The Care Up
Related Articles
When reviewing the application of a potential employee, a human resources (HR) professional will spend, on average, six seconds doing so. Because of the limited amount of time they have to demonstrate their skills to prospective companies, it can be difficult for some veterans to find employment. The difficulty that human resources professionals encounter when they are asked to translate a candidate’s military expertise into the language of a civilian job is a significant component that contributes to the problem. Here is how to translate your experience from the military onto a civilian résumé in a way that will prevent you from being lost in the shuffle:
1. Awaken the format from its slumber that dates back to prehistoric times
The majority of military resumes include the essentials, such as the applicant’s name, contact information (perhaps including a phone number), and even a photo. Remove the image and replace it with your complete name, address, email address, and the URL of your LinkedIn profile.
2. Replace the word “Object” in the sentence with the word “Summary.”
Statements of professional aspirations that are produced with the intention of working for a certain industry or firm are referred to as career goals. Your goals are what force you to operate within the constrained parameters of a position. Instead, you should compose a condensed overview of your experience to demonstrate who you are and the things you are capable of accomplishing. It is absolutely necessary to make use of action verbs such as “managed,” “trained,” “instructed,” and “supervised.”
A person who has served in the Navy for 10 years and has expertise leading huge teams and putting strategic goals into action under severe pressure would be an excellent example.
3. Get Rid of Any Unneeded Items
It is important to keep in mind that the objective of a resume is to provide a condensed account of one’s professional background. Get rid of the requirement that you must have a diploma from your high school and condense each paragraph into a few bullet points. This makes your competent resume construction more pleasant to look upon and makes it easier for recruiters to see your qualifications at a glance.
4. Get rid of any language that is unique to the military.
Take off any military lingo or acronyms, as well as the word “civilian,” from a résumé before sending it in. Because some HR experts won’t understand what you mean when you use phrases like “effective communication,” “problem resolution,” “negotiated,” “launched,” or “conceptualizing,” you could find it necessary to rephrase them using language that is more often used in the business world. The following is a list of some of the most effective (as well as ineffective) buzzwords that can be used.
An excellent illustration of how to make successful use of a buzzword is provided by the description of the site’s educational tools, which makes use of the phrase “Military Professional Education.”
