Military Resume Writing is Easier than You Think

When you're transitioning from the military to a civilian job, it can be pretty tough to know exactly what to include on your resume as you apply for jobs. If you're making this tough transition, it's a good idea to get the help of a person or service skilled in military resume writing. But if you'd like to go at it on your own, here are some tips to get you on the right track.

Create Your Civilian Objective

If you're switching to a civilian job from the military, you will need wrap your mind around a civilian-based objective. The good news is that with a service background, you probably have a lot of experiences to share. However, those experiences need to be narrowed down into one objective that can explain why you're looking for a civilian job.

Of course, you want to look at the job you're applying for then explore your skills and accomplishments to appropriately apply them to the position. But as a new civilian, you also want to think about the direction you  want to take your life from this point forward. By knowing who you are now and where you want to go, you have a better chance to create an objective that will define your true goals.

Think about the Employer

If you've ever held a management position that required hiring an employee then you can imagine what it means to find a person who matches your goals for a particular position. If you've never been in a hiring position, you could still take a moment to imagine being a manager to help you understand what a person would want from a candidate.

You want to know that the candidate is a hard worker, reliable, driven, full of bright ideas and bringing tons of experience. So your job is to emphasize all of these things by paralleling your military skills and accomplishments with the job's responsibilities and duties.

Show Off Your Military Background (But Remember the Hiring Manager May Know Nothing about It)

As a military official, you have a reason to be very proud of your accomplishments, so there's nothing wrong with showing off the fact that you served your country. In other words, don't hide it. Be sure to list whatever positions you held with pride. However, as you note military information, it's a good idea to avoid military-only terminology since the hiring manager may have no idea what it means.

If you follow these tips when writing your military resume, you could not only be considered for the position you want, but successfully acquire it. So take some time to review your background and think about how well it could translate into a civilian position. Then write a resume that would make your military superiors proud.