Writing an air force resume can be difficult for those people who have been in the military for an extended period of time. The military experience is rewarding and these people have the opportunity to learn many skills, but they are also out of the civilian job market for quite some time. The key is to sell yourself and market yourself so that your military experience helps you land a position in the civilian world.
When you’re writing your Air Force resume, you’ll want to focus on the future. Try not to repeat the past, but to show what your skills will do for a potential employer in the future. You must be able to clearly define your objectives and identify the skills that are necessary for the position you want. Position yourself as someone who is a qualified professional and emphasize any people skills you learned while in the military. IF you have conducted presentations, negotiations, closings, and other military-related activities, you must show how they benefit you in the position you want and how these positions will benefit your future employer.
When writing your resume, you’ll want to focus on the skills you’re likely to use. If he’s been an Air Force mechanic, he may have a head full of knowledge about airplanes and other vehicles, as well as information about training people to work on those vehicles. If he’s looking for a position where he can train people, then he’ll want to focus on the training skills he learned as a military mechanic, not necessarily all the information he knows about military vehicles. This requires “re-evaluating” his skills to put an emphasis on the skills he will use in his prospective jobs.
Eliminate all the military jargon you might be tempted to use when writing your Air Force resume. The military has come up with a communication system that may work well for them, but it doesn’t necessarily work well for people who are trying to find a place in the civilian job market. Every time you use an acronym, you are confusing the potential employer. You will need to explain what the acronym means or leave it out entirely. Instead of using a general phrase, break down the job duties you had in each position so the employer understands. A great way to break up these job duties is by using bullets so key duties can stand out more and catch the employer’s eye. Using a lot of jargon makes it very easy for the potential employer to skip over you and move on to the next resume in the stack.
A good resume will sell the skills you learned while in the Air Force. If you were responsible for several million aircraft, sell this fact using actual details and numbers. If you simply state that you were “responsible for airplanes,” the employer won’t know if you mean small planes or jet planes. The use of numbers and dollar amounts really drives home what you are trying to say. In this example, you would sell yourself by saying, “Managed a fleet of military aircraft valued at over $400 million and achieved 100% operational excellence.” This will sell to yourself instead of telling the employer.
The military veteran often has all the qualities employers are looking for. They want someone with discipline who is at work on time every day, they want a team player, and they want responsible people they can trust. The military is known for instilling these qualities in people, so take advantage of them as much as possible. When you’ve completed your resume, ask family and friends to review it and ask them if there’s anything you need to clarify. It will be easy to fall for military jargon and ways of doing things, but seeking civilian help will help you focus your resume on your potential job.