The military is a demanding yet engaging profession for many young men and women. Although it prepares you with valuable work skills, technical knowledge, and superior discipline, many retired or inactive military members are left without jobs when they leave the military. No matter what branch you are serving in, whether it is the army, navy, marines, air force, or coast guard, you have valuable experience that gives you an upper hand when searching for technical related jobs.
Your resume is the window into your past experiences, and you should highlight all of the skills, accomplishments, awards, and training you have received over the course of your military career. Organizing your resume correctly is extremely important. For more tips on effective resume organization for transitioning military members, see the other article in this series.
Here are some tips for writing a resume that former military personnel should follow to land a technical job after leaving the military:
- Begin with the obligatory and quite necessary contact information at the top of the resume. This is one of the most important features, so make sure you have several methods for potential employers to contact you, including email, cell phone, and snail mail.
- A short introductory couple sentences usually comes next. You should give a little biographical information about yourself and directly address the position you seek. This part should be different for every technical job for former military members you apply to.
- The employment or experience section should be after that. Start the military branch you served in as the header, and include your highest rank, when you entered the service, and when you left the military.
- Then, under this section, start listing the positions you held in the military. Make sure to list each assignment with the most recent at the top. Include the dates you held the assignment, responsibilities of the position, any leadership roles held, and any accomplishments or accolades garnered.
- A skills section should be next. The military provides many marketable skills, and you should list everything you have gained from your service. Examples of quality skills for civilian jobs include computer skills, electronic skills, technician skills, language knowledge, and equipment operating skills.
- Finally, if you have been to college or were sent to any schooling while in the military, you should list the names of schools you attended, dates you attended them, major fields of study, and degrees or certification you received.
These tips should allow you to put together a winning resume to hand out to potential employers. Another important component of the resume is the cover letter, so the next article in the series will discuss how to formulate a cover letter that will land you an interview for the technical job you want.
If you are a transitioning military member looking to find civilian careers, visit www.cmc-jobs.com and let professional military headhunters assist with your job search after leaving the military.
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