The Veteran s Guide to Developing a Resume

Transcription

1 The Veteran s Guide t Develping a Resume by Lisa Rsser The single biggest mistake I see service members make when creating resumes is that they dump everything they have ever dne in the military int ne dcument and use that dcument as a resume t apply fr all types f jbs. A resume will nt get yu a jb. A gd resume will increase yur chances f getting a phne call frm a recruiter wh wants t screen yu fr a jb. Therefre, the resume yu submit has t be targeted t the psitin fr which yu are applying, has t use relevant keywrds (in rder t get picked up by the emplyer s applicant tracking system), and has t highlight nt nly yur skills and cmpetencies, but als yur accmplishments. Mst f yu did nt have a burning desire t wrk in yur military ccupatin befre yu chse it. Yu tk the Armed Services Vcatinal Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) and it indicated yur strengths: Perhaps yu demnstrated strng analytical skills r mechanical skills. Based n thse results, yur recruiter prvided yu with a list f military ccupatins that were pen t peple wh demnstrated strength in thse aptitudes. Yu chse yur ccupatin, the military trained yu in that jb, and yu spent years wrking in that jb. If yu served mre than ne enlistment, yu likely tk n additinal assignments utside f yur ccupatin, perhaps as a staff member. Nw, yu have the daunting task f assembling that hdgepdge f skills, aptitudes, experiences, abilities, and interests int smething that will catch the attentin f a recruiter and/r hiring manager. Yu may be thinking, Wait a minute I was a truck driver in the military. I have zer interest in being a truck driver in the civilian wrld. Fair enugh. Befre yu begin typing anything, yu shuld take a mment and reflect n what yu did in the military and what yu think yu d like t d in the civilian wrld. Take the time t examine the parts f yur military ccupatin that yu really liked and the parts yu really disliked. We will use a fictinal character t illustrate the next steps. Jhn Stevens served six years in the military as an infantryman. He was medically retired as an E-5 after a training injury damaged nerves in his back. He s nw in cllege, wrking n the degree he started while still in the military. Jhn spends sme time reflecting n his infantry career. Peple keep suggesting that he culd be a plice fficer r security guard, but he feels strngly that he des nt want t wrk in law enfrcement. He makes a list f things he liked and disliked abut being an infantryman.

2 He did enjy the time he spent preparing his team fr training exercises, and develping creative ways t help his sldiers attain skill-level mastery. When he wrked as the unit training NCO, he demnstrated such strng rganizatinal and fllw-up skills that his unit wn recgnitin fr its level f training readiness, an achievement fr which he is very prud. One f his strengths that was rutinely mentined n his perfrmance reviews is that he has a knack fr explaining cmplex subjects in a way that makes it easy fr peple t understand. He didn t like extended time away frm his family, wrking in ppressive heat humping 30 punds f gear, r being sht at. With thse likes and dislikes in mind, Jhn is first ging t assemble a master list f his skills. Frm this master list, he will later be able t pick and chse which skills t highlight n a targeted resume. Jhn first reviews the civilian-friendly explanatin f his Military Occupatin Cde (MOC) n his service s recruiting website and makes nte f the plain English descriptins f his military ccupatin. Jhn als ges thrugh ld perfrmance reviews (OERs/NCOERs r the service equivalent) and makes a list f the different jbs he held, including any secndary r additinal duties. He spent sme time as the training NCO in his unit, as well as stints as the unit s vting fficer and tax administratr. Bth f thse jbs required him t advise his fellw sldiers n cmplex subjects and cach them thrugh prcesses. Next, Jhn uses O*Net Online t d a military-t-civilian crsswalk f his MOC t civilian ccupatins (see Unfrtunately, he discvers that O*Net des nt crsswalk cmbat arms ccupatins. But, Jhn can still use O*Net Online t lk up sme f the ther skills he has listed t see what kinds f jbs might require thse skills. S, he types in training and sees ccupatins that include training in the title r as a key skill f the jb. Jhn als makes nte f any alternate jb titles that O*Net lists fr an ccupatin. He ntes the varius skills that a civilian hlding that ccupatinal title wuld be expected t have and adds them t his master list. Nw that Jhn has a list f ptential civilian ccupatins and alternative jb titles, it is time t start researching jb sites fr psted psitins fr thse titles. Nte that Jhn has still nt assembled a resume, nr is he applying fr any f these jbs yet. He is researching. Jhn finds a number f jbs that have training in the jb title r descriptin. He carefully reads each jb descriptin, making mre ntes n his master skills list f the cmmnly required r desired skills fr thse psitins and circling thse that he believes he has. Jhn als makes nte f any required r preferred certificatins; he ntices that Certified Prfessinal in Learning and Perfrmance (CPLP) is a certificatin that is listed

