical assessments and developing patient database via MS Access”.
The mindset is to find a more simple approach toward conveying your achievements to employers that have no military background. The Army vocabulary might seem impressive but failing to communicate will leave you without an interview.
Leave Out Information about Active Combat
Being a soldier on the battlefield, fighting, and defending the country is undoubtedly an impressive feat that everyone acknowledges requires the bravest men and women. However, referencing the horrors of combat on your resumé isn’t recommended as it leaves the recruiter squeamish and uneasy.
Even if you worked short periods of combat, even at an air defense engagement zone, the possibility this experience is valuable to your desired career is low. It’s best to tone down or eliminate the reference to the battlefield to raise your chances of landing an interview.
Include a Qualifications Summary
Effective resumé writing required you to highlight those skills and achievements that will aid your transition from the military to regular civilian work. The best method to accomplish this goal is to begin your resumé with a Qualifications Summary or resumé summary.
Both are options draw attention to your accomplishments and skills than your experience, allowing employers to quickly understand what you have to offer. Below is a more simplified overview on a qualification and resumé summary:
Qualifications Summary:
- Emphasizes on skills
- Contains five to six bullet points
- Presents achievements and abilities related to your target job
- Shows recruiters how much value you can present
Resumé summary:
- Emphasizes your most vital accomplishments
- Quantifies these accomplishments with Data
- Is formatted using bullets with category subheadings
- Determine whether you possess the skill and experience of your desired job
Core components of a Military to Civilian Resumé
Here is a brief guide to structuring your resumé when applying for work:
- Your name (including Email | Phone | Location (City, State, ZIP) | website
- Professional Summary (2-3 bullet points on your career focus, experience, accomplishments, skills, and strengths regarding the position)
- Skills
- Experience
- Education
Conclusion
Veterans are unique as they have skills that regular individuals do not possess; however, employers will not identify these strengths if you don’t convey them relatedly. Therefore, spend time constructing your resumé and ensure it portrays all the features that make you ideal for the job.