Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Re: "I've got to work on how to translate my experience to meet the requirements for the certification. " VCTP Syracuse can help with that. It is 100% free for post 9/11 Veterans and spouses. Free certification training, one free exam fee, help with translating experience, etc. It is an absolutely fantastic program all Veterans need to know about.

Check it out and report back.

http://vets.syr.edu/education/employment-programs/#!

John McNally ⋅ Maple Valley, WA West Monroe Partners ⋅ 30 years experience

Eddie,
You've got five months. Also start thinking about where you want to relocate back to, and what industries and companies might be suitable. You say 'most likely in the construction field,' but is that your interest or a default because of your related construction experience?
Project Management and demonstration of skills via PMP are highly valuable today and transferable across industries. I read that a PMP is the new MBA. It is certainly a respected and desirable credential by employers.

My comments regarding your resume, sometimes different is better. I'd say a page or page and a half works fine.

Section 1. I'd open with your name and contact information, then military branch and rank (USAF M/Sgt - I'm using abbreviations here. Give full treatment). Add 'Retired' when that occurs, and add a formal or informal descriptor of responsibility as part of the title or the next line below, such as 'Construction Management' or 'Infrastructure Construction' or something broad that captures an essence of the breadth of what you could be involved in. Then list your education: Masters in PM, and undergraduate.
This introduction alone speaks volumes. It says you have been well-trained, are disciplined, and personally driven.

Section 2. Your introduction and objective. Tell the reader what you told us here. Put it in your words. My example is below with the following thinking: I left 'the construction field ' out. If that or another industry focus, is a strong interest, then mention it. Mention your interests. Now is the time to make a transition to another industry, or letting the PM capability open up new possibilities. You are not tied to construction if you don't want to be.

"I am retiring before the end of 2014 with twentys years of service in the U.S. Air Force. I am looking for an opportunity in a Project Management role that can leverage my experience. I have managed numerous construction projects while in the Air Force, and just recently completed my Master's in Project Management. I'm interested in obtaining a PMP."

Section 3. Experience
Eddie, Provide paragraph summaries of your experience that are most important and relevant to your objective and telling of your depth of experience.

Use a heading "Examples of Work Experience," then provide three of four examples of projects you managed. Be a bit of a story-teller. You don't have to give data ad nauseum, but give enough concret and specific information for the reader to build a picture in their mind. use Hollywood as an example. Story-telling is an opening (context), then a call to action ( an issue or threat comes up), then response (facing challenges) and resolution.
In a simple and direct way , try to describe the scale and scope and challenge of the work, and developments/challenges that you had to overcome, and any new innovation, and the results. I'll gladly review ideas for this.

List the most relevant work to the pursuit of a Project Management role. Then feel free to mention work that prepared you for the PM role. Scheduler, logistics coordinator, etc. These mentions can be by title and maybe a one or two sentence reference to the focus of your work or the responsibility.

Hope this helps. Contact me with questions or to revisit this. I 'm in the Advisor directory.

With appreciation for your Service,
John

Fouad Malik ⋅ Los Angeles, CA ⋅ 7 years experience

If you have straight forward work history (no gaps and set career path) then use chronological resume. Employers like to see where you learned or utilized certain skill. You are welcome to share your resumes. My e-mail is: malik.fouad@gmail.com

Go to prometric.com and search for nearest testing center for pmp exam. You may have to drive to a different town for the exam. Not all Prometric centers offer PMP test.

You have to select few projects from your work history and describe them. Projects have definitive start and end date and results in unique outcome. With a master degree, you have to demonstrate three years or project management experience (minimum of total of 4500 hours) in last eight years (can be one or multiple projects). You should be able to document experience in each process group (Initiating, Planning, Executing, Monitoring and Controlling and Closing). You will be asked to state hours worked in each process group. Constructions projects are perfect to meet the eligibility requirement. You will have 500 characters (a paragraph) to describe each project on PMI application.

