Effective Resume Writing - Part I
Military service members can find resume writing extremely challenging and it doesn't help that it's happening during an already stressful event - the transition back into a civilian life. It's easy to understand why resumes can be a struggle since for most soon-to-be-civs, this will be their first real resume and it's an incredibly important document as it will set the pace for the beginning of their new career. Fear not, writing a great looking, effective resume that really stands out from the crowd is actually pretty straightforward! Here's some tips:
Beware the Fake Experts - Look out for Fexperts, as I like to call them. Every resume writing tip is simply an opinion (including the ones listed here). Some are better than others and bad advice can be hard to recognize, but a good resume is easy to spot! Look at different resume examples (the more the better) and you'll see what I mean.
2 Sides of the Same Coin - Think about a resume as having two aspects to it like two sides to a coin - two distinctly different facets and both are important:
Content – Content is WHAT you're telling the reader. It's the information. It's job titles, skills, certificates or degrees achieved, dates, etc.
Format – If content is what you say, format is HOW you say it. An easy to read, visually appealing resume that tells the story in a simple to follow format will always be more effective. Have a consistent format and make it look good (meaning don't switch fonts, ensure margins and indentations line up, keep date formats consistent, etc)
- Keep It Simple – Be concise. Resumes are all about how to get relevant content into the easiest to read format. The best way to do that is to keep it on point and concise. Don't waste real estate on fluff that could be used for better content. Exercise a judicious use of words and keep it simple. A one page resume is best though not always possible.