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WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE

LAUREN SCOTT
TEA RECRUITER

When transitioning from the military, putting together a resume can be a daunting task. After years or decades in uniform, it’s hard to quantify your service into a few bullets.  Your military career is filled with accomplishments, but even the most decorated Veteran needs to figure out how to make the transition to a civilian position. Resumes are a vital part of the job search, and you have to find a way to turn that military experience into a civilian-ready-resume. Here are a few tips.

PREPARE FOR YOUR JOB SEARCH EARLY

The earlier you can start your preparation for civilian employment the better. The Transition Assistance Program office on your installation can help you get started. Military OneSource also offers the Transitioning Veterans specialty consultation to further assist you in transitioning from the military to civilian life.

COLLECT YOUR ASSETS

Gather copies of your military experience and training. Your VMET will give an overview of the skills you’ve gained in the military. Make a list of your technical and intangible skills. Include skills such as leadership, discipline and a strong work ethic.

RESUME TIPS FOR TRANSITIONING VETERANS

With a background of military service, you already have impressive skills and knowledge. The following guidance will help you understand how to best capture this on your resume so that it stands out.  Here at TEA, we look forward to your success as a civilian.  And hope you consider TEA as you begin this new journey to civilian employment.

CHOOSE THE RIGHT FORMAT FOR YOU

When writing a veteran resume, there are several key considerations to ensure it effectively highlights your unique experience and prepares you for a successful transition to civilian employment.

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  • Chronological Resume: This format lists your employment history in reverse chronological order, starting with your most recent job. Include accomplishments and responsibilities under each position.

  • Combination Resume: Highlight your skills gained from various work environments. Your specific skills will form the main body of the resume, followed by a concise employment history.

  • Functional Resume: Emphasize your skills while de-emphasizing gaps in employment history. Skills and accomplishments should be divided into specific areas of expertise.

INCLUDE ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS

Contact information: In the heading, include your name, address, phone number and email address.

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Objective or job target: In one or two lines, say what kind of job you’re looking or applying for, and what makes you uniquely qualified. You can’t effectively market yourself for a civilian job if you don’t have a clearly defined goal. Because so many service people have diverse backgrounds, they often make the mistake of creating resumes that are too general to be effective. Before writing your resume, do some soul searching, research occupations and pinpoint a specific career path.

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Summary of qualifications: This is a bulleted section just below the objective in the visual center of the resume.

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  • Include five or six lines highlighting the skills that qualify you for the job.

  • This will include your experience, certifications and related training.

  • Title this section “Highlights of Qualifications,” “Summary of Skills” or “Summary of Experience.”

 

Employment history: Will vary depending on the type of resume.

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Education and training: List colleges, schools or military training schools you attended. You can list the name of the school and the location, but not necessarily the dates.

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Special skills: Include foreign languages, computer skills or any other relevant skills that will set you apart.

Highlight Transferable Skills & Translate Military Experience into Civilian Terms

ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL

Once you have identified a job that you are interested in, carefully read the job description. Identify essential keywords related to the position. Incorporate these keywords into your resume to make it more relevant to the hiring manager. Customize your resume for each job application. Highlight experiences and skills that directly relate to the specific role.

 

Use the STAR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result) to describe your accomplishments.

RESUME DO's & DONT's

  • DO Be concise. Limit your resume to one or two pages.

  • DO Include volunteer experience if it’s relevant to the job. Volunteer experience can add to credibility and character.

  • DO try to convert any documents you submit to PDF format to make the files smaller and preserve the formatting.

RESUME DO's & DONT's (CONT)

  • DO include your name and a page number on each page, if it extends past one page, so recruiters can keep any loose pages together once printed.

  • DO review your resume for typos and grammatical errors

  • DON’T create a fancy resume format that is stylish but hard to read.

  • DON’T decrease the size of your margins to make room for more content—these may not print.

  • DON’T write long paragraphs that recruiters have to wade through to get to your main skills. Use short lists whenever possible.

  • DON’T give unnecessary personally identifiable information, such as Social Security numbers, driver’s license numbers or birth dates.

USE RESUME BUILDING TOOLS

If you’re having trouble writing your resume, tap into your local transition office or solicit the help of a career coach. If you’re torn between two or more potential goals, set up different resumes. These websites have tools to help you build your resume and translate your military credentials and experience into civilian skills. They reference veterans, but they’re also for active duty.

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  • Veteran’s Employment and Training Service from the U.S. Department of Labor has an online job exchange with access to employers, skills translator, resume builder, interest profiler and more.

  • The Department of Veterans Affairs offers an interest profiler, educational and career counseling and links to other job resources, such as support for veteran-owned small businesses.

  • Resumeengine.org through Hiring Our Heroes provides an easy-to-use resume application to service members that will translate military records into a strong resume that civilian employers can easily understand.

Veterans possess valuable skills that can be applied in civilian roles. These include leadership, teamwork, adaptability, problem-solving, and discipline. Don’t be afraid to showcase the accomplishments your military career has offered you, such as training, practical experience, and advancement. Highlight those skills, but ensure that you state how you utilized those skills: Show examples, be specific, and don’t be afraid to use numbers.

 

Example:

A. Worked with employees in a restaurant setting.

B. Recruited, hired, trained and supervised more than 20 employees in a restaurant with    $2 million in annual sales.

 

Both of these phrases could describe the same person, but the details and specifics in example B will more likely grab an employer’s attention.

 

Assume the recruiters and hiring managers do not have knowledge of the military. Demilitarize your job titles, duties, accomplishments, training and awards to appeal to civilian hiring managers. Show your resume to several nonmilitary friends and ask them to point out terms they don’t understand. Translate military-specific terms into plain language that civilian employers understand. For example, instead of using military acronyms, describe your skills in a way that resonates with non-military professionals. Here’s an example of a demilitarized accomplishment statement:

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“Increased employee retention rate by 16 percent by focusing on training, team building and recognition programs. Earned reputation as one of the most progressive and innovative IT organizations in the Army’s communications and IT community.”

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