Close It Out with the Right Closing Sentence

Ending a letter consists of two parts.

The first part of your letter ending is the closing. This is one or two sentences that sum things up. It can express gratitude, invite the reader to act, or whatever is appropriate for the situation and audience.

Here are some closing examples:

Thank you for your time, and I look forward to connecting.

I look forward to seeing you at the [event] on [date].

I appreciate everything you’ve done, and I hope we can work together again soon.

10 Endings for a Letter

Once you’ve summed things up, you can end your letter.

This “final word” cements the overall message of your letter. So, consider your relationship with the recipient and the reason why you’re writing.

For example, if you’re writing a resignation letter to your boss, you’ll likely choose an ending that’s professional and polite, as opposed to mean and spiteful. Likewise, the ending of a cover letter is very different from how you might end a complaint letter.

Because there’s no one “right” way to end a letter, here are 10 suggestions to help you out!

1. Sincerely

A classic ending, “Sincerely” is as polite and neutral of a letter ending as you can get! When you end a letter with this, you’re signaling that you’re honest, genuine, and straightforward.

2. Respectfully

“Respectfully” is another classic ending. To some, this ending is a step up from “Sincerely” in that you are signaling your respect for the reader.

However, depending on the nature of the letter and your relationship to the reader, it’s possible that “Respectfully” could be read, ironically, as disrespectful. Sometimes, people use “Respectfully” and its variations (“With Respect,” for example) to indicate that while you respect the reader’s right to whatever it is, you are not on the same page.

3. Yours Truly

Though some may consider it bland or even outdated, “Yours Truly” is a safe, polite, and generally neutral ending for a letter. It’s unlikely to ruffle any feathers or be misinterpreted.

4. Thanks (or Thanks Again)

“Thanks” and “Thanks Again” are generally great options when you are truly thanking your reader.

However, like “Respectfully,” you may need to exercise caution when writing “Thanks.” If, for any reason, the reader doesn’t believe you are thankful, “Thanks” could have a flat landing or even read as sarcasm.

5. Appreciatively

If you’ve already thanked the reader once (or even more than once), “Appreciatively” is a fantastic alternative. And unlike “Thanks,” there’s less of a chance it lands the wrong way, as people don’t often use “Appreciatively” in the same negative way “Thanks” is sometimes used.

6. Regards (or Best Regards, Warm Regards, and Kind Regards)

One of the many meanings of “regards” includes feeling respect and affection. Because most readers won’t associate affection with “Regards” or any version of it, this is usually a safe bet to end your letter.

7. Best

“Best” is another common letter ending. It implies that you only have “the best” wishes for the reader and that you hope they experience only good things. 

“Best” is an informal ending, though, and should generally only close a letter with people you’re familiar with. You can use “Best” on a business letter as long as your relationship with the reader and the situation merit it.

8. Cordially

Though some might say that “Cordially” is a bit stiff and formal, it does indicate that you are sending sincere or deeply felt wishes. It’s usually associated with pleasant and friendly feelings, although “cordial” can be used to indicate strong negative feelings.

Also, “cordial” is a liqueur, and though your ending probably has nothing to do with alcohol, depending on the situation, you may want to skip the cordial wishes!

9. Speak to You Soon

“Speak to You Soon” is very straightforward. You are clearly stating that you want to and likely will speak with the reader soon. 

While there’s nothing wrong with this ending, depending on the situation, it can seem threatening, so it’s generally best to use this closing only on pleasant letters.

10. Nothing

When in doubt, it’s perfectly acceptable to end your letter with nothing. Simply close your letter, then sign your name. 

While leaping from closing to your name without an ending is a bit abrupt, sometimes it’s better to end things than choose an ending that is misinterpreted.

In the End

From beginning to end, your letter should be a cohesive message for your reader. Make sure you finish your letter on the right note by selecting the ending that best fits your relationship with the reader and the situation.

The post How to End a Letter (Example Closings and Sign-Offs) appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Many people believe applying for a federal job is a difficult and complicated process, but it is actually very achievable.

The search process for federal government jobs can last about 6-18 months, which can be lengthy for many people.

But most find it is worth the effort and the wait — federal government jobs include healthcare, vacation and sick time, life insurance, pensions, training, and other benefits.

To be successful, you must apply only for jobs for which you are truly qualified by using a targeted federal-style resume, and, of course, you must also be patient.

Do not pay a third party to provide access to the “hidden” federal government job market. Usually these “services” just link you back to USAJOBS.

For the vast majority of federal positions, you must be a US citizen. Green card holders are not typically eligible to apply for federal jobs.

Understand the Civilian vs. Federal Job Search Process

There are many similarities to applying for a federal job and a position in the private sector such as:

• Having the right experience and using the right keywords for the job you are applying for.
• Highlighting your achievements or accomplishments (how you added value to your employers).
• Quantifying your accomplishments using metrics or numbers to provide context (think about how many people you supervise, the number of reports per month, the dollar size of your budget, etc.).

However, important differences exist, too, like:

• The amount of information required about job candidates.
• The use of occupational questionnaires.
• The benefit of veterans’ preference.
• A federal resume is usually longer than a civilian resume — 4 to 6 pages is not uncommon or unexpected.
• The vast majority of job announcements are posted on one website: USAJOBS.gov.
• A job posting is called a “job announcement” or “vacancy” in the federal government space.

Types of Federal Government Jobs

Federal government jobs are divided into 3 categories:

1. The Competitive Service.

This service is the largest federal service and typically what comes to mind when people think of government jobs. Jobs for this service are the focus of the process described below.

2. The Excepted Service.

This service is for positions outside the “traditional” government jobs which can include positions in the intelligence agencies or other authorized agencies.

3. The Senior Executive Service (a.k.a. “SES”)

These are the executive level of our government, just below the top Presidential appointees. This is the smallest service with only about 8,000 members nationwide.

The United States Postal Service (USPS) is a major employer which fills jobs outside of the typical federal process. Access those jobs through USPS Careers. USPS also offers special consideration for veterans.

More: Working in Government: Pros, Cons, and Types of Jobs

How Do Federal Salaries Work?

Most federal agencies use the General Schedule (GS) pay system, but note that there are other pay systems in the government as well. It can be difficult to tell where you might fit if you are unfamiliar with the various grades.

In essence, GS grades 5 to 11 are considered relatively entry-level level; grade 12 and 13 are mid-level; and grades 14 and 15 are senior level. Positions in the Senior Executive Service (SES) are at the executive level.

Instead of focusing on the grades and trying to figure out if you’re qualified, focus on the experience required (especially the specialized experience); if you have what the job announcement is asking for, then you should apply. Let the agency Human Resources (HR) office determine whether you meet the grade requirements.

If selected, most agencies will start you are the lower end of the grade’s pay band. However, if you are offered a job, salary is negotiable but recognize that agencies have many choices of applicants so they may not be open to your counter salary offer.

