John Green ⋅ Cary, NC Information Technology ⋅ 40 years experience

Resumes need to be "forward-looking". What this means is, you only put information on your resume that applies to potential positions you are seeking.

For example, if your goal is to be a security analyst, put items on your resume that apply to being a security analyst.

What role are you seeking ? What career field are you trying to attain ? What skills are important for that field ? What are the hot-button skills employers are seeking for that field ?

Check Robert Half salary guide to see where you fit.

https://www.roberthalf.com/salary-guide

Deborah Meister ⋅ Pleasant Hill, CA ⋅ 4 years experience

Hi Rhanada,

It definitely sounds like you have a lot to offer potential employers, and there are different ways that you can try to trim down the length of your resume. First I want to get something out of the way: since you're getting a doctoral degree, if you're applying to academic positions, then a CV would be appropriate, and that would be multiple pages plus some info you wouldn't normally go into detail about on a resume. But if the resume is what you're going for, here are some ideas:

1) Rather than in-depth descriptions of your duties, include only a few bullet points highlighting the value you added to the organization through your position. Make the first bullet point of each description about your biggest accomplishment, result, impact, contribution.

2) Use the keywords from the job description. With online applications producing SO MANY applicants recruiters can get overwhelmed with the amount of resumes they receive. Many companies have started using software that filters through resumes to find the most qualified applicants, based in part on words and phrases in applications that match what is outlined in the job description. To avoid having to re-write your resume every time, consider creating a few versions of your resume that are tailored to a few categories of industries or positions that you are applying for. That keeps it practical for you and relevant for potential employers.

3) Describe your most recent/relevant work (using keywords from the job description), but list your other less pertinent work without dedicating as much resume real estate to those positions. You're going for quality here and not quantity. At some point I realized that the hiring manager for the job I was applying for at 30 in training and professional development didn't really care to read about my time at Gap when I was 19. And I had acquired enough quality advanced experience in research that my time as a student research assistant could merely be referenced and not expanded on. Just a few examples.

4) Your education could scare people off. It could also be a great asset. It depends on the job and in some cases you could be overqualified. The cover letter could be a great place to explain why you think you would be a great fit and what assets you brings to the organization.

5) On that note, include a cover letter.

6) You can always include a broader range of experience and detail on your LinkedIn profile, and LinkedIn Premium could be worth taking a look at (with a promotional free period if you'd like to test it out first). One of the features is it tells you how you rank compared to other applicants for the same position. If you find yourself ranked lower than other applicants, take a look at their profiles and some of their descriptors and listed skills to see if any of them apply to you.

If you're interested, I'd be happy to take a look at your resume and provide constructive feedback: deborah@deborahmeistercoaching.com. Just include the job posting for reference.

Best of luck!

Deborah

Cheyhene Miller ⋅ Charlotte, NC Wells Fargo ⋅ 21 years experience

Hello Rhanada,

It sounds like your knowledge, education and experience are truly impressive. I believe with the feedback above you have everything you need to work through your resume revisions.

I however have a thought of a different nature based on your statement below,

"There are many opportunities that I find myself qualified for, but it seems my resume isn't catchy enough, or I have too much information on it. I was also told my education may scare people off also,"

Rhanada my thought is more of a set of questions for you personally to consider prior to sending your resume anywhere.

What position exactly do you want?
What company do you want to work for and why?
Of your extensive set of exceptional skills and abilities, which are your go to and how will that positively impact the business?

Thank you for your service!

Cheyhene

Kimberly Smith ⋅ Chicago, IL AT&T ⋅ 30 years experience

Thank you for your years of service! I have been a hiring director for 20+ years and we went through a major exercise here to update our "profiles" and resumes and were trained on the best way to do this to stand out today. The latest trend which I think really sets you above is a mix of both. Then regardless of the preference of the reader, you nailed it. Google Resume formats for some good ideas.

The resume trend these days is more of a journey map than a transitional resume, this will make you stand out for sure. Keep it simple summary level at first, visual and compelling - something to keep them interested on the key areas they are looking for so they will read on. Describe your best attributes first regardless of actual jobs.

There should be 2 pages. First page has your Name big and bold followed by contact info. Next EXECUTIVE SUMMARY as your header - about 3 sentences about your career and what you are looking for.

