Need a Civilian Resume? Follow These 7 Easy Steps (Examples Included)

4) Paste these sentences into your resume

Taking all the sentences found from all the courses will result in a really long list of bullet points, as shown below. From there, just eliminate the sentences that describe tasks you never want to do again in your new civilian life or that are far away from the job you want.  Seriously,  if you don’t want to do something ever again, don’t advertise that you already know how to do it.  You’ll start with a long list like this:

Fire Direction Specialist, US Army (showing all possible resume bullet points)

• Read technical information needed to perform maintenance or repairs.
• Test fluids to identify contamination or other problems.
• Inspect mechanical components of vehicles to identify problems.
• Inspect structural components of vehicles to identify problems.
• Inspect completed work to ensure proper functioning.
• Review details of technical drawings or specifications.
• Compile technical information or documentation.
• Monitor performance of organizational members or partners.
• Analyze data to inform operational decisions or activities.
• Provide basic information to guests, visitors, or clients.
• Inspect cargo to ensure it is properly loaded or secured.
• Inspect motor vehicles.
• Monitor cargo area conditions.
• Secure cargo.
• Follow safety procedures for vehicle operation.
• Operate vehicles or material-moving equipment.
• Record operational or production data.
• Monitor work areas or procedures to ensure compliance with safety procedures.
• Dig holes or trenches.
• Climb equipment or structures to access work areas.
• Control power supply connections.
• Monitor organizational procedures to ensure proper functioning.
• Monitor performance of organizational members or partners.
• Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.
• Develop detailed project plans.

But you’ll end up with a much shorter list of bullet points that make sense for the kind of job you actually want.  For a Fire Detection Specialist, the full list of sentences could land you in a warehouse job, a truck driving job, or an office job.  Let’s say you want the office job, because you never want to drive a heavy vehicle again.  Then the list shortens down to:

Fire Direction Specialist, US Army (showing only bullet points related to office work)

• Read technical information needed to perform maintenance or repairs.
• Review details of technical drawings or specifications.
• Compile technical information or documentation.
• Monitor performance of organizational members or partners.
• Analyze data to inform operational decisions or activities.
• Provide basic information to guests, visitors, or clients.
• Record operational or production data.
• Monitor work areas or procedures to ensure compliance with safety procedures.
• Monitor organizational procedures to ensure proper functioning.
• Monitor performance of organizational members or partners.
• Develop operating strategies, plans, or procedures.
• Develop detailed project plans.

Cutting this list down further to 5 or 6 bullet points will make sense if you have other military jobs to add to your resume.  Overall, you are shooting for a maximum of two pages.

5) Rinse and repeat for each military job

Repeat steps 1-4 for each military job you’ve had.  This will quickly fill up most of the resume with solid, meaty phrases.  Then it’s on to adding the mandatory sections at the top and bottom.

A word on federal resumes. Typically, you will apply to a federal job via usajobs.gov.  This site is the online clearinghouse for federal civilian jobs.  It does have a resume builder, where you can just enter the information that is required, but be aware that a resume for a federal position is much longer than a civilian resume .

6) Finish off the resume by adding a few boilerplate sections

To finish the resume, you’ll need to 

• Add your name and contact information at the top
• Right underneath, add a section, “Education,” that lists your educational achievements with  date, school, and degree title(s).
• Put all the military job titles and their corresponding civilian skills descriptions - the stuff from steps 1-5 -  in the next section.  List the jobs in reverse chronological order - newest to oldest.
• At the very bottom, list any special Awards, Certificates, or Clearances.  
  

Google “Civilian Resume Template” to get ideas on how to format all this.

7) Market and connect via veteran-friendly sites.

Now that you have a strong summary of civilian skills, you have the starting ingredient for a job search.  Use these organizations’ help in getting the word out.

Polish your resume with help from Hire Heroes USA

Take your draft civilian resume to Hire Heroes USA.  They will review your resume and also give you practice in interviewing techniques for civilian jobs. 

Also, use Veterans Ascend to apply using skills

Veterans Ascend will automatically dice your resume into skills and feed it to employers who are predisposed to hire vets off their site.  A key benefit of Veterans Ascend is that if you apply for a job and don’t get it, it will tell you exactly which skill you are missing that prevented you from getting the job.

Supplement missing skills

If you’re told you need to fill in missing skills, take advantage of military education benefits and grab a relevant course from a community college.  Sites like Unmudl.com will allow you to filter courses by whether they offer GI bill benefits, for example.

Get Connected on LinkedIn

Once you are happy with your resume – or, really, before – sign up for a LinkedIn.com account, ask every civilian professional acquaintance you have to “friend” you on that account, post your resume, set your profile to “open to finding a new job” and keep putting out daily posts talking about projects and activities related to your skills and job search.  You have skills.  Now that you can describe them, employers will find you.