Writing a top-notch resume is definitely a major factor in landing an amazing job after your military service. However, there are two suggestions I’d like to offer before we start digging into writing better resumes:

1. Before you apply for jobs, identify what you really want your new career to be.

At some point in your military career, you were probably introduced to the nine United States “Principles of War”. The first principle often listed is, “Objective - Direct every military operation toward a clearly defined, decisive and attainable objective.” That’s sound advice for military maneuvers, but it’s also critical for your job search.

Right now, there are almost 6 million job openings in the U.S.  A quick search on Indeed for “operations manager” in Denver, CO, returns over 7000 results. As a job-seeking veteran, that’s wonderful news, but finding your dream job amongst all those openings is like searching for a needle in a haystack.

To make the process more effective, you have to narrow your search, so it’s crucial to take the time to really think about what you want to do in your professional life. What are you truly passionate about? What do you really enjoy doing? In what environments do you thrive?

Questions like those will help you focus on a particular line of work (finance, marketing, etc.), a specific industry (manufacturing, energy, etc.), a distinct company size (15 people, 1500 people, etc.), and so much more. After that, you can start firing out your resumes to companies that clearly fall within your target area.  

2. Always be proud of your military service, but don’t let that pride get in the way of your search for a new career.

During my first job search after the Air Force, I had to answer some pretty insulting questions from some pretty misguided people.

For example, “Coming from the military, do you think you can work for a woman?” And, “After nine years just following orders, do you really think you can think for yourself?”

In a series of interviews with a single company, one person told me I was too experienced and he was afraid I’d take his job in a year, and another told me I wasn’t experienced enough and I should look for more entry-level positions.

Companies do respect veterans and they do want to hire veterans, but many times they just don’t know how to do it effectively. Initiatives like the Veteran Jobs Mission are certainly helping, but unfortunately, some stereotypes and misconceptions die hard.

To deal with this, practice your patience. Don’t get too agitated over unintentional insults and understand you might need to prove yourself all over again in order to work your way back up to where you were in the military. (Which is much much easier to swallow, BTW, if you follow my first tip and focus on finding a job you’re really passionate about.)

All righty! The generalities are officially out of the way, so tune in next time when we’ll finally dive into the exciting world of resume writing.