Next section is a bullet point list of your EXPERTISE (header). Regardless of when or where you got it, its what you do. Main word in bold followed by a sentence. FOR EXAMPLE:
* Team Leadership: Capacity to recognize, retain and promote a team of high performance professionals, both within and outside own organization. Consistently recognized as a strong mentor for future leaders.
* Project Management: Owner and manager of a variety of cross functional and team projects bringing teaching, brainstorming, and an innovative approach to problem solving, design and execution.
Last part of the first page is the heading "Formal Education and Honors" where you list schooling, special certifications, professional recognition etc.

THEN, on to the second page, more of the traditional chronological list of all your jobs. Heading PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE. No more than one page regardless of your history because no one with a stack of resumes will have time to read it so you have to stand out fast and bold. Highlight in bold the title followed by un-bold time period. Bullet point short sentences or partial sentences if you prefer listing what you accomplished there. Not so much what you were supposed to do but what you DID do. Make sure to use the same verb tense throughout. If you have had a long career with many titles, you can leave the very early ones without bullets if they are self explanatory so you can focus more on the recent stuff that is better developed from earlier things anyway.

Depending on where you are sending it, a brief cover letter explaining what you are looking for and what you are applying for is a nice touch.

Good Luck!

Dean Goodrich ⋅ Cape Coral, FL Consummate Solutions, Inc. ⋅ 34 years experience

Be certain to include accomplishments! This just came to me from a trusted friend.

To develop accomplishment statements:
1. Start with a past-tense action verb.
2. Briefly describe the action taken.
3. State the results in measurable or quantifiable terms.

Think money, time, and amounts: The more you focus on money, time and amounts in relation to your accomplishments, the better you’ll present your successes and highlight your potential – and the more you’ll realize just how much you really have to offer prospective employers.

Add it all up, and you’ll see that playing the "numbers game" is yet another way to convince employers that you should be a part of their equation for success.

June R Massoud ⋅ Burlington, VT School Boards/Teaching, Tutoring Business and Technical Business ⋅ 25 years experience

Well, I would definitely streamline what's on your resume. You need to eliminate too much wordiness and keep only the important one- or two-liners. Make it simple but intelligent, delivering most of your work experience and education, without the excess. I hope this helps. Happy New Year to you!

Emily Almani ⋅ Trenton, NJ Atria Consulting ⋅ 20 years experience

HI Rhanada,

Utilize your linkein to highlight all your skills, ask for endorsements and recommendations. As for your resume, you want it to be
- about two pages, no more than three.
- It should be a snapshot of your most prominent skills and accomplishments.
- It should not cover more than 20 years of work experience.
Feel free to create several versions of your resume so that you can highlight your skills needed for a particular job.

Good Luck!
Emily

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

I agree with some excellent advice you've received and I'll also offer to review your resume. A couple of comments: you must reduce the resume to no more than two pages -- and you should really have a one-page version.

Now for the stronger advice: you have "lots of skills and knowledge." Sorry, but that's not what I want as a potential employer or even just as an interviewer. I want to know what you've done -- not what you have!!! Your resume should be about accomplishments -- the key things you've done -- very specific with action verbs as others have suggested.

Bob Molluro ⋅ Wilmington, DE Benchmark Consulting Services ltd. ⋅ 30 years experience

You are focused on the wrong issue. Get your resume down to one page. The key is to contact people who can get your resume into the hands of the right people. Think of your resume like paying a bridge toll. It just gets you thru the gate. It doesn't make a significant difference. How you interview does. If you need help in this area let me know.

Claudio A ⋅ Norwalk, CT ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Rhanada,

You should consider the following:
- If you are submitting through a system that reads your resume (aka ATS), you should really understand how they work. You can write whatever you want, but if you don't know how ATS work, it really doesn't matter that much as recruiters and HR folks don't spend a lot of time actually reading resumes as they really on ATS scores to rank candidates. You can use jobscan.com for this! They also have a free trial so you get the gist.
- When sending you resume, show how impactful you were and what does that mean for the job you are applying to. If you are critical, would you hire you?
- Think about how you will differentiate yourself compared to the other 100 candidates.

