What are recommended resources for veterans to help produce the best resumes possible?

SSG Joel Galford — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:32:05 -0500

Response by SGT John " Mac " McConnell made Jan 6 at 2016 7:39 PM

SGT John " Mac " McConnell — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:39:58 -0500

Check the local community colleges out. Usually , they can help out on a vast array of needs for free....Good luck.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 6 at 2016 7:41 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:41:49 -0500

SSG Joel Galford Syracuse U has a hell of a program. I'll see if I can find the specific link(I have but its on my Gov computer). That's what I've been using.

Response by Capt Richard I P. made Jan 6 at 2016 7:44 PM

Capt Richard I P. — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 19:44:12 -0500

SSG Joel Galford You can normally find fellow Marines willing to help. There are lots of education opportunities for it but finding a contact that is willing to help out is a great first start. I've had a number of favors done for me. Be prepared to work, resumes take frequent and challenging revision. A few key points:

1. General concepts: A resume is like a map: too little information and it's useless, too much information and no one will use it. It needs to be brief, to the point, utterly stripped of fluff, numbers based at every possible opportunity. Every bullet must show: action problem and result, the order of these can be changed up, but I recommend Action Problem Result or Action Result and Problem (APR and ARP) so a strong action verb starts every line.

2. In line with #1 Be aware recruiters and highers spend precious little time on most resumes, some even read only the first word on each bullet so make sure the first words tell a story you want told.

3. Have a standard resume to draw from, then pare down to specific jobs and tweak to reflect relevant experience, consider crunching down to one page for these targeted resumes.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Jan 6 at 2016 8:01 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 20:01:06 -0500

Response by Capt Tom Brown made Jan 6 at 2016 8:01 PM

Capt Tom Brown — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 20:01:35 -0500

Very good question in this day and age. I have read in several on-line articles that the traditional resume with major headings such as 'Objective' 'employment history' etc are now considered by many to be outdated and 'old fashioned'. Nowadays employment people have come up with a contemporary version of resume writing which is supposed to fit in with today's employer needs and expectations of applicants. Do a quick google for resumes and you will see a number of such pieces. Good luck and best wishes.. I don't think posting links in this q&a forum is authorized or I would send you a couple of examples.

Response by SCPO Charles Thomas "Tom" Canterbury made Jan 6 at 2016 8:41 PM

SCPO Charles Thomas "Tom" Canterbury — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 20:41:32 -0500

Military.com has a resource for translating skills and positions to civilian terms. Another thing I used when I developed my resume prior to my retirement was my Joint Service Transcript. They break things down into "civilianese" and it gives you some points to consider for your resume bullets. Also look at your old performance evaluations because some of those bullets for the duty station/billet make good statements on your resume. If you would like a set of eyes on your resume - connect and send me a message.

Response by LTC Jason Mackay made Jan 6 at 2016 9:04 PM

LTC Jason Mackay — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 21:04:55 -0500

Going through tap now, will send the links

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 6 at 2016 9:35 PM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 21:35:05 -0500

Sgt Joel Galford, below is a couple good resources for services and basic resume templates. Also, LinkedIn offers all Veterans a free one year membership. And, along with some others on here, I would also be glad to review your resume once you've started it and give any suggestions that might be helpful.

https://www.vets.gov/veterans-employment-center
https://specialedition.linkedin.com/veteran-job-seeker/

Home Veterans Employment Center : Vets.gov

Veterans Employment Center

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jan 7 at 2016 1:48 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 01:48:30 -0500

Some good recommendations out there. In my mind, if you're looking to pick up a Fed job, mentoring by a hiring official, NOT some HR wannabe, will be more helpful. Preparing a resume that first passes the nonhuman hurdle (RESUMIX) and then would be something a hiring official would be interested in to get you the interview... that's the ticket. In my experience, some of these outside entities are long on "what" and short on "how" and "success". The few I've come across typically have some former HR staffing specialists, but NEWS FLASH, they do process, not hiring evaluations and hiring decisions. So some decent help from actual managers who hire the series you're qualified for is best.

That said, good luck finding them. The TPUs who work well with the HR side should be maintaining a list of "go to's" whom give of their time, typically after hours. If not, they're not properly supporting the SM. Another flash, most don't unfortunately.

We had an announcement for interest on webinar, etc. a couple weeks ago, but I haven't seen any traction come of it yet.

BTW, I was a senior hiring official for engineers, architects, environmental, construction technical types like inspectors, emergency management, real estate, planners, etc. on the facilities side. So the series associated with those I'm very familiar with. Whatever series you can qualify for, there are several must do's and several big no-no's if you're looking to chase Fed work. I'd like to chip in on that webinar if it flies. Good luck.

Response by CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR made Jan 7 at 2016 6:42 AM

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 06:42:44 -0500

As a Military Recruiter with a fortune 500 company and the first thing I want to tell you is

1) minimize the amount of people that is reviewing and providing feedback. If you show 10 people your resume you are going to get 10 opinions.

2) The resume is a working document so you will tweak as necessary

3) no more than 2 pages or 10 years of experience

4) Understand the resume is to tell your story on what you touched and the result of what you touched. I see to many servicemembers writing resumes like evaluations.

5) Have maybe 2 formatted resumes one for government/federal, and one for civilian.

6) Know whats on your resume especially if you have someone do it for you.

Dylan

Response by PO2 Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 7 at 2016 10:46 AM

PO2 Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 07 Jan 2016 10:46:42 -0500

Sgt Joel Galford, I just went through the eBenefits "Resume Builder" and it's pretty good (just follow the link below).
https://www.vets.gov/veterans-employment-center/createresume

Resume Builder Veterans Employment Center : Vets.gov

Veterans Employment Center

Response by LT Erik Frederick made Jan 8 at 2016 4:17 PM

LT Erik Frederick — Fri, 08 Jan 2016 16:17:20 -0500

As someone who has been in the civilian workforce for sometime, I see resume's as a brochure to help you get the sales meeting, or in your case, the interview. The problem is, most vets aren't very good at writing resumes as a targeted marketing document and many HR people aren't great at interpreting resumes. Talk about a failure to communicate! Remember: hundreds of resumes get submitted for some of these jobs. A big part of HR's job is to screen them down to manageable number to send to the hiring manager.

So in addition to some of the great responses here, let me offer an additional path: Find a fellow expat! Once you have defined your "mission" in terms of what type of work you want to do and what company you want to target, if the company is of any size, use RP, LI, and FB to try to identify a vet in your targeted company, the more senior the better. Reach out them for help both telling you a little about the company and getting your resume in front of the hiring manager. A fellow vet, particularly one from your own branch, will quickly be able to translate your skills and experience into what the company or job needs. Not every vet will take your call or be willing to help, but so what? It doesn't cost anything to try. For those of you who are on the other side, please take the call!

Response by MSgt Lionel (Leo) Rondeau made Jan 9 at 2016 7:20 PM

MSgt Lionel (Leo) Rondeau — Sat, 09 Jan 2016 19:20:20 -0500

There are too many resources out there to recommend just one or two. Many of them conflict with others, but the key is to keep it to 2 pages of no smaller than 10 point font. Target your resume to the position you are applying for. When you look at the job posting, find the key words in the job description and position requirements and make sure they are in your resume. Don't underestimate the soft skills you've learned in your military experience. Everyone is trained to lead and follow, manage programs, be a project manager, and more. Find ways to show those skills as it can make all the difference.