Gathering Information: What Am I Qualified For?
The best way to review your background is to gather what has already been written about you. Military workers have a distinct advantage over workers in the private sector because they have total access to their personnel file. Over the period of a career there are reams of paper written, and most veterans keep every page. Documents such as efficiency or fitness reports, training records, award citations, recommendations for promotion or award, and various other papers form a complete picture of your individual abilities. They also show your potential and your accomplishments. Now is the time to gather all of those documents and see if they can help form a brief picture of your professional life.
We recommend that you place all of the forms and letters in a single place and review them using a highlighter. As you identify specific words and phrases, mark them for later use in your resume. It's a good idea to transfer the highlighted words and phrases to a list that will be used to prepare your first resume draft. Look for action words that attest to your accomplishments, such as: planned, directed, controlled, managed, supervised, fixed, repaired, maintained, drove, flew, and washed. Stay away from words and phrases that don't say anything; "This is the finest chief petty officer I have ever had the pleasure of serving with," written by an ensign on his first assignment. Or: "This individual has risen to his full potential in the military service."
Our favorite say-nothing phrases are: "Under the direction of," "Monitored the activities of," and "Responsible for." These three phrases do not indicate who did the work (being responsible for something and doing it are two different things). Instead of saying you were responsible for sweeping the floor, why not say that you swept the floor, or you supervised three employees in sweeping the floor. This technique not only saves words, space, and time but also allows you to get right to the heart of what you really accomplished.
Look for Words That Quantify Your Experience
As you review your personnel file, look for significant numbers. Did you supervise people? How many? Did you work in a headquarters that controlled several subordinate commands? How many were involved, and what was the scope of that control? If you were involved in logistics as a supply person or a storekeeper, how many line items of equipment did you account for, and what was the dollar value of the inventory? For management people, did you get involved in the development and execution of a budget? If yes, how much money was involved?
Look for Concrete Words
Continuing with your review of the source documents, be sure to look for concrete, but nonmilitary, terms that specifically describe what you did and what you accomplished. For technicians, what type of equipment did you work on, and what did you do to it? Did you turn a switch to see if the needle moved, or did you break it down to base components, trouble-shoot, and repair it? What was the nomenclature of the equipment? It's not sufficient to say that you were an aviation mechanic. What did you work on specifically? Airframes? Engines? Or did you merely pump up the tires? What types of aircraft did you work on? There's a lot of difference between a biplane and the space shuttle.
For operators, what type of equipment did you operate, and how much experience do you have in hours, miles, or some other type of measurement? It's not sufficient to say that you are a driver or a pilot. What kind of vehicle or aircraft did you pilot or drive?
Remember the DMZ
Your resume must be a demilitarized zone. You have to translate military terms and expressions into their civilian counterparts.
All of the words and phrases you collect must be converted to English before you begin to write. Assume the reader has never served a day in uniform and never knew anyone who did. Every day words in military jargon will have no impact on someone who does not understand their true meanings. Don't use abbreviations, and explain equipment nomenclature.