8 Steps to Land Your US Federal Government Job

This is the hiring process used to fill the majority of federal government jobs, those in the competitive service.

1. Create your USAJOBS account (applicants MUST apply through USAJOBS.gov)

If you don’t already have a USAJOBS account (USAJOBS.gov), create one. You must have complete a profile to apply to any job on USAJOBS. Because this will be used for all job applications, it is important to be accurate and thorough.

With a USAJOBS account and profile you can:

• Save jobs that interest you to review or apply later.
• Set up and save automated job searches.
• Upload your resume files, or use the USAJOBS resume builder to create one. USAJOBS allows you to store up to 5 resumes in the system.
• Upload and save required documents.
• Apply to job announcements posted on USAJOBS.
• Review and track your application status.

On any given day, USAJOBS includes as many as 10,000 job announcements. Announcements are posted daily, so it is important that you look at USAJOBS frequently.

2. Search for the right federal jobs.

USAJOBS uses your profile information to improve your job search results, so it is better to create an account before searching and, also, to search while signed in to USAJOBS. However, you can also search without having an account.

Available jobs can be searched by typing in a keyword or location and can be further narrowed by pay grade, salary, job series, agency, and more.

3. Review the Job/Vacancy Announcement

After finding a job you are interested in, review the announcement to see if you are eligible and meet the qualifications. Read the entire “vacancy announcement,” including the occupational questionnaire, before starting your application.

Keep in mind that for each job, there are specific qualifications each applicant must meet.

• Read the Who May Apply section to determine whether you are eligible to apply for the job.In most cases, if you are not a veteran and have never worked for the federal government before, you should only apply for positions open to U.S. Citizens or “all sources.”
• Read the Qualifications section to see if you meet the required job qualifications.If you have the requisite experience, you should apply. Although you may qualify for some jobs based on your degree(s), the government typically values specific work experience over education. If you have both education and experience, apply based on your experience.

There are some jobs (accountants, engineers, social workers, contract specialists, and more) that require either a degree or a certain number of college credit hours; the job announcement will spell this out, when education is required.

NOTE: DO NOT APPLY unless you have the required education.

4. Sign up for daily emails when you find a (job title, agency, location) that you prefer.

As mentioned above, after entering certain job criteria, USAJOBS will automatically look for jobs that match your desired criteria. You can then request that USAJOBS email you the search results daily, weekly, or monthly.

Request daily updates for faster, more effective information.

Since some jobs are only posted for a short period (as little as one week), the frequency can make a difference.  Because many job announcements are only available to receive applications for as few as 3 days, it is important that you check USAJOBS on a daily basis so that you do not miss an opportunity.

Late applications are not accepted, regardless of reason.

Do not read anything into the fact that a job announcement is only open for applications for a few days. Given the number of applications received for each posting, federal HR offices are trying to limit the number of applicants.

5. Apply immediately, but very carefully.

Competition is stiff, so apply immediately when you find a position that you are qualified for. Don’t waste your time applying if you don’t meet the requirements.

Read the How to Apply section of the job announcement before starting your application so that you are fully prepared to respond completely. This section tells you what is required to apply, including any required documents. To have your application considered, be sure to meet each of the requirements specified.

After you begin the application (and your resume and documents are uploaded and complete), the system will take you from USAJOBS to the agency online application system.

Then, you may be required to complete other agency-specific required steps such as:

• Providing more personal information.
• Providing additional documentation.
• Answering eligibility questions.
• Completing an occupational questionnaire. Tip: look for a preview of the questions under the Qualifications OR Required documents section before you begin so that you can ensure your resume content supports your answers to the questions.

The time it takes to apply varies and depends on the job and the agency’s requirements. Allow yourself at least an hour, maybe a little longer if you are new to the process.

After submitting your application, go back to the Application section of your USAJOBS account and verify that your application is indicated as received by the agency. The application status field should display “received” if the application submitted correctly.

Note: The agency may take a few hours to update the application status. Sometimes, the resume and other documents have to complete a virus scan or similar security check before they show as “received” on USAJOBS.

References are not generally required. If you included references in your application, it is unlikely that they will be checked before you are interviewed.

6. Check to see if you have been “referred.”

Once the job announcement is closed, the hiring agency will review your application.

Applicants typically will then be placed into qualification categories:

• Qualified
• Highly qualified
• Best qualified

These quality categories can be thought of as bronze, silver, and gold.

When your application has been put into a qualification category, the hiring agency may update your application status to “reviewed,” but not all agencies provide this level of detail on the status.

The hiring agency will then send the highest qualified applicants to the hiring official, and those applicants may see their application status updated to “referred.” Applicants not being considered further will see a “not referred” status.

7. The federal job interview process begins.

Hiring officials will review applications and decide who to interview based on agency policy. Interviews can include:

• A panel interview
• In-person interview
• Video interview
• Phone interview

The agency will contact applicants directly to schedule the interviews. This may take some time depending on the number of applicants. In most cases, there will only be one round of interviews (although more are allowed).

Federal interviews are highly structured; all candidates are asked the same questions in the same order. And, all interview questions are job related.

Interviews can be over the phone or in person and typically last between 30 minutes and 1 hour. References are usually checked after the interview and before the offer.

8. The preferred candidate is selected, and a job offer is made.

The hiring agency will select the qualified candidate — and contact him/her to start the job process.

Only HR can make an official job offer. HR will offer a salary and grade (if the job was posted at more than one grade). This is negotiable, but agencies are not required to do so.

Once a candidate accepts, HR will initiate the security clearance process. This can take an additional 3-6 months, depending upon the type of clearance required.

The job offer is final only when the background investigation and additional security checks are completed. The hiring agency will contact the candidate directly to determine a start date.

Applicants who were not selected will see their application status updated to “not selected.”

Bottom Line on Finding a US Federal Government Job

Getting a federal job is doable, but success requires these 3 things:

1. Applying for jobs for which you are truly qualified,

2. Using a targeted, federal-style resume, and

3. Patience!

This is NOT your private sector job search — in terms of process, time frame, or paperwork.

For More Information:

• Job-Hunt’s Guide to Federal Government Job Search articles on Job-Hunt, which includes —
  • How to Escape the USAJOBS.gov Resume “Black Hole”
  • How to Avoid Common USAJOBS.gov Mistakes
  • Don’t Let Your Email Address Ruin Federal Job Opportunities
  • The 6 Secrets to Success in Federal Job Interviews
  • Federal Job Search for People with Disabilities
• Job-Hunt’s Veterans’ Online Job Search Guide

About the author…

Nancy Segal is a Certified Federal Resume Writer and Certified Employment Interview Consultant who has spent more than 30 years in Human Resources with the US federal government, serving as Personnel Officer, Deputy Regional Administrator, and Special Assistant in the Departent of Defense, the U.S. Treasury, and other government agencies. Now, Nancy is a career coach, speaker, and trainer on the federal hiring process, from entry level through Senior Executive Service. Learn more about Nancy on LinkedIn and through her website SolutionsfortheWorkplace.com.