I have confidence you will do great :)

All the best!
Claudio

Christine Cox ⋅ Chatham, MA Interim CFO Services ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi Rhanada,

Thanks for your service! Consider your resume as your admission ticket, not your journal. It should not be a litany of tasks, but a condensation of your top skills, supported by some key achievements that demonstrate your ability. It is less about what you've done than what you can DO for the prospective hiring company. Remember that companies receive a tremendous volume of resumes, and if HR is providing the initial screening, they tend to look for key words. I have always preferred a summary section at the top of a resume, describing a) what you are seeking (this can be tailored to the prospective job), b) your major areas of expertise, and c) possibly a highlighted achievement or two. It takes considerable thought and revision to distill a lifetime of experience down into one page, but it is worth the effort to do it well. The summary section should ideally describe you enough to get in the door; the chronology of jobs/experience should follow, but really only plays a supporting role.

It is difficult to garner a job via a resume alone, so during those interminable waiting periods in between, try to connect personally with people in the types of organizations or roles you are targeting. Ask to meet for coffee, and seek advice on getting in the door. Personal contact is powerful, and can frequently help expedite the hiring process.

Best of luck!
Christine

Lindsey Borg ⋅ Woodbridge, VA Raytheon Technologies ⋅ 10 years experience

Thanks for your service, Rhanada. Our Raytheon Recruiters have put together some tips for resumes that might help:
A strong resume will:
- Establish your professional qualities and what you can bring to the role
- Demonstrate your writing skills with clear, well-organized and well-written language
- Clarify your objective, direction, qualifications and strengths
Also, there are Resume Do's and Don'ts you may want to consider. Here are the "Don'ts":
- Write your life story — this is not an autobiography
- Add material that is irrelevant to the job
- Use two pages unless you can fill two full pages
- Abuse military terminology
- Use military jargon such as NCOIC, good-to-go, COMSEC (spell out acronyms)
- Write in third person
- List medals/awards unless relevant to job
- List your disabilities or disability rating
- Put your Social Security number on the resume
- Include salary information
- List previous supervisor or reason for leaving
Here are some "Do's":
- Clearly state your objective
- Clearly state your abilities and background — what makes you special
- Use action verbs when describing your skills/experiences
- List leadership and followership skills
- State education, skills, certifications, etc.
- Use a professional email address
- Write in first person
- Use spell check and proper grammar
- Have your resume reviewed by a professional
- Create a targeted resume for each job you apply for
- Keep a copy of your resume close at all times
I hope this helps.
Also, take a look at this Raytheon website to look for openings:
www.raytheon.com/military

Merry Vickers ⋅ Richardson, TX Dallas Police Department - City of Dallas prior to starting with Raytheon 2017 ⋅ 18 years experience

Thank you for your service.

Give your resume a format change and lead with a summary that outlines your skills and qualifications. Share generalities from past positions to translate how it will be beneficial in new roles, like skills, duties, projects or management. Use clear civilian language to describe your career objectives, but highlight key wording from job descriptions and any accomplishments you have achieved. Keep the verbiage in present tense and have others read through it for feedback. If you can pursue any volunteer opportunities, contract jobs, certifications or even CEU (Continuing Education Units) courses will show how interested you are and make recruiters take notice. Take advantage of in-house professional development and training programs available, which always shows you are willing to do and learn more.

I hope this helps you on this new journey.

Kindest regards,
Merry Vickers

Gerald Mannikarote ⋅ Houston, TX dMann Training Technologies ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Rhanada,
There are a lot of great tips here. I'll reiterate 2 of them.
1- Take time to tailor each resume to the job you are applying for. This way you only need to add details such as skills and experience required for the job.
2- expand your details on your LinkedIn profile. This way you can prevent yourself from having the '5-page resume'.
I hope this helps.
Jerry

Maria Erchul ⋅ Spokane, WA Incyte Diagnostics ⋅ 15 years experience

Hi Rhanada,
If you're still needing another set of eyes, send your resume over and share what 'titles' of positions (not the company) that you seek/desire.
Well wishes - Maria Erchul

Ernest Charles III ⋅ Cypress, TX Online Business ⋅ 10 years experience

Take time to cater your resume to the job description, And you shouldn’t have any problems

William Smith ⋅ Suffern, NY Right Management ⋅ 25 years experience

Rhanada,

I am a career consultant working with several organizations assisting vets. If you send me your resume I would be happy to provide some suggestions.

Regards,

Bill Smith