You’re on terminal leave, and you are a mixed bag of emotions. Before hitting the pavement to job hunt, you have made the executive decision to grow a beard or promised yourself you would never do a slicked-back bun again. Either way, you’re looking at life through a new set of lenses, and it’s officially the start of your next chapter.
Over the years, we have seen job sites modify their filters to help you find something that fits your work experience. While that might be good for civilians with cut-and-paste job experience, it doesn’t allow your diverse multitasking experience to be a box you can check when it comes to “relevant work experience.” How can you filter a job that shows you can do 100 things, while under national security pressure, in a hostile work environment, and while being hungry and cold? The simple answer is, you can’t. We appreciate the efforts the military provides through mandatory separation classes for resume prep, but I have yet to see those templates be successful in matching military job codes to industry civilian job titles.
Three resume best practices
As a hiring manager, here are three best practices you can do for your resume that will help you find a role that gives you autonomy over where you want to go in your next career.
1. Objective Statement
At the beginning of your resume, you should have an “objective” statement. While most people are going to say this is a throwaway part of the resume, for you, it’s your number one asset. Your objective is to get a job (duh), but it’s also to tell the hiring manager what makes you different than the rest of the applicants. Be bold, be blunt, and make the hiring manager curious about your potential. I am going to give you an example because I want you to succeed.
Example: “I am a recently separated veteran from [BRANCH], where one of my main jobs was [INSERT JOB TITLE]. While I am certainly qualified to perform that specific job function, my time served in [BRANCH] has given me a wide range of skills that I cannot possibly list in this resume. I would appreciate the opportunity to interview for [JOB ROLE YOU ARE APPLYING FOR], where I can explain how I would thrive and excel in this role as it relates to the skills, character, and integrity I have as a veteran.”
2. Education
If the only formal education you have completed is high school, that is more than okay. Guess what? You’ve completed additional training while in the military. It’s time to list them, baby! And put them in the education section. Let’s blow the hiring manager out of the water by focusing on what additional education you have besides high school. Because guess what, YOU DO. And those trainings are going to separate you and distinguish you from others that get to put a long list of formal education.
3. References
Nothing bothers me more than seeing someone have a resume section labeled “References” with a sentence immediately following it saying, “references available upon request.” Please, please delete that. It’s cringe. It hurts my soul. Reach out to your Company Commander and your First Sgt. and ask them if you can list them as a reference. Be sure to include their rank when listing their name. Show me that you’ve already taken this step so that if I do call them or email them, they’ll know why I am reaching out. Promise me, if you take anything from this article, it’s that you’ll delete “references available upon request.” I don’t have time to request them from you; I just want them available in case I decide to move forward with you. HELP ME, HELP YOU.
