Resumes 101
In the military, resumes were worn on your chest, recorded in your DD214, and, for a few folks, plastered all over your truck’s rear windshield. In the civilian world, though, no one hands out ribbons or medals, and human resource departments (Civilian S1’s) don’t carry a file that lists every school or certificate you’ve ever earned (nor do they lose it after every PCS).
It is critical, then, as a transitioning veteran to spend time honing your resume. The purpose of your resume is to communicate your experience and relevant skills to the applicable audience. That audience could be your target school or your target employer. Ultimately, a good resume gets your foot in the door, meaning, if you get an interview, the school or employer is interested in your personal background and potential because of the information which was listed on your resume. With our help, you can polish your resume until it shines, but here are some helpful hints to start:
Choose a format
We provide the formats we think are best on this site, but there are a multitude of formats that are acceptable. Typically, a resume comes in one of three formats. Most are chronological, they start in the present and work back 10-15 years. An alternate format is functional, listing skills you have that are applicable to the school or job you are applying to. Finally, there are hybrid models that combine both.
Keep it to one page
Unless you have recently finished your tour as Secretary of Defense, one page is all you need to have. This helps you edit down your achievements to the most impactful events you can. While being voted President of your summer camp between the 11th and 12th grade is impressive, it can probably be left off. However, don’t be shy about your achievements! Service members come from a team oriented environment where the group’s achievement is more important than individual success. You should include awards received and the reason you received them. Also, it is easier for someone to advise you to take something off your resume then for them to suggest you add some information. You are the only person who knows all of your accomplishments. Don’t sell yourself short. An additional benefit of a one page resume is that it makes your resume easier to read, hand off, and carry around.
Keep it achievement oriented
As a squad leader you were probably responsible for several soldiers and many thousands of dollars of equipment. You were also responsible for taking soldiers right out of boot camp and ensuring they were ready to go to war. These responsibilities are impressive, but rather than create a bullet like “Responsible for health and welfare of nine soldiers and $10 K worth of equipment,” you should turn that into an achievement focused bullet such as “Trained, certified combat readiness, and ensured welfare of nine soldiers capable of mission execution anywhere in the world, increasing training readiness by 20%.” Evaluation reports are a great source for those who are creating or editing their resume. Don’t forget to include achievements listed in your most recent evaluation report.
Start with verbs
All of your resume bullets should start with different verbs. I heard of a story about an HR specialist who would take a sheet of paper and cover up the entire resume except for the first word of every sentence. If he wasn’t impressed with the verbs he would throw it away and the applicant would not receive an interview. So what types of verbs are exciting? Coordinated, Led, Resourced, Synchronized, Managed, Leveraged, Spearheaded, Negotiated, Collaborated, Communicated . . . these verbs pack a punch and help your resume to do the same. Also, always use a different verb to begin your bullets. While managed, led, and supervised are similar, a squad leader leads a squad, manages two team leaders, and supervises the construction of a foxhole.
Tailor your resume
This is less important for schools, but critical when it comes to job applications and something to keep in mind when crafting your resume. Since the purpose of your resume is to highlight your experience and skills and the goal is to get you an interview, make sure that it is customized to the institution or employer you are applying to. For example, marketing firms prize the ability to communicate well, so make sure that your resume emphasizes your ability in this area. Financial firms want folks that are analytical, again, adjust your resume to show them that you can analyze the types of things that they will want you to analyze. The key is to do your research on what skills are needed in your area, then change your resume to stress those key traits.
A resume is a living, breathing document. Thus, you should try to update your resume periodically. With attention and practice it can become a work of art that lands you the interview to the school of your dreams.
