One of the first things you should do when beginning the process of seeking a career as DoD contractor is to create a resume. Your resume is one of the most important personal marketing tools you will create to demonstrate to prospective employers you are a perfect fit for their open job requisition.
For many military personnel who are transitioning to the civilian sector putting together a resume can be a challenging task. Converting years of military experience as an infantry soldier, aircraft munitions loader, gunners mate, combat pilot, or logistics officer into language that resonates with DoD contracting employers is challenging, but not impossible. Fortunately, there are many resources available to assist you with this activity.
One of the resources I would recommend is reviewing the Hire Heroes USA website resume tools webpage. First view their resume writing presentation. This presentation provides a detailed, step by step process for creating an excellent resume in a format familiar to most DoD contracting recruiters, human resources personnel and hiring managers. Next download their resume template and update it with your career information. When listing your accomplishments make sure you bulletize all your experience and try to start each bullet with an action verb. I have received good results from the using the style of Action / Result with Metrics. Meaning I did x and it resulted in y with some quantification 10% improvement, 100% on time etc.. To assist you in converting your military skills into civilian terms try the Find careers like your military job tool from the My Next Move website.
After you have created your initial resume you should have it reviewed by at least two to three people who are good with grammar and punctuation in the context of a resume. Most Transition Assistance Program (TAP) offices will offer this service. Likewise, you can also try the free on-line resume review service from The Ladders website. I have used this one before and the reviewers comments have always been helpful.
Additional resources for resumes and job search tools include Cici Mattiuzzi’s website called the serious job seeker which includes a resume builder tool. Also, Resume Engine is worth checking out.
If you are aware of any other great resume resources be sure to let me know.