The post 8 Steps to Land a US Federal Government Job appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Military members nearing retirement enjoy a relatively high income. If you want to stay at such levels, you will be in competition for jobs with highly trained specialists like experienced CPAs, technical experts in mobile software and cybersecurity, or program managers with deep technical expertise. This means you need to

• Assess what you want to do in some detail.
• Learn what the requirements are for the jobs which interest you.
• Evaluate your skills, education, and experience to match the requirements.
• Discover the employers who match your goals and needs.

This process requires intense self-assessment and the development of clear career goals.

Then, it demands detailed research into both job requirements and where the jobs you want are most commonly found.

Next, you must define what you offer of immediate value to employers in the field and jobs you want.

Finally, you must assess whether the jobs which interest you also match your pay expectations.

Decision-Making Process Elements

Decision making is both science and art, and, for your retirement, your decision making should be based on a solid foundation.

1. Develop a List of Target Jobs, Then of Employers

An easy way to learn common job requirements and find potential employers is a simple search on a potential job title on a big job board, such as Indeed.com. Build a list of all the common requirements for specific jobs this way. Do this periodically early in your transition to see who is hiring regularly and where jobs are located. Later you can focus on specific jobs in specific locations.

Once you know the common requirements for the jobs which interest you, assess your skills and experience to see how well you match them. Do you need to add education, certifications, or other specific skills/experience in order to be a good candidate? How will you do this?

If the difference between what you offer and what is required is significant and you cannot meet the requirements, what other options are you willing to consider? Do you meet all of the requirements in another field which interests you? Or do you need to plan for education and internships in your first year or two following retirement instead of moving into a new job immediately?

Once you have a specific job and career field in mind, it is time to research possible employers. Using the list of employers from above, learn as much about each as you can. Sample questions include:

• What is the culture like?
• Does their culture match your goals and needs? Will you succeed there?
• Is your career field’s function growing or not?
• Is the organization growing overall, maintaining at a high level, or declining?
• What is the management focused on? How do they manage the business?
• Are they actively buying companies or selling off businesses? Why?
• Who works there in your field that you already know?

Select your target employers based on what you learn and your goals.

2. Connect to your Target Companies in Multiple Ways

The best possible connections are those you already know. Start by finding those you know at each target. Also ask your existing connections for referrals to contacts they have at each target. Follow-up with each potential contact and tell them why you are interested in their company and ask specific questions to help you assess the company. As you build this connection, you may be able to convert it into an employee referral. Companies love employee referrals!

Often you may not know someone at a target. Ask your university career services for alumni referrals. Search LinkedIn for all the current employees at your target companies. Find any you know and reconnect. Look for those employees who are active in your LinkedIn groups and talk with them too.

Connect with your target companies on social media. Find their company pages on LinkedIn, Facebook, GooglePlus, or whichever social media you use most and follow them. Look for their corporate recruiters on LinkedIn and Twitter as well and connect with those in your field or function. Many companies have specific recruiters for veterans, use them. Attend job fairs and talk with the people from your targets who are there.

3. Understand Civilian Compensation

Compensation is made up of several elements:

Salary

In the private sector, salary is tied to the value of the job to the employer. It is influenced by the market forces related to both the employer and the job and how the job impacts the work of the employer.

What you need to do when you have selected 1-2 job/career choices which most interest you is to learn what those jobs actually pay. There are a range of ways to learn this.

The easiest one is to use any of the online pay calculators like those found on many big job boards. Unfortunately, most of these are so generic that they are just a rough guideline at best. They look right, but provide averages of averages manipulated statistically for geographic location.

Better in this category are the data at Vault.com and Glassdoor.com, although these are self-reported numbers with their own issues.

Do remember that those tax-free “allowances” you are used to also do not exist in civilian structures.

One of your tasks is to learn to ask questions about salary in your networking and informational interviews.

• When you are discussing jobs which interest you with people in those jobs in your network, ask about the pay levels for different levels of the work.
• Ask about the trends in pay levels and what other forms of pay, such as bonuses, might be available.

If you belong to a professional organization in your field, check to see if they do salary surveys and get the most recent data. Be sure you learn about pay rates in your preferred geographic location, too, because the pay for the same job can vary widely by location since some locations are less expensive to live in than others.

You want to learn all you can about the most common ranges for the jobs and locations you are interested in. Pay ranges for the same job can be quite different depending on things like:

• Employer
• Location
• How vital the job is to the employer.
• How scarce people with the right qualifications are in that location.

Jobs which are in the “core” business of the employer typically pay more than those which are not. Jobs in mid-size companies’ core business often pay more than the same in larger companies.

Then you need to assess whether the pay ranges you are learning exist make a difference in what you have chosen to do. Often the answer may be that you need to adjust your salary expectations instead of choosing another field. Or if you have been looking at 2-3 career options you may assess which is better in terms of your expectations.

Benefits

Many military members ignore benefits in their job search and are then shocked at what they are offered. Military benefits include some areas which are much different than civilian benefit structures.

• Medical insurance
  There are very few employers left who do not charge for some portion of what they pay for employee medical coverage. These charges are often 20-25% of their costs and may go higher for dependent coverage. In addition to what your employer charges you for premiums, many plans require you to pay a fee for each medical visit and/or a percentage of the charges.
• Dental and vision coverage
  If offered, this is even more expensive.
• Vacation and other paid time off
  This is more limited than what you are used to. Some larger employers still start everyone off at 2 weeks paid vacation and treat that as non-negotiable, for example. Others may provide 15-18 days of Paid Time Off (PTO), be sure you understand if that PTO includes both sick leave and vacation time.

Learning about benefits is fairly easy with just a little online searching. Once you have targeted employers, you will find that many have benefits information on their website along with other job-related resources.

Pay Raises and Promotions

Pay raises are on a periodic basis which may be 12-24 months. The amount of any pay raises is tied both to the market and to the specific employer’s ability to pay. In general, when pay is reviewed about 70% of employees do see a raise.

Promotions are rarely tied to specific time in a position or length of employment with that employer, other than for some entry-level positions. Most often you will apply for new positions and compete with other internal and external candidates.

Many military do find that while they took an initial position at a lower level than held last in the service, they may be promoted once or twice much sooner than others. This is a combination of your past experience and skills along with your ability to quickly learn how to succeed within the organization. Hanging on to your rank and past will hinder that chance significantly.

Continue to Collect Data

As you identify target employers and connect with people in each, ask questions to learn more about their pay and promotion practices. What can you expect? What are the norms?

Gathering all this data on each career option you are considering and then on each employer is a smart way to achieve your goals. It will help you understand what is realistically possible for your new work and compensation so you can adjust as needed.

This data will also help ensure you do not turn down good job offers for the wrong reasons. It will support you in negotiating a good offer into a better one.

More Information About Military Transition

• Military Career Exit Strategy
• Smart Military Transition Resume
• Military Networking Letter
• How Military in Transition Can Ace Their Job Interviews
• Military vs. Civilian Cultures
• Military Women: Finding Job Search Success
• Avoid Self-Sabotage

About the author…

Patra Frame has extensive experience in human capital management and career issues in large and small corporations. She is an Air Force vet and charter member of The Women In Military Service for America Memorial.  Patra speaks and writes regularly on job search and career issues through her company Strategies for Human Resources (SHRInsight) and PatraFrame.com where she blogs advice for veterans and other job seekers. Watch Patra’s ClearedJobs.net job search tips videos on YouTube, and follow her on Twitter @2Patra.
More about this author…

The post Making a Smart Job Choice: 3 Steps to Plan for the Best Military Retirement Job appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Not to worry! You have faced — and overcome — much tougher situations, starting with basic training a while ago!

Just remember that “know your enemy” still applies, except replace “enemy” with “target employer.”

You know your mission. “Attack” this task with the superior strategic and tactical planning skills you have, and you’ll develop your job-winning strategies.

Mission: Find a Civilian Job

Focus, research, organize, and implement this project just like you have done for every mission.

1. Define Your Mission:

Your mission is to find a job as a … (what, exactly?)

Not knowing what you want to do will make the difference between a successful mission vs. a much longer, less successful mission.

Would you go to war with the plan “kill the enemy”?  No, you would define the enemy, learn all you could about them, figure out the best time, place, and method to attack, etc. You wouldn’t just grab a weapon and run around firing. Same with job hunting, exactly the same thing!

Have your “elevator pitch” ready when you meet someone new in an elevator, a networking event, or a job interview. Keep it short, preferably in less than 100 words.

Be as specific as possible!   Avoid generic responses like – “I like working with people,” “I’m a results-driven problem solver,” or “I could do anything you need.”

Those are useless non-starters, covering everything from taking orders at McDonald’s to painting houses, making movies, and about every other job you could name.  It tells nothing about what you really could do for an employer.

This may be the toughest part of your job search – what job to do next. You may have hundreds of jobs you think you could do, but you must narrow it down to one or two options, at most, that really interest you. If you don’t know, as specifically as possible, what work you want to find, you won’t have an effective job search, and people can’t help you.

• The classic book, What Color Is Your Parachute? will provide you with a great deal of assistance in figuring out what you want to do for work. The book is updated every year, so look for the latest year at your bookstore or your local library.Do all the exercises. Yes, it takes some time (several hours, not several weeks), but the payoff for you covers the time investment.
• Creative Job Search Guide – excellent basic information and a step-by-step job search guide from the state of Minnesota, from figuring out what career is best for you to resumes, cover letters, and job interviews. (A new tab will open if you click the link.)
• America’s Career Toolkit offers an astonishing amount of information on the civilian job market, including growing careers and jobs by state (with salary info). Pick a bright future. (A new tab will open if you click on the link.)

2. Collect Logistics, Support, and Intelligence:

Note: new browser tabs will open for the links in this section.

•   DOL Information  

  US Department of Labor provides extensive resources for veterans.  O*NET’s “Military Crosswalk” aligns your MOS with Federal job classifications to help you focus your Federal job search. Can also help you see other civilian parallels, as well.

•   OPM VetGuide  

  A centralized collection of all the information for veterans interested in working for the U.S. Federal Government, from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, including important aspects of veterans preference in federal hiring you won’t find elsewhere.

•   Support  

  National Resource Directory, an amazing collection of information with links to hundreds of resources, from the Department of Defense, an online partnership for wounded, ill, and injured service members, veterans, their families, and those who support them.

  Also check out Transition Assistance for detailed information and many resources for making your transition to civilian life.

• Intelligence –

  • Yellow Ribbon Program – pays tuition and fees at many state colleges and provides funds for many private colleges and universities, including many graduate schools (e.g. Harvard Law School) for veterans and their eligible dependents, as part of the Post9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008.
  • National Association of Veterans Upward Bound Project has some training available for qualifying veterans and the new GI Bill for service members on active duty after 9/11 also has provisions for qualifying veterans to help funding the education that next job may require.

Note: you may need another copy of your DD Form 214 (a.k.a. DD-214, your “discharge papers”). If you don’t have a copy or can’t find it, you may place a request through the National Archives online to get a new copy.

3. Assemble Your Weapons:

You need a couple of weapons and some new tactics before you launch your mission –

• •   LinkedIn Profile  

    Today, LinkedIn is an essential element for successful job search. It provides the “social proof” of your qualifications, experience, knowledge, and even your personality. Employers will search for you in Google, and if they don’t find your LinkedIn Profile, you will likely lose some credibility and, possibly, the opportunity.

    Job-Hunt LinkedIn Experts, Laura Smith-Proulx and recruiter Ed Han, provide excellent advice in Job-Hunt’s Guide to LinkedIn for Job Search. As a veteran, you will have a free one-year LinkedIn Premium account which offers many benefits (and costs $360/year if you paid for it). You’ll look unprepared and unimpressive if your Profile is incomplete when you use this Premium benefit. So, don’t waste this very useful benefit.

    Check out How Transitioning Military Can Maximize Their LinkedIn Profiles for details on how to make LinkedIn effective for your job search.

    In addition, check out Job-Hunt’s free ebook about leveraging LinkedIn – Branding and Your LinkedIn Profile.

  •   Resumes  

    People trying to help you and employers will need a copy of your resume to remind them who you are and what your qualifications are. The support organizations probably offer guidance and people who will review your resume to offer feedback and suggestions for improving it. There are also numerous books, software, templates (free in Microsoft Word, if you have that), and Websites to help.

    Job-Hunt Resume Job Search Experts, Martin Yate, author of the Knock ’em Dead books, and Susan Ireland, author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the Perfect Resume, provide free resume advice and sample resumes in Job-Hunt’s Guide to Effective Resumes. Use these excellent samples as starting points, of course. Don’t just copy them.

  •   Business Cards  

    Your local office superstore will print 500 copies of a business card for you to hand out to potential employers and to networking contacts. You can also purchase paper for your computer printer to print them yourself (they aren’t quite as professional feeling and they aren’t cheap, but they do offer you a great deal of flexibility).

    To protect your privacy (and your family), limit the contact information on your business cards to a personal or job-hunting-only e-mail address (like a Gmail address) and a cell phone or other untraceable phone number.

  •   Networking  

    This is how you get things done in the civilian world. Contact the people you know, and get (and stay!) reconnected with them, whether you knew them in high school or college, in your unit, or in another life. Job-Hunt’s Job Search Networking Experts offer wonderful advice for succeeding at networking including how to leverage informational interviews which are invaluable for learning more about jobs and employers and also useful for expanding your network.

  •   Reputation Management

    Last, but NOT least — online reputation management is definitely not optional now!

