“Your resume is terrible.” Wow. That was difficult to hear from a respected corporate vice president, whom I have known for many years. However, those words prodded me to investigate what a good resume looks like, how I can develop the best resume that showcases who I am, and how my experience can benefit an organization. A resume is worth the time and effort, but can be difficult. My resume looks completely different from the one I started with, which is good. It is a working document that I add to when needed. I never know when I will receive a request for my resume, so I keep it updated and ready for action.

Master Resume

There are thousands of resume templates available. How do you decide which one to use? The template is less important than developing a master resume detailing your work accomplishments, education, and skills. I served over 20 years in the United States Army. I did not concern myself with writing a resume or noting my achievements until I was close to retirement. I didn’t realize how difficult it would be to write a resume from scratch that covered 20-plus years of military experience. It took several weeks to sift through years of evaluations, job descriptions, and achievements.

So, what is a master resume? A master resume contains everything about you: work experience, education, career successes, job descriptions, awards, accomplishments, and volunteer work. It can also include publications and presentations. A master resume is one document you can draw from when applying to any position without having to rewrite your resume every time. With all your details in one document, you can choose what information to highlight and include in your job application. Your master resume should not be used to apply for every job; it contains too much information and is too long for most hiring personnel to read.

Taking Out the Military Phrases

Writing a resume from military experience comes from your evaluations, awards, commendations, schools, job descriptions, and experiences. Dates and locations are helpful to keep your information orderly. Most job descriptions can come directly from yearly evaluation reports written with military verbiage. One of my military job descriptions stated, “Provide supervision over unit training requirements to enhance unit readiness. Advise and assist the Unit Readiness NCO on military education requirements and submit applications for Army Service schools. Forecast and coordinate school seats. Plan, develop, and coordinate company-level training activities for drill weekends and annual training.” A hiring manager isn’t going to attempt to translate what that means. They will quickly move to the next applicant.

Your resume should be specific and state what you did. Instead of “provide supervision over unit training requirements to enhance unit readiness,” answer some of the following questions: How many people did you supervise? Did you develop a training program for your team, and what were the results? Did you evaluate their performance? How did you plan, design, and coordinate events and develop a schedule? A better example of a descriptive job experience is: During a two-week training period, I supervised a team of four mechanics in the successful recovery and repair of three disabled transportation assets, changed out one truck transmission, conducted safety inspections on 13 trucks, and ensured my team maintained the operational status of 20 vehicles. Briefly describe the who, what, when, where, why, and how that accurately illustrates how you used your skills to benefit your team and organization.

Another example with military wording is “Advise and assist the Unit Readiness NCO on military education requirements and submit applications for Army Service schools.” Consider changing this description to “Developed individualized career paths for over 200 individuals seeking professional development and advancement by researching education requirements for specialized industries and completing the application process for each person.” Taking out military phrasing isn’t easy, but necessary when seeking work after the military.

Targeted Resume

Once your master resume is built, it can be adapted to a specific job description. A targeted resume includes positions and descriptions that are relevant to and align with the position advertised. For example, a job description for an adjunct professor can read: ”Demonstrated excellence in teaching courses online; Experience with Canvas or other learning management systems; Strong written and oral communication skills; Demonstrated experience or interest in teaching and collaborating with diverse populations.”

A targeted resume highlights experience as an Army instructor: “During my three-year assignment as an Army instructor, I taught courses in resiliency, risk management, military and vehicle convoy operations, property accountability, and suicide awareness and prevention. Delivery methods included lectures, classroom instruction, and demonstrations in person and virtually with Zoom and Microsoft Teams. I enjoyed collaborating with peer instructors in planning and delivering course materials for diverse audiences.” In this way, you can showcase your professional experience that is relatable to the job description. You want to be professional and engaging while not exaggerating your skills and experience.

Final Thoughts

A master resume combines your work experience, education, skills, and more into one document with as much detail as you provide. The master resume is an ongoing expression of your work and skills, volunteer experience, awards, and honors. The targeted resume contains specific information relevant to the position you are applying for. One of the difficulties with my resume was describing what I did and applying that knowledge and experience to a different field. One of the best practices I used was to have my resume reviewed by several people. One organization I used for assistance with my resume was vetjobs.org. The professionals at VetJobs provide suggestions for enhancing and improving my master resume and developing a targeted resume. I also sent my resume to a professional connection in higher education, who provided feedback and helped me target my resume to specific higher education positions. Each time you work on your resume, think of it as telling your story through your experience, skills, and education that sets you apart from the other candidates.

Article Topics

Job Search Advice Women Veterans Working as a Veteran in HigherEd

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