Brett Sheats ⋅ New York, NY U.S. Army, Captain ⋅ 4 years served

Hi Michael,

I'm sure you are going to get great answers to your question from people with a lot of hiring experience here on ACP AdvisorNet. I thought I would share how I've handled my military experience on my resume -- it's worked well for me and hopefully some of it can be helpful for you as well.

First, my initial draft of the military section of my resume was way too long. I listed everything that I had done, every award I had earned, etc. I found that in listing everything that I ended up diluting the truly outstanding things that I wanted to highlight and that people reading my resume were left overwhelmed and unsure of what anything meant. I've since pared it down to things I feel are most illustrative of leadership, responsibility, and other applicable skills for the job I'm seeking. I list awards that I think highlight a skill or particular achievement that would translate well as an interview answer.

Second, think about having multiple versions of your resume based on how military savvy your prospective employer is. A resume for a defense contracting job could probably go into more detail about your military career than a resume sent to a consumer retailer or service-industry job. Listing that you qualified expert with a M-9 and M-16 just isn't something you want on your resume for certain jobs, no matter how proud you are of it.

Third, keep military acronyms and terms off the resume. For (an extreme) example, a soldier might be rightfully proud to say that they "Won a Battalion Competition as top FO/RTO using the AN/PRC-10." But the employer has no idea what a RTO is, what a AN/PRC-10 is, and they might have no idea how big a Battalion is. The same bullet point reworded into "civilian-speak" means much more: "Awarded 1st place in a 1,000 soldier unit for technical proficiency using and maintaining an encrypted radio system."

A final piece of advice: Leave one "high-speed" bullet point on there that is basically a bragging point about something cool you did in the military. For me, I was in an airborne unit up in Alaska in the Army -- so my final bullet point refers to my number of jumps conducted in an arctic environment. Is it applicable for most jobs? Thankfully not. But, this can be a really memorable thing to read for an employer and will make the person excited to meet you and talk to this person who has done such out-of-the-ordinary things. As we veterans find out all too often, conversations about military service can turn really awkward really quickly -- even in an interview. So, shape the discussion about your time in the military by putting forth a little humble bragging on your resume about something cool you did that doesn't include awkward "did you shoot people?" talk. It's a quick little sidestep that will be totally transparent from the interviewer's perspective and allows YOU to control that part of the interview, putting the interviewer subconsciously at ease.

Best of luck in your transition!

Charles McGrue ⋅ U.S. Army Reserve, Captain ⋅ 21 years served

Fortunately, there is a lot of focus on hiring vets and people with military experience right now. Based on that, I would say that things should be a little bit easier. As stated throughout, you'll need to make sure you speak in civilian terminology instead of military terminology on your resume, unless you are considering a defense contractor.

I have added my military experience to my resume because it is experience. It's just a matter of identifying how that experience can benefit the company you are trying to work for.

For example, as a Telecommunications Systems Engineer, I can interact with engineers in developing and strategizing the placement and signaling of telecommunications networks. That makes me a viable candidate for any Telecom company. However, I have to convey that to the employer, while letting them know that I understand the implementations of: UMTS, LTE, GSM, etc., even though we don't even touch those technologies in the military.

Regards...

Jill DeSimone Moisan ⋅ Princeton, NJ ⋅ 30 years experience

Michael, thank you for your service. We all appreciate your dedication
I agree with the above. be sure your provide a clear goal for your future. Help people see the translation of your experience to the new role you are interested in pursuing. high light 3 key competency areas to when they put down the resume they have a picture of Michael...
Happy to review if you post.
Be well
Jill

michael convey ⋅ Camp Hill, PA jh williams Oil company ⋅ 45 years experience

Resume preparation is extremely important. A job objective should be included and should be customized; depending upon the job you are applying for. The resume should be brief, and give an employer reasons to hire you. Check carefully for spelling and grammatical errors. I know from experience, the first glance of the person reading your resume will be to find reasons not to hire you. Employers receive hundreds of resumes, and the first screening is to disqualify applicants, so be guided accordingly. The actual search should include contacts that you have developed relationships, and work for a company that you would enjoy working for. Many times it is who you know, not what you know. Corporate websites of large companies, such as Chase Manhattan, Exxon-Mobil, Proctor and Gamble, all post current openings. Head hunters in your field of employment can be found by googling them, and are a good source. There are websites like Monster.com, Salesladders.com, headhunters.com, careerbuilder.com, are another source for leads. If you have other questions, feel free to email me at: yanknole@aol.com. Mike Convey

Judy Tomlinson ⋅ Dallas, TX Energy Future Holdings ⋅ 25 years experience

I'd be happy to take a look at your resume. Send it in Word format to tomlinsonjk@aol.com

Often it's how you say it that matters.

Judy Tomlinson

Venky Addanki ⋅ Vienna, VA Accenture ⋅ 15 years experience

I will be glad to help with resume, career advice. Obviously, your education and type of experience in military will help in finding a suitable civilian job. Nature of jobs is changing because of smart phones, tablets so it is better to have exposure to these technologies.

Ken Sheppard ⋅ Hillsborough, NJ Johnson & Johnson ⋅ 25 years experience

First, thank you for your service to our country Michael!

I would add the following to the excellent comments above ... start with the skills and capabilities you have to offer and focus on those more than (or prior to) your experiences. In describing (briefly!) those skills, highlight accomplishments that demonstrate how you have applied them. Be as specific and quantifiable as possible, for example, "led a team of 50 active duty sailors," "improved performance by 50%," etc.

Remember that the purpose of the resume is to get you an interview, not to get you a job. Most hiring managers will spend about 2-3 minutes on a resume. That's how much time you have to get them to "I want to know more about this person." So be brief, and use attention-grabbing headlines to describe your skills (e.g., "passionate people developer"). Once you get an interview, you can go into more detail about your experiences.

Good luck!

Judy Tomlinson ⋅ Dallas, TX Energy Future Holdings ⋅ 25 years experience

Greece....how exciting. I'd love to help you with your resume. Send me a soft copy and I will take a look. tomlinsonjk@aol.com
Judy Tomlinson

Scott Goodman ⋅ Waxhaw, NC Siemens ⋅ 30 years experience

Great advise above. My two cents is this. Be careful when putting together a resume with military experience. The key is to put your experience in civilian terms. If you are applying at an employer who is affiliated with the military or sitting across from an interviewer with past military experience you will be okay with using military terminology. If the interviewer has no military experience then you will lose a person or worse yet spend the entire interview process justifying or explaining your terminlogy to someone who does not understand. That would be valuable time lost. Find a happy medium between military and civilian terminology and phrasing.

Robert Buchanan ⋅ Hensley, AR URS ⋅ 38 years experience

Michael,

Thank you for your service. Good stuff there from Brett!

I would suggest you apply for a job. I know - DUH, but what I mean is don't just start sending resumes to companies. Identify a job within the company and apply for that job. Identify the required and desired qualifications in the job announcement. Then use the same words/phrases in your resume and how long and how well you performed that skill/qualification. So you really need a specific resume for each position you are applying for, yes you may only have to tweak a word or two if the jobs are similar but you have to demonstrate you fully meet all of the required or basic qualifications and as many of the desired as you can.

Good luck in your search!