Military Employment Guide: Resume Writing for Military
Step by Step Guide to Employment: Resume for General Military
You have spent the time to figure out what you want your post-military career to look like. You have determined what you want to pursue and what jobs to apply for. But, before you even apply for these jobs, you need to ensure your resume is done correctly.
You might never have had to create a civilian resume, or you might not have worked on yours for a long time. Having a good resume is very important. You want to present your best self, starting with your resume. Doing so will grab the company’s attention, help sell your strengths, and hopefully get you that job interview.
Format – Functional and Chronological
You can choose between a functional and a chronological resume. What’s the difference? A functional resume groups your skills by job function or expertise. Your skills and achievements are divided into specific areas of expertise.
A chronological resume is the more common type of resume. They capture your work experience from the most recent job to the oldest job. All of your skills and accomplishments will be listed in each job section.
Build a Central Resume With All Employment Experience (5 -6 pages)
You will now want to start working on your overall or central resume. This would be a document listing all your information. You wouldn’t necessarily send this out, but you would use it to pull information when putting a resume together for a particular job.
Include the following:
- Work History
- Education
- Achievements
- Awards
- Skills
- Training
- Publications
- Certifications
- Licenses
- Part-time work
- Volunteer information
Gather up old resumes and other paperwork to help get all the information together. Be sure to translate everything into civilian terms. Civilians won’t know what most military acronyms mean.
Professional Resume (1 – 2 pages)
Once your central resume is complete, you can start on your professional resume, which you would use to apply for most jobs. This would be 1-2 pages and summarize what an employer would need to know based on the job you are applying for. You might have different professional resumes for different types of jobs.
Education and Training
Include all of your education and training, especially what would directly apply to the job you are applying to. Translate your skills from military to civilian terms. You want the potential employer to see what you have to offer easily, in terms they understand. Include the educational institutions and the degrees earned; dates may be optional.
Job History
Add your job history, including the company’s name, your position, the dates you worked there, and your job duties. This includes your time in the military. Remember, your work history might be the most crucial part of your resume.
Identify Your Marketable Skills
Marketable skills are skills that, when added to your resume, boost your chances of getting an interview. Some examples are content writing, project management, social media, and bookkeeping. Go through your previous employment or volunteer work, pull out your marketable skills, and make sure they are on your resume.
Professional References
You may be asked to provide professional references. You wouldn’t want to put them on your resume to begin with. It would be a good idea to gather them so you are ready if they are asked for. Professional references can provide a recommendation and confirm your qualifications for a particular job. Think about former professors or teachers, former employers or coworkers, and even former clients you may have worked for.
You can also get help with putting together your resume. Here is a list of places that can help you do so:
