Up and UnderMilitary to Civilian Transition Guide
If you are looking for smooth military to civilian resume writing, then there are some things you should know. Have you been looking for a change in your career? So you know that it’s high time that you move on to the civilian field but you don’t know how. Even the most daunting of careers can appear bleak if not presented properly.
The advantage of a good resume to present your capabilities in the military background is primal to getting a good job in the civilian field. So how do you do it? What are the steps that you follow to ensure a smooth military to civilian transition resume writing?
Here are a few important ones.
Define Civil Job Objective
A properly defined goal is one of the first steps that would help you in military to civilian resume writing. If you do not have any properly defined goal, search for it first. The problem is that a lot of people from the military background have a diverse job background so when they put all of that on paper, it becomes a general record of their qualifications.
However to get a job in a specific civilian field, you need to have a precise goal and precise idea of what kind of job you want. If you are not sure of that, do some research, some soul searching and you will come to find the answer. You can also take the help of a career counselor.
Your Resume should address the Employer’s Needs
It is very important that your resume addresses the needs of your employers. Try to present your qualities in such a manner that they answer the most basic question of your employer: What can this person do for me? The best way in which you can do this is research the target job. What kind of skills do they require? And what are the aspects of your military life that reckon with these skills?
You should de emphasize or eliminate any other information which does not pertain to the job details. For instance, military awards for rifle marksmanship do not mean anything in a civilian resume. Resumes of military professionals have been seen to be over five pages long because they choose not to omit the unimportant details. Trust me; it’s not going to help in your job.
Assume that your Employers have No Idea about Military
A very important step of military to civilian resume writing is that you should not assume that your employers know everything about military background. So refrain from using titles or terms that are completely based on military experience.
Military acronyms or terminology that you feel are absolutely necessary for your resume should be translated into the civilian language so that your hiring managers can easily understand them.
Showcase your Military Accomplishments
You should be proud of your military background. A career in military has offered you many excellent opportunities for advancement, practical experience and training. Show your accomplishments so that your civilian employer understands their importance. And you have to do all this by removing military terminology. Here is an example:
“Received Army Achievement Medal for completing 400+ medical evaluations and developing patient database using MS Access. The database improved reporting functions and tracked patient demographics, records, medication, appointments and status.”
This is how you should do military to civilian conversion resume writing. Follow the above steps and soon you will have a perfect military to civilian resume writing.