Making the transition from a military person to a civilian requires ones to know how to writing resumes. The only weakness in many of those resumes is the fact that the former military man is not taking advantage to properly sell his or herself to the employer. You must use your service to the country to make yourself stand out over all other applicants. Do not make the mistake of thinking just because you were in the military this will be enough to win over an employer and put you over all others. You may win the employers respect, but it does not mean you will win the job, which is what you really want right? So below I am going to draw attention to two of the major weaknesses military women and men make on their resumes that they need to fix if they hope to be successful in their transition. Or look for resume services for more sample resumes. Experience US MARINE CORPS -- Current Assignment: Camp Pendleton / Previous Deployment: Iraq Military Police Officer, 12/04 to Present Awarded MP position at the culmination of 12-week basic training and an additional 12 weeks of intensive, specialized MP training. Currently serve as a Military Police officer protecting lives and property, patrolling military base and preserving law and order at Camp Pendleton USMC Base. Previously supported battlefield operations and provided area/convoy security during overseas assignment in Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom). Here is a perfect example of professional resume writing and what your experience section should look like in the military to civilian resume. Do you see how the military person makes emphasis on their key position, and then goes on to explain some of the awards they received? Do you also notice how they draw attention to the purpose of those positions in a passionate way? Look at the section where it says “military police officer protecting lives” this is a powerful statement as it makes the person seem to have a real passion and commitment for their job. If this person simply listed a bunch of technical sounding positions designed to impress the employer, he or she may do the opposite and confuse them. Key Results • Earned consistent commendations for devotion to duty with citations for excellence in rapidly resolving crisis situations, upholding law and order, relating effectively with culturally diverse populations and protecting property and lives. • Fulfilled a range of MP duties for both combat and peacekeeping missions. Gained proficiencies and experience in: traffic accident first-responder/investigations, police patrol, ticket/report writing, felony traffic stops, search and seizures, criminal investigations and suspect interviewing/fingerprinting/processing. • Selected for elite security details providing dignitary protection for visiting generals, members of Congress and other high-ranking officials. • Infiltrated illegal drug ring operating on base and participated in undercover surveillance and "sting" operation leading to the arrest, prosecution and incarceration of guilty parties. Here is another perfect example of a military to civilian resume sample that perfectly incorporates use of key skills, as they would relate to a job. Now the thing is these skills are going to be aimed at certain types of careers. Some of them are not general and will be best utilized in certain positions. You must know what types of careers match the strong points of the skills you have if they cannot be generalized. In most cases this should not be a problem. You also want to show the employer with you military to civilian resume what you actually did, in other words accomplished. You will impress the employer far more with your accomplishments then you will by just running down a list of impressive sounding military job titles. Employers in the civilian world do not care about titles; they care about what your skill set will do for them and what it has done. You value to a potential company will be much higher if you master the art of doing this.
- Gail Esparan