James Watson ⋅ San Diego , CA General Atomics ⋅ 30 years experience

Hi Timothy-

I am retired after a 40 year career in industry where I hired over 100 people. Now I am helping veterans like yourself by helping with their resumes. If you would e-mail me your resume (drjamesfwatson@gmail.com) I would be happy to comment on it. I also recommend the book "Tired of Eating Peanut and Butter Sandwiches? - Tips to Get a Job Fast" available on Amazon. It contains practical advice. Good luck in your search!!

Jim Watson

Kelly Williams ⋅ Newark , DE Stars to Stripes Military Transition Assistance ⋅ 10 years experience

Tim,

My company provides free resume critiques to all military service members. You can submit your resume to us via email or by using our secure online submission form:

Email: Info@ExpertResumeSolutions.com
Form: http://www.tinyurl.com/ERS-Critique

Please allow 3-5 business days for completion.

Connect with me on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/kellywilliamsmaresca/

Thank you for your service.

Warmest Regards,
Kelly Williams
Career Strategist & President
Security Cleared Careers
Expert Resume Solutions
Business: (732) 686-6455
Email: info@expertresumesolutions.com
www.ExpertResumeSolutions.com

Job Board: wwww.SecurityClearedCareers.com

Charles Krause ⋅ Glendale , AZ CJK, Inc ⋅ 40 years experience

Thank you for your 21 years of service!
I am just retiring now and would be more than happy to help you with your Resume. I noted that you had a pro writer also offer so I can probably be a good back-up.

I would concentrate on how your duties/jobs and your accomplishments in those positions relate to the civilian workplace. Although it may be unrealistic to show the gravity of your accomplishments in dollars and cents, you should be able to tie increased performance and or savings via a percentage. I believe this will be most important.

Companies are interested in profits - and the guy or gal who can produce them is the person they will hire.

Chuck Krause

Brage Garofalo, M.A. ⋅ South San Francisco , CA Abbvie, Inc. ⋅ 16 years experience

Timothy,
Dennis offers good advice. However, before I add onto it, what are your goals? What type of position are you looking to transition into? Do you want to move into the private sector or a governmental job? They are vastly different so knowing this will determine how you craft your resume.

Have you researched the companies/industry to know? Knowing where you want to go and what type of position you want to target will help you better develop your resume as well as your LinkedIn profile. I suggest you research companies that either do what you want to do or are of interest to you for employment at: indeed.com; glassdoor.com; salary.com; LinkedIn (most companies have a presence on LI) and of course, everyone's favorite, Google.

Also, have you considered informational interviews? This is a great way to meet (i.e., network) with professionals in the field you are interested in transitioning into and learn more about the company/field/position. I would suggest performing a search on LinkedIn for professionals in your field of interest and reach out to them. Write a personal note when requesting to connect explaining (briefly; you only get so many characters) who you are and that you're looking to learn more about what they do, etc. Once you've had an informational interview, be sure to send a follow up thank you no more than 48 hours after the call.

Also, look to see how their LinkedIn profile is structured/worded to get a sense of how you might want to develop yours. Look at live job descriptions to see how well your experience matches what the position requires and consider developing your resume to match the job description verbiage based on your relevant job experience.

Lastly, I would suggest picking up the book, "What Color Is Your Parachute". It's really a tremendous resource/guide. I can't emphasize that enough.

Please let me know how I can help support you. Best of luck with your new adventure!

Katisha Jallow ⋅ Nashville , TN Jallow Consulting ⋅ 15 years experience

Hello and Happy New Year Master Sergeant Timothy Schultz, I specialize in helping many people enhance their civilian resumes. If you want you can send me your resume and I can assist you. My email address is katishajallow@yahoo.com. I also have a website specifically for career services that I just started this week and for the New Year. You can post your resume there as well.

http://katishajallow.wix.com/jallowconsulting

Good luck and thank you for service.

Katisha Jallow

Dennis Crumb ⋅ Lafayette , CO Crumb & Associates, LLC ⋅ 14 years experience

Hi Tim,

Thank you for your service! I am in Colorado but let me give you some tips. I like having a general resume with all the dates and positions I have held, education etc. Then depending on what job I am applying for I revise the basic resume to speak to the specific job requirements and qualifications listed on the job opening.

With 21 years of experience you will have much more to tell than you can cram into a 2 page resume so be sure to speak to what they are looking for.

Additionally rather than spend too much valuable space discussing responsibilities try and include accomplishments. Accomplishments speak more toward how effective you were at meeting responsibilities.

Read the job opening very carefully and list out what they are looking for, what qualities and skill sets. Then when you are done check your list and see if you have covered those qualities and skill sets the best you can. It is better to apply for two or three openings in a week with a very well thought out resume and cover letter than 20 with a general letter and resume.

Good Luck!