Military to Civilian Resume Sample

Resurrecting the Perfect Resume, Part One

Is your resume dead?  Don't be so quick to say, "No way!"  Of the hundreds of resumes I've seen written by job seekers of all backgrounds and educational levels, easily 95% qualify to be labelled as dead-but-not-yet-buried. 

A dead resume lacks a clear structure or chronology, does not present or quantify achievements, fails to offer a "big picture" of what you would bring to the employer and is impersonal rather than expressive.  Worse yet, a dead resume fails to win you the response you're hoping for from the employer:  an invitation for a job interview. 

To win more job interviews and dramatically increase the quality of opportunities your resume can help you attract, strip your resume down to bare bones and resurrect it using the same techniques professional resume writers use to reposition job seekers whose own job search campaigns have failed to yield the results they need.

Problem #1:   Resume Lacks Structure   

 
You cannot create a resume without first creating a structure for it.  Resumes are complicated documents that include different types of information which they communicate to different types of readers.  If your resume has a poor structure it will make no sense to the reader; he or she will simply discard your resume and move on the next one in the pile, and you will count yourself lucky to even get a rejection letter. 

Solution #1:   Create A Strong Skeleton For Your Resume

• Be as specific as possible in the content you want to communicate.  
• Match your content to the job you are applying for and the industry you seek to enter. 
• Avoid jargon yet be sure to use industry-specific key words.
• Organize and sequence all of your dates and details.   You didn't edit, then write and then initiate; you initiated, then wrote and then edited. 
• List dates chronologically but in reverse order. 
• Combine like skills together. 
• Choose a resume style (chronological, functional, skills-based combination) that highlights your accomplishments.
• List resume sections with most important section first, least important section last and all other sections in their appropriate place in between those two poles.  Education should rarely be listed first unless you seek work either in academia or in a field where education is paramount, such as in medicine.
• Be consistent in how you record information.   Begin bulleted sentences and phrases with the same parts of speech. Give the same level of detail in all resume sections.  Use first person for verbs, not second.  It is inappropriate to refer to yourself in the second person as if you are someone else:  "Resolves customer complaints promptly," really means, "Mary resolves customer complaints promptly."  To imply, "I resolve customer complaints promptly," say, "Resolve customer complaints promptly."
• Double check all your details.  Edit your resume at least three times yourself, then invite knowledgeable others to edit it as well.  Then edit it again yourself, this time reading the whole document backwards, word by word.  Do not rely on spell checkers to do this for you  -  they are only as thorough as you are!

Problem #2:   Resume Contains No Substance

Many job seekers write a resume with structure but no substance, with a skeleton but no muscles.  Remember that your resume is your brochure; its job is to highlight your best qualities and credentials, downplay your weaknesses and sell the reader on the idea of interviewing you.  To accomplish this you must layer details and specific examples into your key resume sections.

Solution #2:   Layer Achievement Muscles Onto Your Resume Skeleton

• Highlight the most vital points. 
• Add deeper levels of detail; articulate clearly and succinctly. 
• Tell success stories with brevity and power. 
• Make each word count. 
• Use graphics and bold, underline, or italics to draw your reader's eyes to what you most want them to read. 
• Describe results and outcomes to sell your highest level of achievement.
• Apply a journalism technique to craft powerful success stories.  What did you do?  How did you do it?  Why?  With and for whom?  Where?  When?  What results did you achieve?  Answer these questions fully on separate paper, then edit your story until it fits into 1-2 sentences and insert it in your resume.  Use the original expanded version of your story to share verbally with employers in interviews.
• Characterize all numbers in their most powerful and realistic form.   Let's say you cashiered at a grocery store and closed out your register with an average of $1000 daily.  Let's also say that you worked five days a week.  Multiply that $1000 times five days per week and it becomes $5000 weekly; or $20,000 monthly, if your prefer.
• Put yourself in your reader's shoes and anticipate their questions, concerns and objections.  Be honest in your assessment of your weaknesses and proactive in your defense against questions about them.  If you know you lack specific experience, then go out of your way to translate your background into language and skill sets a potential employer will want to hear. 
• What assumptions do you fear an employer will make about you?  That you're too old?  Too young?  Inexperienced?  Overqualified?  Build resume muscles on these specific issues by challenging assumptions before they can be raised.
• Use action verbs and concrete, quantifiable nouns.  Avoid passive verbs.  Use verbs that communicate to your reader's senses and create the impression of action. 
• Avoid vague terms like "several", "many" and "some"; try specific numbers or number ranges instead. 
• Choose verbs and nouns that demonstrate the highest level of skill you have achieved.
  

