Posted on Sep 17, 2014
Resumes - Gear Them Towards the Right Audience!
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Your resume is just like your picture on Facebook, people can view it but it really doesn't tell the whole story unless you give a good description of who you are or in the Facebook example, what is really going on in the picture.
I can honestly say I have looked at thousands of resumes in my 14 plus years of recruiting and have yet to find that perfect resume that stands out to me. You would think I would have found that "perfect example" by now, but instead I have found a line here, a paragraph there, or an "objective" statement that really catches my eye which in-turn spurs me to contact the applicant.
I believe writing really good resumes is a two fold problem for our Military Members transitioning out for a couple reasons. The first reason is you didn't really have to do a job interview to join the military. You had to take the ASVAB and get a qualifying score and you had to go to the Military Entrance Processing station and do a physical. Those two things together either got you in the military or for others disqualified them for entry. The second reason is because of how military members are taught to write memorandums. For example, in the Air Force we used the "Tongue and Quill" to learn how to write resumes. This was an outdated publication that really only taught you how to write documents and memorandums geared towards military protocol.
Applying for a position with a civilian company is a whole different ball game!
Here are some tips for putting your civilian resume together:
First, give me the facts...clear, concise and to the point and don't go over two pages if possible. Recruiters are skimmers...we look for those key words or statements that makes us say WOW, this person would be a perfect fit for our company and then, we take the time to look at the whole resume!
Second, one of the most important items that people don't do is gear their resume to what the employer is actually looking for. If you look carefully, the employer has already listed what they are looking for in an ideal candidate directly in their job description.
For example, if I am an employer and I write down I am looking for someone who is a leader, please don't list all the great computer skills you have as the first items on your resume. Instead, list some of the group activities you have lead or projects you have supervised. Give some examples of how your leadership impacted the organization you worked for positively. I understand that people don't like to talk about how great they are, however, when writing a resume that is exactly what you need to do!
Third, ALWAYS AWAYS ALWAYS adjust your resume to move key things you have done in your life to the top of the resume so I see a) you actually took the time to read what we are looking for and b) you actually have the skills we are looking for and are not just filling the local state unemployment requirements of three job interviews a week to stay on unemployment.
Another example might be if the job description says, "Must be willing to work long, irregular hours." A good resume statement might be, "while working and overseeing the Aircraft Isolation Bay I met all aircraft maintenance required turn-around times, regardless of how long it took to fix the plane. I am no stranger to working long hours and thrive in that type of environment." A bad resume statement might be, "reliable, always get the job done." As a recruiter, I would ask myself when reading this...did it get done right, how long, what does reliable mean, etc....
Hopefully you will find what I have written useful and be able to apply it to your current resume. For those of you already doing this, kudos to you! Your future job is just around the corner!
I can honestly say I have looked at thousands of resumes in my 14 plus years of recruiting and have yet to find that perfect resume that stands out to me. You would think I would have found that "perfect example" by now, but instead I have found a line here, a paragraph there, or an "objective" statement that really catches my eye which in-turn spurs me to contact the applicant.
I believe writing really good resumes is a two fold problem for our Military Members transitioning out for a couple reasons. The first reason is you didn't really have to do a job interview to join the military. You had to take the ASVAB and get a qualifying score and you had to go to the Military Entrance Processing station and do a physical. Those two things together either got you in the military or for others disqualified them for entry. The second reason is because of how military members are taught to write memorandums. For example, in the Air Force we used the "Tongue and Quill" to learn how to write resumes. This was an outdated publication that really only taught you how to write documents and memorandums geared towards military protocol.
Applying for a position with a civilian company is a whole different ball game!
Here are some tips for putting your civilian resume together:
First, give me the facts...clear, concise and to the point and don't go over two pages if possible. Recruiters are skimmers...we look for those key words or statements that makes us say WOW, this person would be a perfect fit for our company and then, we take the time to look at the whole resume!
Second, one of the most important items that people don't do is gear their resume to what the employer is actually looking for. If you look carefully, the employer has already listed what they are looking for in an ideal candidate directly in their job description.
For example, if I am an employer and I write down I am looking for someone who is a leader, please don't list all the great computer skills you have as the first items on your resume. Instead, list some of the group activities you have lead or projects you have supervised. Give some examples of how your leadership impacted the organization you worked for positively. I understand that people don't like to talk about how great they are, however, when writing a resume that is exactly what you need to do!
Third, ALWAYS AWAYS ALWAYS adjust your resume to move key things you have done in your life to the top of the resume so I see a) you actually took the time to read what we are looking for and b) you actually have the skills we are looking for and are not just filling the local state unemployment requirements of three job interviews a week to stay on unemployment.
Another example might be if the job description says, "Must be willing to work long, irregular hours." A good resume statement might be, "while working and overseeing the Aircraft Isolation Bay I met all aircraft maintenance required turn-around times, regardless of how long it took to fix the plane. I am no stranger to working long hours and thrive in that type of environment." A bad resume statement might be, "reliable, always get the job done." As a recruiter, I would ask myself when reading this...did it get done right, how long, what does reliable mean, etc....
Hopefully you will find what I have written useful and be able to apply it to your current resume. For those of you already doing this, kudos to you! Your future job is just around the corner!
Posted in these groups: 
Resume
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Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 7
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Two additional things for job seekers to consider, translate what you do into civilian terminology, and do not sell yourself short. I am not saying lie, but if you were an 88M, you did more than drive a truck. Sit down and consider what ALL that you did, and what that means in the civilian world. You signed for your weapon, counseled soldiers…ETC. Second, the resume is a tool to obtain an interview…really nothing more…give them everything they need to want to sit down in person but be careful because too much can sometimes…often…be worse than not enough information.