If you e-mail me information regarding your projects, I can provide you feedback. I have been teaching a PMP course to Veterans in San Diego County for three years.

Brad Wilder ⋅ Lexington, KY Intech Contracting ⋅ 8 years experience

In my opinion if I saw your resume, you masters degree in project management would be just as good and maybe better than a PMP. I don't see PMP that frequently in our corner of the industry (highway contracting). A graduate degree is impressive enough to show that you have a good handle on the theory of project management. I don't see what additional differentiation PMP makes unless its an industry that requires or very highly values it.

I would say find something related to the industry you want to work in that would be immediately useful. Maybe a certification. So if you want to work in highways maybe a traffic control technician cert, ACI cert for concrete construction, LEED AP or Green Associate for architectural, OSHA 10/30, inspection classes, etc. Create some value for your employer by showing them you have some hands on knowledge that can be put to use right away. Show that you are making some strides to translating your military experience into civilian contexts.

I know there are some certifications and training that are subsidized for military and DOD, so you might even be able to find something free or very inexpensive in your last few months. Good luck!

Stephen Donovan ⋅ ⋅ 10 years experience

I would say that a PMP Certification is highly respected within both IT & non-IT communities where strong project management skills are required. If you plan on a long term career as a project manager, then yes, even with your level of experience, I would suggest getting your PMP. You can prepare yourself for the exam in one of the <a href="http://www.pmstudy.com/">PMP training</a>providers like http://www.pmstudy.com/. You can do minimal prep-work to get 40 PMI® Contact Hours and apply to PMI for PMP Exam before the class begins.

kenley william ⋅ ⋅ 18 years experience

scrum will definitely ease your work of handling a big project. As a project manager I use scrum in my projects. One of my friends referred me to use the Guide to Scrum Body of Knowledge by http://www.scrumstudy.com. I like the concepts of sprints, daily standup meetings, etc.

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Also, Indeed.com is a good research tool. Study and learn from relevant job listings.

e.g.
http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=%22project+management%22&l=wichita%2C+ks
http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=pmp&l=wichita%2C+ks

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Also see: "A Checklist For Veterans: "How to Learn More About the Project Management Professional (PMP) Cert."
https://acp-advisornet.org/question/927/a-checklist-for-veterans-how-to-learn-more-about-the-project-management-professional-pmp-cert./p1

Mary Kennedy ⋅ Fort Worth, TX Galderma ⋅ 26 years experience

Hi Eddie - I'm happy to help in any. Please forward me your resume and I will take a look to see if I can assist you.

Regards,

Mary Kennedy
mkennedy@sheplers.com
Director of Human Resources

Eddie Ferguson ⋅ Mulvane, KS U.S. Air Force, Master Sergeant ⋅ 20 years served

Thank you Mr. Cal. I actually saw your checklist on another post and I just got signed up for the VCTP program. I've also been spreading the word of the program to others I know that are transitioning.

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco, CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

I also encourage you to reach out to Joe Paschall,(PgMP & PMP),
and ask him to participate in this discussion. I found Joe while researching the PMP checklist I wrote (see above), and I asked him to join us here on ACP-AdvisorNet.

https://acp-advisornet.org/profile/acpn/view/3880/joe-paschall

https://acp-advisornet.org/profile/comments/3880/answers

Eddie Ferguson ⋅ Mulvane, KS U.S. Air Force, Master Sergeant ⋅ 20 years served

Thank you all for responses and help. Mr. McNally, to address your some of your points, I plan on moving back to the Wichita, KS area as I have a house there and it was my last duty station so I know a few people there. Its interesting that you bring up working in the construction field. I originally chose to pursue my Masters in Project Management so I would have more options in other areas. Since I have started my job search I've leaned more towards the construction field because it seemed like the requirements for many of the project management jobs I was looking at asked for experience in the underlying field such as computers, communication, construction, etc. I like the construction field, but would like the challenge and experience of other fields. However, I don't want to start over and enter at the ground floor if I don't have to.