I'm looking at multiple career paths upon retirement. From my logistics background, to Business Development, to Program Management. I've been told my resume is too "military" and need to tune it. I've done quite a bit to revise it, but I really need someone from the industry to look at it.
v/r
Jim
Answers
I would be happy to read your resume and help you if you are interested reach out to me. I am also happy to discuss offline if you think it would benefit you
James really good advice, especially from Rayethon and Stephan. I think in my many workshops with all levels and exec level I emphasize to create a news search engine for your new career as the topic. Then everyday read articles on your selected career. This will be 1) the best way to learn civilian terms, 2) new trends in the industry, 3) and even research on potential companies. Also try a couple Informational Interviews with people in positions which your are interested in. Ask for "help" or assistance as you are transitioning out the military-many civilians like to help veterans-make sure this is used for informational gathering about the career not to submit a resume. Google Informational Interviewing and get some good questions, you can learn a lot about your new career in civilian terms, then break down what you did using language the civilians will understand. Make sure you have at least a Situation and a Result in each bullet, with quantifiable results. Hiring authorities want problem solvers, people who come to speed quickly, will mentor and treat staff fairly (misconception about military always yelling orders). VALUE If you convey value, then that gets you to the dance (interview)-then tell stories about the items you listed. Everyone loves stories, easier to tell, more engaging to listen to and much easier to remember. Companies do not have time today to translate, just a fact. Hope this helps. Thanks for your service and God Bless.
I've reviewed a few resumes (from this site - not as a hiring manager), and found some techniques I've used on my resume to help show how my experience/skills on X translates to Y.
1. I've seen people write their military positions down starting from their Division number all the way down through their Company; to me this looks like a string of numbers and doesn't tell me much about what the person was doing (for civilians, writing the company "Google" or "Walmart" instantly conveys a lot of information; writing "9th Regiment, 2nd Company" doesn't). I'd recommend giving the role a nickname (I surround them with "" on my resume) so its easier to understand and gives you more to talk about during an interview. For example, if you were looking to apply to a distribution center for a shipping company, you could write "Forward Ground Logistics Base", which would demonstrate better what your experience was. I'd also recommend the first thing to describe about the role is a summary of what the role entailed.
2. Be explicit and make sure each bullet-point is self contained. I reviewed a resume once where the person kept referring to "the mission objective" when describing her role, but I wasn't sure what the objective actually was. I had to re-read the segment a few times, and was able to make a guess as to what the mission objective was after carefully reviewing the title of the position. As an example, instead of "reviewed personnel to ensure the mission objective was completed in a timely manner", try saying "supervised employees and fixed issues to make sure packages were sorted and delivered on schedule." It's a small change, but it makes it less abstract and gives more concrete examples, which improves clarity.
3. I also wrote a general article a while back about what I do on my resume, since I've had different roles throughout my career: https://acp-advisornet.org/articles/326/resume-cover-letter-multi-talented-individual
I hope this helps, and good luck! :)
Chances are someone in HR is going to be the first to review your resume. Assume they know nothing about the military. Keep it simple and direct relative to experience. Better to have too little than too much info - they can ask you for more when they meet you. Keep your resume to one page - it says I'm a no frills get it done type of person. Best of luck.
Jim,
You can send me your resume for a look-see. I transitioned last year and went through the same angst. Have you been through SFL-TAP yet? The Department of Labor transition workshop really helps tailor your resume language to "de-mil" it and also gives you practice tailoring your resume to one or more job requisitions.
Cheers,
Nathan
Good Morning, Colonel. When I transitioned from the Surface Warfare Navy to Aerospace, I had to realize that there was both a benefit and an obstacle with being fluent in military jargon. My best recommendation in tis area is that you have to be ready to tailor a resume an over letter to he position and industry you are applying for - it needs to be relevant. If you are applying for a position within a defense contractor that will require understanding the Army battlespace and similar topics, a brief section showing your credentials and experience using these terms looks good. (I recommend adding in translations for any acronyms in parentheses and asking a fellow veteran in the industry to proofread it.) For positions in industries that are not going to be familiar with CENTCOMM, TACAMO or what a CMS Custodian does, for example, you'll have to describe those locations and roles in more general terms. Good Luck - I wish you great success in your next career!
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 the "Do's" as well:
- 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
Hope this helps.
Also, take a look at this Raytheon website to look for openings:
www.raytheon.com/military
Thank you for your service and I would like to try to answer this for you. There are several suggestions that most services and internet sites recommend, and they are right.
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) will show how interested you are and make recruiters take notice.
I hope this helps you on this new journey and I wish you all the best.
Kindest regards,
Merry Vickers
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