Why does an employer hire people? It is not to give people jobs. It’s to add value to the company. They post a position because they have a need that must get filled to either keep the company running at the same tempo (due to people leaving the company) or because the company is expanding and has more work than people to do it.

Specifically, an employer is hiring because he wants to accomplish one or more of these things:

  • Attract more customers.
  • Retain current customers by improving customer satisfaction.
  • Increase product line or services offered.
  • Improve a process, such as manufacturing, marketing, delivery, etc.
  • Increase operational excellence by making the company run more efficiently.
  • Boost the performance of the company either in whole or in part, such as a certain section or division.
  • Improve the company’s strategy.
  • Maximize return on investment.

Keeping these hiring reasons in mind, tailor your resume and cover letter to show how you will make a difference.

How do you do that?

By identifying ways you made a difference in your previous military assignments or civilian jobs, and how that experience will enable you to contribute to an employer’s success in the future.

Using an action/results format, here are some sample problems and potential solutions:

Action Results
Quickly solve problems and prevent recurrence. When conducting After Action Reviews, I focused on the root cause of an issue and created a solution to fix problems rather than assessing blame on an individual.
Improve safety and reduce accidents. Having spent numerous hours on rifle ranges, handling hazardous materials and around dangerous equipment at the supervisory level, I know how to develop, implement and disseminate safety policy, procedures and guidelines to prevent accidents and reduce injuries.
Prevent equipment breakdowns/reduce repair expenses. Through before, during and after-operation checks and scheduled maintenance services, I can reduce the downtime of equipment and the expense of repair.
Increase synergy of a team. As a Team Leader in the military, I brought together 12 unique individuals and was able to get them to work cohesively in a high-stress work environment.
Analyze, create and select courses of action. Trained in the military’s Decision-Making Process, when faced with a problem, I create possible courses of action, evaluate each and select the best one. Once selected, I develop an action plan to implement the chosen course of action.

 

Other common actions that companies frequently hire to solve include:

  • Identifying unmet needs.
  • Developing, testing and evaluating new products or services.
  • Training employees.
  • Collaborating on a project.
  • Improving planning.
  • Analyzing data.
  • Improving decision-making.
  • Resolving conflict.
  • Performing detail-oriented work.

For anyone who has spent an appreciable amount of time in the military, we are trained how to do many of these things that employers are seeking to solve when hiring. By carefully going through a job posting, it is usually easy to see why they are hiring for that position. You can then tailor your resume and cover letter accordingly to show from experience, instead of just tell, how you can help them if they hire you.

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Kness retired in November 2007 as a Senior Noncommissioned Officer after serving 36 years of service with the Minnesota Army National Guard of which 32 of those years were in a full-time status along with being a traditional guardsman. Kness takes pride in being able to still help veterans, military members, and families as they struggle through veteran and dependent education issues.