While crafting an eye-catching military-to-civilian resume takes time, these tips will help you handle this task effectively:
Include all the essential resume sections
Every civilian resume includes the sections that you always should include in your resume:
- Your name and contact details
- Work history
- Education and certifications
- Relevant skills
You may add other sections (such as Volunteering, Languages, Hobbies, or Career Summary), but they are optional. Yet, if the contact information or educational background is missing from your resume, it will look incomplete.
Translate the terms into civilian language
With a civilian job in mind, write in simple language that people with no military ranks will understand. Use examples from the civilian language, for example, Department manager instead of Warrant officer. Avoid using acronyms and jargon that might not be familiar to civilian hiring managers. When using it, spell out any abbreviations, for example, Military Police Officer instead of MP.
Make sure to translate your job title as well. Write Operations supervisor instead of Operations NCO, and so on.
Add a strong resume profile
While a resume summary or profile is an optional section, we recommend to include it to your military resume. It helps present your relevant accomplishments concisely, explain your transition, and show how your military background can be beneficial for a civilian role. Adjust your resume summary for a particular role to show that you understand the needs of the organization.
Highlight relevant skills
Identify the hard and soft skills essential for your target job, and make sure that your resume reflects them accurately. Create a dedicated Skills section where you format skills as a bulleted list for better readability. Translate your military skills for civilians where possible. Here are some technical skills often found in military resume templates:
- combat tactics
- security clearance
- intelligence analysis
- crisis management
- operations management
- operational readiness
- logistics coordination
- operating military equipment
- first aid training
- familiarity with safety protocols
- team leadership.
Focus on transferable skills you've gained over the years of military service, such as leadership, verbal and written communication, problem-solving, and training.
Showcase your military service achievements
Accomplishments distinguish you from candidates with similar experience and show you're a result-oriented professional. Ideally, you should include at least one achievement for each military role in your resume. Use numbers and percentages to showcase your contribution, for example, “Managed a team of 10” or “Increased supply chain efficiency by 25%”.
When listing your military experience, use a reverse chronological format. Highlight specific job titles (optimized for civilian employers if possible) and dates of service. List your responsibilities and achievements in bullet points, as this is the preferred resume format. No need to list every responsibility you had during your service. Focus on those relevant to the target job.
Add education and certifications
Highlighting your educational background can be a decisive factor in getting you hired. Some roles require at least a Bachelor's or a Master's degree, and by including it, you'll show that you meet all criteria.
List your degrees and other credentials starting with the most advanced one. It will highlight your educational trajectory effectively. If you are a student or recently graduated, also include relevant coursework and academic achievements.
To increase your chances of landing a dream job. Here are some examples of certifications that prove your skills and are worth being mentioned:
- Military Advisor Certification
- Certified emergency medical technician
- Certified military analyst.
Giving your resume a professional touch: Best practices for military resume formatting
Now that you finished writing your military resume, it's time to refine formatting and looks. You only have seven seconds to make the right impression, so even the tiniest elements count.
Our Google Docs resume templates are formatted by professionals and optimized for ATS. Thus, you can download the template and preserve the formatting to keep your resume polished and professional. If you want to customize the design, keep these tips in mind:
- Keep your resume to one page if possible. Recruiters are busy, so your military transition resume should showcase your value quickly. If you have 10+ years of experience, you may use the second page to fit in all the essential details.
- Use a popular font, such as Arial, Calibri, Helvetica, and Tahoma. The perfect font size is between 10 and 12 points.
- Use bullet points instead of paragraphs. Writing in paragraphs is considered outdated, plus, it is more difficult to navigate important information.
- Don't include graphic elements, such as pictures, charts, graphs, or tables. They can destroy the formatting and don't open correctly with ATS software, meaning that your resume might get tossed.
- Proofread before sending. Read your military resume and cover letter multiple times to catch any errors. Use an online spell checker to correct mistakes faster, and read the documents aloud to make sure that every sentence makes sense.
Should you include a military cover letter in your application?
When making a military-to-civilian transition, attaching a cover letter can be helpful. Firstly, 60% of employers actually expect them, so with a resume only, they might think your application is incomplete. Secondly, a cover letter is your chance to provide a more detailed snapshot of your qualifications in military and transferable skills you learned. For example, if you have a proven ability in mitigating threats to cybersecurity, you can expand on your successful projects in a cover letter.
Keep your cover letter concise - 3-4 paragraphs is the recommended length. Mention why you want to work for a particular company and how your skills will be an asset to them.
Enhance your job application with a military resume template
Our resume template developed by experts will help you make a presentable resume in minutes. Copy your resume to your Google Drive, customize it, and get ready for a job search! Don't forget to add keywords from the job description to pass the ATS screening faster and translate the military terminology to keep it easier to understand for non-military audiences.