1. Choose an appropriate resume formatting style.
💡When to use the Chronological Resume?
This format is ideal for those with consistent career progression. If you have gained relevant and long-standing industry experience in and/or out of service, this format is for you. By using this format, veterans can showcase their extensive experience, demonstrate a clear career trajectory, and highlight their professional growth over time.
💡When to use the Functional Resume?
If you have experienced extended periods of unemployment, have limited civilian work experience, or are in the midst of a significant career change (like transitioning out of the military), a functional resume may be worth considering. This format allows you to emphasize the skills and qualifications that are most relevant to the position you are seeking, rather than an employment history that may not fully align.
💡When to use the Combination Resume?
If you are making a minor career change or have a varied employment history that may not immediately indicate relevancy to the role you are applying for, a combination resume can be the better option for you. This type of resume is useful if you are applying for a position where you have extensive experience but have never held an official role with the exact job title. You guessed it, this is generally the resume style for transitioning members.
2. Align your resume to the job description.
3. Identify relevant contact information.
4. Add a headline or career highlight section.
When writing a headline for your resume, it is important to be honest about your abilities. While your goal is to impress your future boss, you should never oversell yourself. Just because you held a team lead position in your previous role does not automatically make you an executive leader.
5. Include a skills section.
6. Write your resume for a corporate recruiter.
An effective resume must know its audience. You cannot assume that a recruiter will be familiar with the jargon inside the military. Since your chances rest in the hands of a civilian hiring manager, make sure you use words that the former would easily understand. Find ways to translate military language to corporate language. For example, you can find equivalent civilian titles to your MOS. Unlike in a military resume, you do not need to include ranks, unit names, equipment titles, etc. in your civilian resume. Job titles and skills should be enough.
Conclusion
Your resume is your ticket to getting the attention of potential employers. It is a powerful tool to showcase your qualifications and skills and poke employers’ interests. While there are plenty of resources available online on how to write a civilian resume, there are only a limited number of resources available that specifically cater to veterans. The above information aims to help veterans write effective resumes that aid in job hunting after their military service.
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