The Most Important Resume Tip for Military Veterans

Military veterans are currently experiencing higher unemployment rates than the rest of the U.S. population. In the past, military veterans were stereotyped as unqualified job candidates. This may have been true back in World War II where many soldiers did not graduate from high school. But this isn't true anymore.

The U.S. military services have extensive training schools for a wide variety of occupations including technology, engineering, communications, to name a few. If they are so well trained, then why do they have such a high unemployment rate? The usual reasons are that their occupational specialties have little need in the civilian world or hiring managers do not understand the military jargon in their resumes.

As a Navy veteran myself, I'll agree there is some merit to these reasons. But, there are re-training programs for military veterans. The Federal government awards most military veterans "preference points" for obtaining a civil service job. And, there are career transition services that can correct the "jargon" problem. Could there be any other cause? Yes. I think it's how military veterans explain their military service on their resume.

This week I reviewed a veteran's resume. He described his military service in the following way:

Truck Driver/Training/Driver Instructor, United States Army, 1992-2012. 
Served in many locations with a wide variety of diverse group of people within the transportation/logistical field; functioned as a subject matter expert within the military transportation units. Planned, coordinated, and executed several multinational exercises throughout different continents in refueling different types of aircraft, helicopters, tanks, and wheeled vehicles.

That's all?  Forty-nine words for 20 years of service employment. That amounts to 2.5 words per year!

This isn't the first time I have seen a military veteran describe his experience in this ultra-abbreviated fashion. I recall being contacted by a veteran who was having employment problems. I asked to see his resume. When I opened the file, I was flabbergasted: the resume was a half page long for 18 years of service. I told him no one was going to take him seriously with a half page resume. He told me that someone wrote it for him at his state's workforce development office. (Well, they didn't do a very good job.)

I also recall another military veteran who was having problems getting interviews. He had 15 years of service where he was a maintenance manager of a nuclear weapons site. He also had a 3-month internship at a Veterans Affairs Office. He printed out his online resume and sent it to me. There was a longer entry for the 3-month internship than the 15-years of military service. No wonder he was having problems.

So, how can we correct the problem of explaining military service on a resume?

Instead of grouping all one's military service into 1 employment entry, split up the military service into a chronological list of jobs at separate duty stations or commands. Using this approach will enrich the resume and provide a clear picture of what this veteran did over the course of a long period of time. Here is an example of how a military veteran divided each military position into a separate job:

SECURITY SUPERVISOR, U.S. Army Europe, Emergency Management Assessment, Schwetzingen, Germany, Mar 2009 – 9 Nov 2009
Supervised a rapid deployable team of 14 personnel to conduct chemical assessments. Supervised the planning, developing, and implementation of emergency preparedness initiatives. Coordinated the disaster response and crisis management activities. Conducted disaster preparedness training. Prepared emergency plans and procedures.  Conducted daily operations planning for the organization.

ASSISTANT INSPECTOR GENERAL U.S. Army, 1st Armored Division, Wiesbaden, Germany, Jan 2006—Mar 2009
Responsible for providing the Commanding General with continuous assessments of operational and administrative effectiveness of the infrastructure and matters affecting morale and welfare of the 1st Armored division personnel. Determined the adequacy and efficiency of operations and policies

PLATOON SERGEANT, U.S. Army, 529th Military Police Company, Heidelberg, Germany, Oct 2003 – Dec 2005
Responsible for training, development, and the operational readiness of 69 personnel. Responsible for the maintenance and accountability of equipment including 11 tactical vehicles, weapons, and radios, valued in excess of $264,000.

OFFICE SUPERVISOR, US Army Deserter Information Point, Fort Knox, KY, Jun 2000 Oct 2003
Supervised the daily operations of the Army’s National Crime Information Center terminals for the US Army Deserter Information Point. Supervised and trained five Soldiers and six civilians in the entry modification and clearing of federal warrants on Army deserters and parole violators in the FBI’s NCIC system.  Verified warrants and coordinated soldiers return to military control. Custodian of 5,000 Army Deserter files pending return to military control. Received and processed soldiers returned to military control.

PHYSICAL SECURITY INSPECTOR, US Army MP Detachment, Camp ZAMA, Japan, Dec 1996—Nov 1997
Conducted physical security inspections and surveys of mission essential and vulnerable areas (MEVAs) including arms, ammunition and explosives, and material/strategic supplies of US Army installations and activities on mainland Japan.

See the difference? This veteran had 12 years of experience and tells more about his experience than the 20-year veteran I cited early in this article. In addition, we see the career path of this veteran. He is in the security/law enforcement area and has moved from basic security work to management. We know he can manage teams and that is relevant to any "civilian" employer.