    Employers typically Google job applicants before inviting them in for an interview. We have help on Job-Hunt in these articles: Defensive Googling in 5 Steps and Social Proof, among many.  The best defense is a good offense, as you know, so get up to date on this topic as quickly as you can.

You have survived boot camp and, maybe, combat, too. This is a piece of cake in comparison. Really!

4. Launch Your Attack (Campaign)

Implement your plans, complete your LinkedIn Profile, and network your way into your target employers. Not easy or simple, but you have accomplished much more complicated things. Check out and the links at the top of the page and the articles in the right column of this page to find much more help with your job search.

The Bottom Line

Don’t underestimate the challenges you will face as you transition to a civilian job. You have had excellent training and experiences and responsibilities far more complex and successful than civilians have had. But they don’t really understand that, and you will find very few veterans in the civilian job space.

Apply your training and experience to this mission, and you will succeed! Adapt and overcome!

If you have any questions or issues you’d like covered, please send an e-mail to questions@job-hunt.org.

More About Successful Veterans Job Search:

• Job Hunting While Deployed
• Choosing Your Civilian Career
• Military Transition Action Plan – Long-Term Service to Civilian
• Military-Friendly Employers
• Military vs. Civilian Cultures

About the author…

Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. A veteran of the United States Marine Corps and a recent Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management, Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. Since 1998, Susan has been editor and publisher of Job-Hunt.org. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Facebook, LinkedIn.
More about this author…

The post Guide to Job Search for Veterans and Transitioning Military appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Military Culture

As veterans, you lived and worked within a subculture of mainstream America.

You lived and worked on bases and installations: ships, submarines, and tents.  You ate MREs.

Many of you moved a lot (some move every year for 20 years).

You deployed to various worldwide locations to protect our freedoms (leaving behind spouses and children). You shopped in PX/BXs and commissaries, and you frequently saw those you knew at the same medical clinics, schools, places of worship, and restaurants, on bases.

The world becomes small for service members, as you often reconnect in new worldwide locations.

Leaving this culture is difficult for some service members. You are not just leaving a job; you are leaving a whole lifestyle.

Military Language

The military also has its own language. Understanding military acronyms, rank structures, service branches, jargon, and technical requirements is often equated to learning a foreign language.

Even the different service branches use different terminology (for example, a Captain in the Army is a junior officer; and a Captain in the Navy is a very senior officer).

Qualify and Quantify Military Language

I know that as you leave the military (especially if retiring with 20 or more years of service), you are mostly likely more comfortable using military jargon, terms, and acronyms than civilian terms, and often you simply do not know the civilian equivalent.

Certain terms are easy to translate into “corporate speak” –

• Translate such words as “commanded” to “supervised” or “directed.”
• Convert the terms “soldiers,” Marines,” “sailors,” “airmen,” or “Coast Guardsmen” to “employees” or “personnel.”
• Translate junior enlisted to “supervisor” job titles.
• Change senior enlisted (E-6 and E-7) to “operations manager” job titles
• Translate very senior enlisted (E-8 ad above) to “COO” (Chief Operating Officer) for Master Sergeant and above.
• Convert “Lieutenant,” “Captain,” “Major” or “Lt. Colonel” to “Division Manager” or “Regional Manager.”
• Translate “Colonel” and above to “VP,” “Executive Vice President,” “CEO,” or any of the other C-level jobs.
• Using the employee quantities appropriate for your service, change “Squad” to “8 employees” and “Company” to “150 employees” and “Battalion” to “250 personnel,” and so on for other units and assignments.

Try to qualify and quantify accomplishments as often as possible:

“Directed an organization with 250 personnel, supervised 12 department managers, executed an operational budget of $3M, managed assets worth $70M, and significantly reduced a logistical backlog by 87%.”

A short quantitative statement is successful in describing years of leadership.

And for more complex translations, try this method:

Strategic Planner, Strategic Planning & Policy Directorate, U.S. Pacific Command, Camp Smith / equivalent to Strategic Planner and Advisor to CEO & VPs regarding multinational issues. Or this: Deputy CIO for Data Management, Joint National Integration Center, Missile Defense Agency, Schriever Air Force Base / equivalent to Executive VP of Data Management / Technology of a large company advising the CIO.

To clarify the appropriate job title for you and other relevant terminology, research job postings using a site like Indeed.com or search through Google for jobs to see the job titles used — and the requirements specified — for the job you want with the employers you want.

Identify Your Skill Sets and Strengths

To make the military terminology translations and identify specific core competencies and skill sets valuable to corporate America, just requires a little digging through your career history. What did you do best? What was most satisfying?

 Example: From Infantry to Logistics Management  

For example, an infantryman once told me that he had been in the Army for 23 years (E-9/Command Sergeant Major), but felt he had no skills or direct value to offer corporate America.

He said he operated tanks, weapons, and dug ditches.

However, after our discussion, we determined that this Command Sergeant Major directly supervised, trained, and evaluated 40 personnel, supporting over 2,000 troops in four countries, with an inventory list of 1,500 line items, and material assets valued at $65M (including large vehicles).

His functional areas of expertise included personnel management, logistics, and operations. As he moved up the ranks, to a level of senior management, he also gained considerable responsibility for strategic planning and tactical application.

This soldier accepted a management position with a major retailer as a logistics expert with oversight supervisory responsibility for several hundred employees, and multiple warehouses in a multi-state area (he doubled his salary, and banked his military retirement pay).

 Example: From Bomb Disposal to Pharmaceutical Sales

In a different example, an Army Major / Bomb Disposal expert, decided to move into pharmaceutical sales (as a Regional Manager) when he retired.

So, we worked together to translate “Bomb Disposal expert” into “sales and marketing.”

We identified his leadership skills, ability as a public speaker and briefer when “selling and marketing” new programs to convince management to revise and improve processes, very savvy negotiation abilities, and skill at writing and communicating effectively.

We also focused on his experience in leading large size programs and supervising dozens of personnel while managing multi-million dollar budgets. In the final resume, there is only one line referring to his extensive knowledge as a bomb disposal expert.

Translate Military Experience and Skills to Civilian Equivalents

In each of these examples, we translated not only individual military acronyms and terms, but also career experience and skill sets.

We dug deeply into his career history to identify those experiences and skills not directly related to the career field (perhaps you spent a years as a recruiter, lead the planning for a large event, or trained in IT — you just never know), as well as those skill sets directly related to the career field.

The Bottom Line on Translating Military Experience to Civilian Jobs

Of course, not every troop re-entering the civilian job market is a former Command Sergeant Major or a Major, but the training and responsibility you received in the military stand you in very good stead for the civilian world. You have had much greater responsibility and managed much larger numbers (or values) of people and equipment than the vast majority of civilians your age. And you have been trained to be a leader and manager, focused on achieving a goal, unlike the vast majority of civilians.