3 as preferred in a number f pstings. Jhn makes a nte t research the requirements t attain that certificatin and will later decide whether t pursue it. Jhn als ntices that a number f these psitins mentin perfrmance management r talent management. He makes anther nte t research these keywrds t see if there are ther types f jbs that might use his skills and meet his interests. Jhn then ges t an nline salary calculatr and types in sme f the keywrds/titles t cmpare the civilian jb titles he saw listed n the jb bards. Fr example, he wants t knw the difference between what a training directr des cmpared t a training manager r training specialist, s that he can gauge his skill level in civilian terms and, mre accurately, present his skill level and target mre apprpriate jbs dwn the rad. He als des a quick check f each title t see the average salary range by zip cde fr smene wh hlds that psitin. Nw that Jhn has develped a master list f all his skills, including the civilian terms and jb titles fr thse skills, he is in a better psitin t create tailred resumes that nly list the skills required fr the jb(s) t which he is applying. He has decided t fcus n jbs that are training fcused r related t perfrmance management (which he discvered is the prfessinal develpment f peple in an rganizatin, smething he indicated during reflectin that he enjyed ding while serving in the military). Jhn is nw ready t develp his first general resume highlighting his skills as a training specialist. Here is an example f hw Jhn might have described his time as a training NCO, using the military language he is cmfrtable with: S-3 Training NCO, 6/52 ADA BN, Darmstadt, GE Submitted training requests in ATRRS Cmpleted training slides fr the QTB Ordered amm, pyrtechnics, and MREs fr unit FTXs Reserved ranges, billets, and maneuver space Green n all training readiness evaluatins; BN ranked #1 in the BDE Nw that Jhn has dne research, he has a better grasp f the civilian terms he shuld use. This is the same entry, demilitarized : Training Specialist (U.S. Army, Darmstadt, Germany) Cnducted all clerical and administrative duties related t the training and prfessinal develpment f a 500-persn rganizatin. In this rle, I:

4 Scheduled all required and ptinal prfessinal develpment curses fr the emplyee base using a prprietary learning management system. Tracked individual cmpletins and identified nnattendance/nn-cmpletes fr remedial actin. Prepared mnthly reprts t keep leadership apprised f verall rganizatinal training status. Cntrlled an annual training budget f $500,000, thrugh which I prcured training materials, reserved training facilities, and arranged fr meals and ldging fr all students. Results achieved: Saved the rganizatin $50,000 in 2009 by recmmending tw business units within the rganizatin cnslidate similar training events and share cmmn resurces t avid waste f materials. Achieved tp ranking (ut f five business units) fr verall training cmpliance and cmpletin tw years in a rw. Jhn plans t pst his first general resume n Military.cm and Her2Hired.rg, and als n his LinkedIn prfile. This general resume can later be further custmized shuld he desire t use it t apply t a specific psitin at a specific cmpany. He will later create a secnd general resume fcused n perfrmance management. Yur Resume: What Emplyers Want t See Resumes are mre than just a list f things yu knw hw t d emplyers want t see what results yu achieved while perfrming thse tasks. Did yu increase, decrease, save, r imprve smething? Be ready t articulate that in the resume. If yu supervised peple, hw many? If yu managed a budget, hw big was it? If yu served in a rle that wuld typically be held by smene ne r tw grades abve yu, tut that. If yur team was named the #1 team r yu, yurself, were selected as sldier f the year (r the service equivalent) be ready t explain this utstanding accmplishment. Yu als need t run the resume past a civilian (nt a military buddy r a spuse, wh prbably understands many f the military terms yu use) wh will pint ut all the places where the language yu are using needs t be de-militarized. The vast majrity f civilian recruiters are searching resume databases using civilian keywrds, nt military keywrds, s if yu want yur resume t be fund, it has t speak civilian. Military Service s Recruiting Websites

5 Lisa Rsser is a veteran f the U.S Army, funder f The Value f a Veteran, and authr f a guide t recruiting military veterans. Curtesy f the Natinal Assciatin f Clleges and Emplyers.