Jennifer Youngblood ⋅ Edmonds, WA ⋅ 16 years experience

Hi Shawn,

It's all about the 'value add.' What value can you bring to the business. Everyone has specific things they would like to see in a resume. Be careful with someone that is giving you advice without explaining the why in terms that make sense to you. I'm happy to work with you to create a position statement that you can take to market. Feel free to contact me.

Best,
Jennifer

Deanna Whitt ⋅ Savannah, GA Merkle (current) US Navy (last) ⋅ 8 years experience

I would be happy to critique your resume as well. Few points to keep in mind: if you are interested in business development and finance include bullets specific to those competencies throughout your resume. You will initially find yourself writing a book on your military background, but remember to bring it up a few levels. Most importantly, your potential employers should immediately see why your military experience qualifies you for the position you're applying. They will automatically be impressed by your 20 years of service however will need to understand how it translates to the role they need to fill. I.e. For finance related jobs, include monetary values of equipment you were accountable for, financial management responsibilities or the strict accountability processes you administered/oversaw, calling out your units 0% loss ratio.

James Watson ⋅ San Diego, CA General Atomics ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi Shawn-

I am retired after a 40 year career in industry where I hired over 100 people. Now I am helping veterans like yourself by helping with their resumes. If you would e-mail me your resume (drjamesfwatson@gmail.com) I would be happy to comment on it. I also recommend the book "Tired of Eating Peanut and Butter Sandwiches? - Tips to Get a Job Fast" available on Amazon. It contains practical advice. Good luck in your search!!

Jim Watson

David Jackson ⋅ Midland, MI U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 3 years served

Shawn,
I'd be happy to review your resume. I would suggest that you have a veteran review your resume and help you. We have insight that unless you've "been there done that" you really don't know and therefore might not be the best at helping with putting together a resume. (I am former TAP instructor, worked with Veteran's Services, and was in Personnel Management in the military) Let me know, I'd be glad to help.

Jim Schreier ⋅ Milwaukee, WI 212 Leadership/Career Coaching ⋅ 50 years experience

I will review your resume for you. You can submit it via this site or to info@212-careers.com You can also check that site for some hard-hitting advice on resumes, etc.

Phillip Ashley ⋅ Sheridan, WY Sheridan Newspapers, Inc. ⋅ 13 years experience

Shawn,
I had resume problems when I first retired. Tough translating military experience into civilian terminology. My civilian job has requited me to look through hundreds of resumes over the years, so here are a few pointers. Do NOT submit a resume that you produced with resume building software. First thing, produce a resume with everything you did, every position you held, every organization you belonged to, education (if you are a college graduate) etc, pretty much everything you can think of. It will be long, but that's OK. Use that as your base resume (mine is 8 pages) and as you apply for jobs parse it down to the specifics that the company is looking for. Use their job posting or get a job description, if possible. The rule of thumb is try to keep it at two pages, but that is not always possible for professionals with years of experience. Three is OK as long as the information is applicable. I seldom look at ones longer than that. Keep in mind, the resume is used to grab their interest and get you an interview, it will not land you a job by itself. Some people say a cover letter is no longer necessary, but I disagree. It should be short, maybe two paragraphs, and not rehash the resume. If you are submitting a resume online take out any special graphics and fonts as they often do not transmit very well. ABSOLUTELY check your spelling and grammar 5 times (their, there, they're), as well as neatness. Simple is better. Any time I see an off the shelf resume, an obvious shotgun resume (not pointed at the job I advertised) or misspellings/bad grammar I throw it in the trash. Look carefully, autocorrect can be a killer. This is probably the only time you get to impress someone with your attention to detail, so don't blow it. One last thing, be careful about over-qualifying yourself. If you are applying for middle management don't present yourself as a CEO. Let me know if you need help. Good luck.

Jim Spriggs ⋅ South Bend, IN JES Web Copy & Marketing ⋅ 15 years experience

Hi Shawn

If you'd like a free resume critique visit my site and fill out the Client Questionnaire. It will help you drill down to the meat of the matter, so you can have a purpose driven resume. You can also attach a copy of your resume at the bottom of the questionnaire.

I would be happy to assist you in your job search efforts.

Thanks,
Jim
Http://HalfaHand.com

Mike Davidson ⋅ Saint Louis, MO Behavior Intervention Services ⋅ 10 years experience

Please feel free to email me. I will take a look and get back to you.

Thank you for your service,
Mike
Madavidson3@gmail.com