More About Military to Civilian Job Search:

• Exit Strategy for Career Military
• Job Hunting While Deployed
• Military Transition Action Plan – Long-Term Service to Civilian
• Military-Friendly Employers
• Military vs. Civilian Cultures

About the author…

Job-Hunt’s Job Search Expert for Veterans, Diane Hudson is a military transition job-search strategist and career coach. She designs and composes military conversion resumes and helps position service members for employment in corporate or Federal America. Diane holds eight industry credentials including Certified Leadership & Talent Management Coach and Federal Job Search Trainer & Counselor and owns Career Marketing Techniques.
More about this author…

The post Translating Military Experience to Civilian Jobs appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Too often I talk with those who wait until the last minute or those who have had significant trouble in transitioning.

As with any major “battle,” doing your research and developing an action plan, preferably well in advance, can ensure a smarter and more successful transition.

5 Steps to Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition

This outline, below, can be supplemented by a wide variety of detailed information on each step both within this Veterans Job Search Guide and across the entire Job-Hunt website.

  Step 1: Recognize the Big Step Is Mental  

Military service surrounds one from the beginning. You learn a new language as well as skills. You spend much, if not most, of your time with other service members. You live, travel, eat, and work in military environments.

These become like air — we only recognize the air we breathe when something about it changes significantly. You act and think and expect things in certain ways that you no longer notice.

For many military people, the biggest step is not only to realize the huge changes they are facing but also to give up their current identity.

Your rank is visible to all. Other military know where you have served and something about your work at first glance. You have invested in your beliefs about military service. You are part of a tribe. Some military members have developed an entitlement mentality as well.

Now, you are going to move into a larger society that does not generally understand your experiences. Some civilians may carry expectations about it themselves. Even veterans from different services or eras will carry different expectations than you do.

The language of work, the way careers are built, the way our daily lives move are all different in the military.

The elements of every day, from medical care to child care to driver’s licenses, change as you transition to the civilian world. None of these differences are better or worse necessarily, but they do require adjustment.

Consider Are you really prepared for these changes? Have you been assessing their impact on you?

  Step 2. Think About Your Future Life and Career Before Starting Your Job Search  

Start your transition, assessing where you want to go with your life, in the short-term (the next 18-24 months) and at least five years after your transition. Read Choosing Your Civilian Career and Military Transition Action Plan for a process that works to help you identify your best direction.

Defining your goals and your most important values will help you assess your options.

If you have a family, what impact will that have on your planning?

Thinking in detail about your needs and options early in the process is vital to success.

Too many military start their job search with a “I can do anything” or “I can do 4-6 different things” and wonder why employers ignore them.

Employers expect you to know what you want to do and to demonstrate how your past supports that.

Make your career choice:

• Stay in the same arena as your military experience.
• Ready for a new field.

Either way, as you focus on possible careers, you need to do some research. The Federal government offers a wide range of career exploration resources at CareerOneStop. Many other resources also exist.

Among your considerations should be:

• What are the skill and knowledge requirements for the career?
• What skills, interests, knowledge do you already have for that career?
• What is the future of the career?
• What education or training do you need for it?
• Where are the best opportunities in it located geographically?

“Should I get a degree” or an advanced degree is a common question in transition. If you do not have a bachelor’s degree, you need to assess whether you need additional college education, a technical or trade school, an apprenticeship, or what.

Learn if a degree is needed for supervisory positions even if it is not for entry level ones. Depending on your goals, it may be wisest to make an effort to finish any needed degree as fast as possible – starting now!

If you have a BS/BA, often it is wiser to get a job first. Then, pay attention to which, if any, advanced degrees and schools are really valued in your career field.

If you know your desired field demands a specific advanced degree for entry or you are changing career focus, look at degrees and schools very carefully. You want a school with a good reputation in the field, where you can do research or get internships and find alumni to help you move into jobs you want.

As you narrow your interests to one-two potential career fields, talk to people in those areas to learn more about the field.

  Step 3. Create a Master Resume  

A master resume defines every job you have ever had, what it was, what organization it was in, and what you actually did. Recording supervisors’ names and contact info helps, too, for your records and job search necessities like references and recommendations.

• Start with any work you did in high school or college and keep going until your entire work life is included.
• For military experience, use old reviews and any other records you have.
• Add in those “additional duties” and other work you did outside your basic assignments.
• List all of your training.
• Include your (unclassified) accomplishments – teams you led, groups you managed, requirements you met or exceeded, budgets and/or complex assets you successfully managed, and so on.

As you learn more about the work you want and its requirements, expand the achievements you have in your military career into bullet points that are relevant, and use the terms (“keywords“) expected by employers.

Maintaining a master resume over your career makes every job search easier. It also may help you demonstrate why you are promotable within your future employers.

Use this resume as the foundation document for the resumes you submit for specific opportunities. BUT, be sure to customize each resume to each opportunity, highlighting your relevant skills, experience, and accomplishments. Don’t submit your master resume for a job opportunity.

  Step 4. Develop Your Marketing Materials  

Today, every job search needs a good resume and social media profile(s), especially LinkedIn.

These materials serve to demonstrate that you have the skills and abilities to add value to an employer, to meet employers’ needs.

They are all forms of personal advertising which you need to do since you are selling yourself as a product.

Resumes are not biographies. They are personal marketing documents. Each should focus on showing how your past specifically supports your future (the job you are applying for).

If something is not relevant, omit it!

• Don’t bother with long lists of generic skills or job descriptions.
• Translate military job titles into civilian equivalents.
• Omit awards and decorations and most training.

Those can all go on your LinkedIn or other social media profiles.

Make your resume enticing and easy to read. If you have less than 10 years of experience, a one-page version is smart.

If you have 10 years or more, go for two pages so that you can show a record of relevant achievements, growth in responsibilities, and the value you can add.

Do a basic online search using two or more search engines to see what already is out there about you. Check to see if others with the same name may be problematic as well. This is called “defensive Googling” and make it a monthly habit.

Then, be sure you create a record that employers see which makes them interested in you when they Google you (because they will Google you).

LinkedIn is usually the most effective weapon in your online personal reputation/marketing arsenal.

Create a good profile on a professional site like LinkedIn. Use a headshot that looks right for the work you want. Expand what is on your resume. Keep job titles and dates in sync with your resume.

If your field expects it, add a portfolio of your work to your LinkedIn profile or your own website or blog. Read Job-Hunt’s free LinkedIn Job Search Guide for strategies and details. Be wary of what you publish in Facebook.

Buy business cards for networking and job search activities. Use the back to highlight a few important aspects of your experience.

  Step 5. Make a Job Search Plan  

Put all the research into action:

• Target 15-20 employers which interest you, and learn all you can about them. (Remember, a successful mission requires a defined target.)
• Connect with people in your field at each employer using LinkedIn or a search engine, and ask a question or two telling each of your interest in the field and the employer.
• If you still are interested, also connect with the company on LinkedIn, Facebook, and their website. Do the same with their veteran recruiters.
• Make yourself known before you send in any resumes or job applications.

