For the next few weeks, we’re going to focus on resumes. Specifically, how veterans can write better resumes to increase their chances of securing job interviews in the business world.

Before we get into the nitty gritty of content, length, style, etc., there are two key factors to consider before you even start putting words on paper.

1. You have to assume the people reviewing your resumes, and reading your cover letters, and running your interviews, have absolutely no understanding of the military whatsoever.

This is “Thing 1”. It’s the most important recommendation I can offer. Everything else I tell you in the coming weeks will flow from this one irrefutable fact.

As I mentioned last time, companies do respect and want to hire veterans, but most businesses just aren’t familiar enough with the military to do it effectively. Your resume could be reviewed by someone who’s only knowledge of the military comes from watching Band of Brothers or Saving Private Ryan. So if you fill your resume with military jargon and acronyms, the average hiring manager isn’t going to know what you’re talking about, which will make it hard for him or her to get excited about your application.

If you’re applying for a role at Lockheed Martin or USAA, their understanding should be a bit more advanced. But to be honest, I have 13 years of military experience and I don’t even understand some of the things veterans put on their resumes. And if I can’t do it, how can you expect someone with no first-hand experience to do it?

In the next few articles, we’ll get into what this specifically means for the content of veterans’ resumes, but on the large scale, you have to translate your military experience into business-friendly phrases. And that brings us to “Thing 2”...

2. When you’re writing your resumes and cover letters, and answering your interview questions, focus on who you want to be, not who you were.

In the Army, you were a 25A Signal Officer. In the business world, you want to be an Information Technology Manager. To make that transition, you have to start thinking, talking, and acting like an IT Manager now.

So study up! Read business IT blogs. Attend business IT conferences. Listen to business IT podcasts. Do those things until you truly appreciate not just the jargon of that new world, but also the industry’s historical problem areas, current trends, and expected future advancements. That in-depth understanding will help you write better resumes, perform better in interviews, and succeed more quickly after you’re hired.

For example, in the Air Force I was a Personnel Officer (which is Air-Force speak for HR) and I wanted to be an HR Manager in the business world, but I knew the HR business people I was going to talk to wouldn’t be able to understand all my military HR experience. So before I got out, I studied for, tested for, and earned my Professional in Human Resources certificate to help me clarify things for the people I was talking to.

Next time, it’s resumes, resumes, and more resumes!!!