Cheryl Lynch Simpson is a Spiritual Director and Solutions Coach who helps women discover and create the life they've always wanted to live.  Cheryl is the author of over 30 print/Internet articles and the founder of Coaching Solutions For Women, a coaching website that produces and showcases career, business, and life solutions that improve the life balance of today's busy women.  For a complimentary copy of her latest e-book, Ten-Minute Stress Zappers for Women Service Business Owners, visit http://www.coachingsolutionsforwomen.com.

MORE ARTICLES:

How to Make Your Resume Stand Out
Whether or not you're planning to look for a new job, it's best to keep your resume updated Get into the habit of updating your accomplishments and skills so that your resume is always ready

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.

Building a Strong Resume with the Right Accountancy Jobs
A professional who wants to build a career as a successful accountant needs to know where to find good accountancy jobs. The growing number of accountancy graduates hitting the job market each year makes it difficult for qualified accountants to find well-paid positions. Your ability to hunt down accountancy jobs in the right industries at the right time will help you find work that is fulfilling over the long term.

Talent Technology Corporation’s Resume Mirror Partners with WorkStrategy
Resume Mirror partnership with WorkStrategy gives customers access to top quality ERP talent management expertise to maximize ROI of their Oracle/PeopleSoft HCM application investment.

How to Write a Scientific Resume
You're a scientist, you're very well educated, you're intelligent, and so writing your own résumé should be easy, correct? I mean, how hard could it be? Especially if you have written your own thesis or dissertation in the past, you may feel that you can save the $300 bucks (or however much it costs, even if it is a tax deduction!) and simply do it yourself. The answer to this may surprise you.

The 10-Step Resume Critique
Your resume will generally receive a 15- to 30-second scan upon first review by an employer. With that in mind, it is critical that your resume -- your "paper handshake" -- makes a positive first impression and compels the reader to put your resume in the "yes" pile and possibly call you in for an interview.

How To Write A Better Resume
Which word is more scarier to you? If someone yelled ?fire!? or if someone whispered, ?resume?? To most people, hearing the word ?resume? induces panic attacks and beads of sweat across the forehead.

President of Shimmering Resumes Offers Executive Resume to Hillary Clinton
President of Shimmering Resumes Volunteers to Write Executive resume for Hillary Clinton, to Help her Gain Nomination, or a Job in an Obama Administration

Using the New Free On-line ResAlyzer (Resume Analyzer) from BolivarConsulting.com you can Boost Your Resume Rankings
Resumes are typically received and screened electronically using a process known as keyword density analysis. An otherwise brilliant resume may end up at the bottom of the screening results due to keyword problems. The new free on-line ResAlyser (RESume anALYZER) service from BolivarConsulting.com performs an instant keyword density analysis to let a job seeker see what the recruitment search engines see. Check it out at http://bolivarconsulting.com/resalyzer.php .

Resume Objectives ... The Hidden Pitfalls
Why Use Resume ObjectivesBefore we can discuss the pitfalls you first need to understand the reasons for including your resume objectives and how they relate to your resume and interview selection process.Including an objectives section at the beginning of your resume provides a brief introduction to the purpose of the resume, highlighting your career objectives and the type of job you are seeking.

Free Resume Examples: Use Them, But Dont
There are lots of free resume examples (or free resume samples) on the web.Try searching for "free resume example" at Google and take a look at the almost 5 million pages that come back (the less restrictive "resume example" gives you 7 million pages, if you've got more time on your hands).

The Perfect Resume
The perfect resume presents hiring managers with a four-fold vision of who you are and what you bring to the table: The perfect resume offers Logical Proofs:     Facts Quantifiable data Logical conclusions Achievement and success statements Relevant professional goals/accomplishments Limits the use of jargon Maximizes use of occupation/industry-specific key words Your capabilities and skills Clear, specific, measurable, and quantifiable words and phrases Sells you based on your achievements to date The perfect resume offers Your Vision & Creativity: Balanced white space Visually easy to read A resume style and paper consistent with your self-marketing vision Clear big picture of who you are Sells you based ...

Your Resume Format - What Is The First Thing You Need To Do?
The first thing you need to do before you write your resume is learn how to format it. Just as if you were cooking a new dish you would follow a recipe, so too should you follow a specific format when you type your resume.

Beat the Crowd with Winning Resume Cover Letters
Far too many people underestimate the importance of resume cover letters. In a sense, a well written cover letter works like an agent on your behalf.