Network as much as possible:

• Use your existing connections to make new ones.
• Connect to people you see actively in your field.
• Learn how to ask good questions and what you can offer in return.
• Build your knowledge of the best companies, hiring managers, and of your career field.
• Make following up a daily habit!

Read Fast Track to a New Job: An Employee Referral for details on how employee referral programs work and vary from employer to employer.

The Bottom Line

During this whole process, let yourself dream first. Then, back those dreams with an accurate self-assessment and facts about your desired career field and employers. Working your plan is the road to a successful transition! Be well prepared before you leap into the civilian job market.

More About Military to Civilian Transition

• Choosing Your Civilian Career
• Job Search Battle Plan
• Military Transition Action Plan – Long-Term Service to Civilian
• Translating Military Experience
• Exit Strategy for Career Military
• Combat Arms to Civilian
• Guide to Defensive Googling
• LinkedIn Job Search Guide
• Fast Track to a New Job: An Employee Referral

About the author…

Patra Frame has extensive experience in human capital management and career issues in large and small corporations. She is an Air Force vet and charter member of The Women In Military Service for America Memorial.  Patra speaks and writes regularly on job search and career issues through her company Strategies for Human Resources (SHRInsight) and PatraFrame.com where she blogs advice for veterans and other job seekers. Watch Patra’s ClearedJobs.net job search tips videos on YouTube, and follow her on Twitter @2Patra.
More about this author…

The post Smart Military Transition Strategies appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Thus it is important that you learn what to expect in your chosen field.

Many transitioning military assume civilian pay is always higher, but that day is long gone.

What do you want?

Your chosen field plays a big role in your pay. Those fields where there is high demand but limited supply generally pay well. The reverse is also true, which is why so many retail workers and security guards hold multiple jobs to support themselves.

Your personal interests and lifestyle play a role. One person might be very interested in earning big money, while another does not want the long hours or extensive travel that often accompany such jobs.

Benefits, such as health care insurance, may be very important to you, or you may have it covered through a spouse and be less concerned.

Where you work and live also plays a role.

Salaries Vary Widely

There are a very wide range of salaries for almost any job. Typically, the same job can pay very differently depending on:

• Type of organization, such as: major corporation or small local firm, government contractor, retail, non-profit, government agency, etc.
• Size of organization: generally small organizations pay less, large ones pay average rates.
• Function within the organization: how important is the job to the organizations’ core business?
• Location: Pay rates differ significantly across the USA and many jobs have noticeable pay differences depending on whether they are in a city proper, in inner or outer suburbs, rural areas, etc.
• The state of the market: how many qualified people are there to fill jobs?

Which means you need to do your homework.

• How realistic are your expectations?
• What do your target type of organizations pay for this work?
• What options are most available to meet your desires?

Bottom line: you need to decide what total compensation you are seeking and how you will consider breaking that up among base salary, bonus, commission, overtime pay, benefits, and/or services.

Information Sources

And that all means you need to learn how to find pay and benefit information.

What are current salaries for the jobs which interest you? Remember, compare those for the same jobs at the specific type of organization which interests you and in your geographic area.

1. Reach out and ask people you know well who are in the field for pay ranges, incentives, and other pay data that they might know.
2. Research the salary information and pay ranges posted on jobs which interest you on job boards.
3. Many professional organizations do salary surveys for their members. Check yours out. Or, if you are not a member, ask people in your field if they have access. Often these surveys also have some information on common benefits, so check for this too.
4. When you are networking, ask these questions:
   “What is the typical current pay range for X position?” and “What do you currently see happening to pay rates for Z?”
5. Some larger employment agencies and job boards provide basic salary surveys for their core markets. For example, Dice.com does surveys on IT positions and posts them via their website. While these are quite general, if you are working with someone in such a firm, they can tell you the local details.

Check out “Negotiating the Best Starting Salary for Your New Job” on WorkCoachCafe.com.

Salary Data on the Web

There is plenty of pay data available on the web. Most of it is fairly general and often rather old. A lot of places use the same source, but brand it for their own use. Useful sources include:

• Bureau of Labor Statistics – great information by job on current wages by specific geographic areas. Benefits information studies are also available here.
• JobStar’s links to salary surveys.
• Commercial sites include Salary.com, SalaryExpert.com, and many others.
  Be aware that these are rolling, large-scale averages of averages. When you put in a specific location, you get national average data multiplied by a standard factor for your location relative to the U.S. average.

Benefits Matter

Benefits are also quite variable. Few companies now offer pension plans although larger organizations usually offer some form of retirement savings plan and may match a portion of your contributions. Health care insurance is available in about half of all companies.

What you will get and what you pay for it ranges very widely. Most mid-size and larger organizations offer paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays. Some do tuition reimbursement and provide free parking or supplement the costs of public transportation. It depends on the location and the competition for good employees.

Many organizations showcase their benefits on their websites. You should look at these for all the organizations which interest you — and compare them with others in that market to develop a sense of what is common and what is not.

[Related: Winning Negotiation Strategies for Your New Job.]

Bottom Line

Learning about civilian pay takes some work but it will be well worth your time so that you can negotiate a fair deal when you find the right job. And so that you do not have unrealistic expectations when you are seeking work.

For More Information:

Read Job-Hunt’s Working with Recruiters Expert Jeff Lipschultz’s article, The Starting Salary Question. Also see Job-Hunt’s free eBook, Winning Negotiation Strategies for Your New Job by Barbara Safani. And, check out this post from our sister site, FlexJobs, about ways to make money from home.

About the author…

Patra Frame has extensive experience in human capital management and career issues in large and small corporations. She is an Air Force vet and charter member of The Women In Military Service for America Memorial.  Patra speaks and writes regularly on job search and career issues through her company Strategies for Human Resources (SHRInsight) and PatraFrame.com where she blogs advice for veterans and other job seekers. Watch Patra’s ClearedJobs.net job search tips videos on YouTube, and follow her on Twitter @2Patra.
More about this author…

The post Show Me the Money: Salaries appeared first on Job-Hunt.

If you have only a short time to transition, these tips should help you succeed.

If you are being forced out due to cutbacks or medical issues before you planned to leave, you are likely to battle grief and depression during this time too.

Use all available help!

And ask for your friends and family’s support when you need to vent. Trying to address this early will help ensure you do not show negativity in the job search process which will hinder your success.

Now is also the time to cut down your expenditures.

Financial experts advise that any working person have at least eight months of emergency funds on hand, but many people do not. If you do not, start building this safety net immediately. You are likely to face a period of unemployment, and do not want to be forced to take just any job.

[Related: Military Career Exit Strategy.]

Tip 1. Take your service’s transition program as soon as you can.

There is a huge amount of vital information you need to know in the program. It is critical to your future.

