Military to Civilian Resume Sample

Three Steps to Writing Your Own Resume

While most professionals hire a professional resume writer, some draft their own resume. People who write a lot for business usually have more success in putting together a sharp, focused presentation; still, anyone can learn the basic steps to prepare his or her own resume.

There are three major differences between a "strong" resume and an "o.k." resume:

1. FORMAT AND PRESENTATION DETERMINE WHETHER THE RESUME IS READ

The average resume is scanned, not read, for only 8-15 seconds. It either creates a strong impression to the reader immediately or it is set aside. It is similar to the impression you make on the interviewer. Therefore, make sure your resume is wearing the equivalent of a "business suit" and not jeans and flip-flops!

Choose a format that complements your career goal. If you are seeking a job in your field and have experience, use a chronological resume. This resume starts with your most recent job and works backward. Conversely, if you are seeking a new type of work, you may want to consider the functional/combination resume. This style groups your skills together and includes a short chronological work history at the end.

Other ways to insure that your presentation gets noticed include:

• No errors: use spell check and also have someone review your resume for missing or misused words

• Use a Consistent format and use of capitalization and punctuation throughout

• Provide lots of white space to accent strong parts of the resume

• Use no more than 2 fonts

• Include your name and address, a phone and email address

• Laser print your work on quality white or cream resume paper

2. ACCOMPLISHMENTS TELL WHAT YOU'VE DONE; RESPONSBILITIES STATE WHAT YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO HAVE DONE

Not all accomplishments have to be big, but they have to show that you got results as you carried out your responsibilities. Often, they are something you are proud of or, they can simply quantify what you have done on a daily basis. Many of your routine activities can be quantified and written as accomplishments that demonstrate your experience and knowledge, and proof of how you've HELPED the company!

Here are some things to consider when naming accomplishments. Quantify whenever possible. For instance, did you:

• save the company money? How much and how?

• help improve sales? By how much?

• improve productivity and efficiency?

• implement any new systems or processes?

• help launch any new products or services?

• achieve more with (same or fewer) resources?

• resolve a major problem with little investment?

• participate in any technical/operational improvements?

• exceed accepted standards for quality or quantity?

• identify the need for a program or service?

• prepare any original reports, studies or documents?

• serve on any committees? What was the outcome?

• get elected to any boards, teams or task forces?

• resolve customer problems?

• get rated as outstanding in performance reviews?

3. AVOID COMMON ERRORS IN RESUME WRITING

Many job seekers either don't know or don't understand the many items that do not belong in a resume. They include the following:

• Do not use "I", "me" or "my" statements; use the telegraphic method and drop the pronoun to make it more active. Instead of "I wrote the 40-page employee manual", say "Wrote 40-page employee manual"

• Avoid the use of the words "responsible for" and "duties included"

• Do not include personal information, such as age, health, ethnicity, marriage and family status. Employers will throw your resume out if it has such information because they could someday be accused of hiring bias

• Do not include photographs unless you are a model or actor

• Do not explain your reasons for leaving your previous jobs or employment gaps

• Don't send extra papers such as letters of recommendation, certificates or samples of your work. They clutter your presentation and are too premature. Use in the interview if appropriate

• Never include salary information

• Do not forward a list of references

About The Author

Recognized as a career expert, Linda Matias brings a wealth of experience to the career services field. She has been sought out for her knowledge of the employment market, outplacement, job search strategies, interview preparation, and resume writing, quoted a number of times in The Wall Street Journal, New York Newsday, Newsweek, and HR-esource.com. She is President of CareerStrides and the National Resume Writers' Association. Visit her website at www.careerstrides.com or email her at careerstrides@bigfoot.com.

MORE ARTICLES:

What A Former Stay At Home Mom Knows About Creating A Stunning Resume That You Dont
Recently I was asked to touch up a friend's resume. Her challenge was simple.

Increase Freelance Sales With an Online Resume!
Freelancing is a competitive business, especially in today's fast-paced, e-focused world.Often there are hundreds of writers competing for the same, limited number of assignments, and the writer who can best showcase his or her abilities is the one who lands the job.

Health Care Job Seekers: Learn the Secrets of Getting Your Resume Noticed in an Online World
HealthcareRecruitment.com, a listing provider for nursing jobs and allied health careers, tells job seekers the best ways to maximize a return on an online resume. Whether searching for physical therapy jobs, pharmacy jobs, or jobs in other industries, following these tips will ensure that your resume looks professional and is found by the right people online.

ResTrust Strengthens Resources for Employment Background Check, Resume Certification Services by Teaming up with Peak Performance Coach Doug Hirschhor
An employment background check will soon merge one man’s strengths with the ideas of ethics, innovation and peak performance as two Innovators in their Respective Fields Join Forces to create an improved employment screening process, announces Jared I. Fletcher, founder and CEO of ResTrust.

Business Resume Tips
For most job-seekers, the resume is the only way to get your foot in the door Unfortunately, the employer probably gets so many resumes, that he barely has time to read through them all

Good Resume Karma for Hospitality Workers
So, you've done your turn in the trenches. You've been a busperson, head waiter, bartender, host, and what-not. After ten to twenty years, many hospitality workers, feeling burned-out at the late shifts and long hours, yearn to break into the ranks of higher management. Yet they find themselves in a kind of 'glass ceiling' situation. They can't get a recruiter to look twice at their resume, even when the qualifications are more than a match for the job.

Resume Writing Business Opportunity
Why Get Into a Resume Business?I was stuck at my job and barely covering my monthly expenses. I was working 45+ hours per week and had no time for my family or to relax.

Land That Job! Frees Up Resume Template Content
Career site opens up proprietary content for free use giving job seekers access to professional resume and cover letter templates in MS Word format.

Resume Objectives Are Ineffective and Dead
The resume objective is dead Objectives are either too limiting, because they?re written very specifically, or they?re bland and generic

Avoid Mistakes and Gaffes in Your Job Resume
Having mistakes and gaffes in your job resume spell disaster for your job search. The last thing an employer needs is to look at a poorly written resume.

OptimalResume.com Releases a Video Resume Creation Console for the Higher Education Market
With all of the recent buzz about video resumes, OptimalResume.com takes center stage with its new online software called OptimalVideoResume. OptimalResume.com has developed the online tools needed to easily produce a top quality video resume. The company services the higher education market and has set the standard for online resumes.

Resume That Effectively Promotes You!
Imagine for a moment that you have created a wonderful product. You are excited at the possibilities of attaining name, fame and wealth marketing this product.

Always Have a Current Resume
What is the biggest mistake people make with resumes?People write their resumes as a chronological summary of everything they've done in their professional lives. Employers only care about one thing: what you can do for them.

Resurrecting the Perfect Resume, Part Two
Are you in denial about the lifelessness of your resume?  If you are reasonably qualified for the type of work you seek, yet your resume is consistently failing to win you interviews, then you need to face the reality that your beloved document is dead.  Try these professional resume writing techniques to resurrect your resume and your job search today: Problem #3:    Resume Is Blind In your eagerness to cut your job search work load have you reduced your objective statement to something grandiose and vague, something that you hope speaks to every employer but which, in fact, communicates to none?  A resume with no focus is blind; without a clear focus in your resume an employer cannot perceive what you're offering them; without a conci...