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COL Vincent Stoneking
Sometimes not even 8 seconds....
People do goofy things on resumes, thinking they are being clever. If you use 8 point font and no white space on a resume I receive, you might as well save yourself the effort. I'm only going to pay attention to it if ALL the other candidates SUCK.
Separate note - Thank You letters & notes are making a come back. I've gotten more in the last 3-4 hirings than I have in the last 3-4 years. IF you send a Thank You note (I recommend you do):
1. Include something personal - hopefully you had SOME small talk with the interviewer(s). Lets them know you were paying attention.
2. Mention something that you though you hit out of the park (reinforce that positive memory). Alternatively, if you completely tanked something, you might try to recover. I'd almost always go for the former - you want them to FORGET the latter.
3. Maximum effective range of a thank-you note is 24 hours.
4. Hand-delivered is best, email is second, mail is ... over.
5. Remember the admin. They get their own card - for real (or imagined helpfulness). Remember, they are the gatekeeper, and often the memory and scheduling for the hiring manager. Don't discount their opinion of the candidates.
On that last point, I will mention that I ALWAYS (unless an internal candidate) have my admin escort the candidate both to and from the interview. I then debrief her on the person's demeanor both before and after the interview. This HAS impacted more than one hiring decision - and in both directions.
People do goofy things on resumes, thinking they are being clever. If you use 8 point font and no white space on a resume I receive, you might as well save yourself the effort. I'm only going to pay attention to it if ALL the other candidates SUCK.
Separate note - Thank You letters & notes are making a come back. I've gotten more in the last 3-4 hirings than I have in the last 3-4 years. IF you send a Thank You note (I recommend you do):
1. Include something personal - hopefully you had SOME small talk with the interviewer(s). Lets them know you were paying attention.
2. Mention something that you though you hit out of the park (reinforce that positive memory). Alternatively, if you completely tanked something, you might try to recover. I'd almost always go for the former - you want them to FORGET the latter.
3. Maximum effective range of a thank-you note is 24 hours.
4. Hand-delivered is best, email is second, mail is ... over.
5. Remember the admin. They get their own card - for real (or imagined helpfulness). Remember, they are the gatekeeper, and often the memory and scheduling for the hiring manager. Don't discount their opinion of the candidates.
On that last point, I will mention that I ALWAYS (unless an internal candidate) have my admin escort the candidate both to and from the interview. I then debrief her on the person's demeanor both before and after the interview. This HAS impacted more than one hiring decision - and in both directions.
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SMSgt Schilling, Fantastic post. Hitting the nails on the heads.
"If you look carefully, the employer has already listed what they are looking for in an ideal candidate directly in their job description".
This is something that I often stress. Don't make a mechanic's resume for a sales job. Similarly, don't list things that are off topic to the job post.
I also love to remind the job seeker to resist the urge to brag about "cool military stuff" that is only used in the military. Weapons certifications, details of combat operations and how many lbs of C4 we've detonated at once...really don't have a place.
"If you look carefully, the employer has already listed what they are looking for in an ideal candidate directly in their job description".
This is something that I often stress. Don't make a mechanic's resume for a sales job. Similarly, don't list things that are off topic to the job post.
I also love to remind the job seeker to resist the urge to brag about "cool military stuff" that is only used in the military. Weapons certifications, details of combat operations and how many lbs of C4 we've detonated at once...really don't have a place.
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COL Randall C.
Another hard transition for us (military personnel) is speak in 'accomplishments' instead of 'duty description'.
For example, the most common thing I see on resumes is that for a job description a soldier will put down the duty description they had on a job
Maintenance Supervisor: responsible for the training of 30 individuals in maintenance procedures and ensuring that all vehicles are repaired within guidelines established by the unit (or something like that)
Instead, try something along these lines:
Maintenance Supervisor: Trained 30 mechanics in industry standard maintenance procedures and how to inspect vehicles to ensure compliance with state and federal safety code (I'm making this up, so I know the language will be wrong), and performed quality control inspections personally.
- Best mechanic training program in the unit. Over 300 vehicles inspected with no compliance failures noted.
- etc...
For example, the most common thing I see on resumes is that for a job description a soldier will put down the duty description they had on a job
Maintenance Supervisor: responsible for the training of 30 individuals in maintenance procedures and ensuring that all vehicles are repaired within guidelines established by the unit (or something like that)
Instead, try something along these lines:
Maintenance Supervisor: Trained 30 mechanics in industry standard maintenance procedures and how to inspect vehicles to ensure compliance with state and federal safety code (I'm making this up, so I know the language will be wrong), and performed quality control inspections personally.
- Best mechanic training program in the unit. Over 300 vehicles inspected with no compliance failures noted.
- etc...
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Sgt (Join to see)
Agree LTC Cudworth. And a great observation. Something frequently addressed is that military members like to speak as a "team" instead of as an "individual", therefore they do exactly what you just said... write the description of their job instead of their accomplishments as an individual. That is a great point.
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COL Alicia Smith, Also posted an outstanding article regarding resumes...
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/lessons-learned-from-building-and-reviewing-resumes
https://www.rallypoint.com/answers/lessons-learned-from-building-and-reviewing-resumes
Lessons Learned from Building and Reviewing Resumes | RallyPoint
I wanted to pass on what I learned from screening a few dozen resumes and helping a few friends that might prove helpful to those currently applying for positions or sharpening up your own. -Have a professional looking format and stick to it. Do not use the generic one that must be provided at USAJobs as it does not look professional.--New Note: just found out that "generic one" is the one automatically generated by USAJobs--since I have not...
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