Tip 2. Decide what work you want to do going forward. (Begin this immediately!)

Some military members want to stay in their current field. If that applies to you, then you need to look at such jobs and see what civilian requirements are.

Do this by looking at a large number of the jobs you seek in a big job board, like Indeed.com. Check out:

• Where the jobs are.
• Who the employers are.
• The typical job requirements.

Once you know the requirements, you can look at your background to see if you need additional training, education, certifications, or specific skills. Many fields which require certifications now have options to use your military experience to get those.

This usually can be done before you transition. If you will need additional training or education, learn what your service offers and what the GI Bill covers — both may meet your needs.

Other military members are not sure what they want to do next. You need to think about what aspects of past work you really liked, what skills you want to use, and learn about the jobs that meet your needs. There are many resources here on Job-Hunt, but also look at My Next Move for Vets.

Tip 3. Check all your options.

If you are certain you want to be in a specific location only, then you also need to be sure that the jobs you seek are common within the location you prefer.

Consider going to school for a degree if you do not have one.

• Middle-skill positions now often require specialized training or an Associates’ degree. Many white collar jobs seek people with a Bachelors’ degree.
• The easiest time to get your degree may be right now. Be sure to have your service training evaluated for college credits first. Schools in the region you are targeting to live in offer the best networking for a new job in the area./li>

Look for schools which have specific, useful veterans support programs and chapters of the Student Veterans of America as well as the classes and career support you need.

If you are interested in a field which may require some special training, do an online search using the field name and “troops to __ program.” Example: Troops to Construction programs.

This also works for various IT skills and certifications. Most of these programs are free and some are online.

Tip 4. Build your network

A network of people will help you with all aspects of your job search.

Start by reconnecting with the people you went to high school or college with, those you worked with in past jobs, and military people who have transitioned ahead of you. See Job-Hunt’s free Guide to Job Search Networking.

Consider building your presence on LinkedIn. This network for professionals also offers many groups focused on specific types of work, specific locations, and veterans groups.

LinkedIn is used by over 3/4 of all recruiters to find people to hire.

Your transition program will have information on using LinkedIn and other social media. There are lots of good articles online to help you. Check out Job-Hunt’s free Guide to LinkedIn for Job Search.

As you make new connections in person, online, in trade or professional groups, make sure you follow up.

The post Short Timer? Manage Transition to Civilian Life appeared first on Job-Hunt.

Perhaps you missed the part about resumes in your transition course. Or are just overwhelmed by the varying advice you have read and heard. How to design a resume that really enhances your chances seems to be a common concern among transitioning military.

This article looks at resumes for private sector jobs only.

Understand the Basics

While content is the most important aspect of your resume, if you put it in the wrong package, no one will see the content.

You want a resume that is easy to read, looks good, and displays your value to the employer.

Type/Font:

Choose a standard typeface, like Arial, that is easy to read, common, and modern-looking.  Stick with 10-12 point size type for ease of reading.

Margins:

Don’t skimp – you want to use the common ones (1 inch all around) so that you do not look as if you are trying to cram in your entire life. And do not waste space by indenting sections or jobs into blocks that are only a portion of the normal page width.

Whitespace:

This refers to both the margins and the internal white areas within the document – use whitespace effectively to make it easy to read and clearly organized.

Formatting:

The most common and thus most understood by applicant tracking systems is a Word document, but skip the resume templates Word offers.

Stick with the basics:

• All capitals or bold for your name and job titles
• All capitals for your section titles.

If you want a fancy-looking resume to hand out, that is your call.  But, the more formatting you have, the more likely that any resume you send electronically will turn into a garbled mess at the other end.

When you add color, lines, boxes around some or all of the text, logos and other formatting, your resume may never see a human.

Length:

If you have 8-10 years of work experience, keep your resume to one page.  If you have more than that, keep it to two pages.

One to two pages are still the most common resume lengths in the private sector. Going beyond one or two pages tends to make hiring managers think you cannot focus on what is most important.  There are exceptions for academics and research scientists who may have longer lists of publications than most of us.

Style:

The most common is reverse chronological, where your most recent job is at the top and previous ones follow.  Most hiring managers dislike functional resumes, where you group your experience into types of work, as they tend to think these cover bad problems.

Spelling and Grammar:

These are critical, no matter what your career goal is.  Errors  make hiring managers wonder if you will do a sloppy job at work.

Surveys regularly show that many hiring managers will disqualify applicants for spelling errors because they think that your resume is you “putting your best foot forward.”

Have other people check your resume for this – even good writers make errors at times.  Do not rely on spell-check, you may have the right spelling but the wrong word.

The Resume Outline

Think about your “customer” — the potential employer. Focus on the benefits to the employer. Make it clear to employers that they would benefit from hiring you.

1. Contact Information

Besides your name, give one phone number and one email address.  If you have a LinkedIn profile or personal website or other social media with your work history on it, add that link here too.

If you have some top level certifications, such as PMP or CISSP, you may want to list one after your name.  Some people looking for government contracting jobs also add their security clearance basics (e.g. TS/SCI) in this section.

2. Summary

This is the short version of why the employer should be interested in you.

Skip an objective – that is all about you.

A summary is rather like your “elevator speech” – a mini-history of your skills, knowledge and unique attributes.  It should be directly relevant to the target job and employers you are interested in.  Your goal here is to get the employer interested enough to keep reading your resume and to contact you.

• Keep it to 3-4 sentences or bullet points.
• Do not start with years of service – that can make you look too expensive, too set in your ways, or too old without really adding anything positive.
• Don’t say retired or your rank either – retired makes civilians think you do not want to work anymore and most have no idea what your rank might mean.

If you are looking at government contracting roles and did not put your clearance in with your contact information, add it at the end (TS/SCI/full poly is fine.)

Usually it is a waste to list skills here.  Demonstrate your teamwork or leadership in the achievements you list under your jobs.  Most skill lists are redundant and ignored.

3. Experience

This is the “meat” of your resume.  Here you will cover your work experience, focusing on your achievements as they are directly related to the work you seek.

• Focus on the 10-12 most recent years only. Few care about older experience.
• The most recent job should have the most achievements, and each previous job will be smaller.
• If you have work experience outside of your desired future work, you still want to demonstrate those achievements which do apply to your job goal.
• Start with your service and overall dates to set the context.

If you worry that you will be ignored because you are a veteran, that is unlikely.  Current veterans are regarded positively in general, and most organizations seek to hire people who have military experience and meet their job needs.  However, if it did happen, would you really want to work for someone who did not want a veteran?

Titles: 

Try to make each one something that is close to the titles of jobs which interest you in your field.  Recently I was reviewing a senior NCO’s resume and he had both his rank and Operations as his title in his recent jobs as he was focusing on operations management roles.  Instead of “Sergeant Major, Operations” and such, we re-did them as follows (achievements omitted)

Senior Operations Manager
Operations Manager
Operations and Safety Manager
Operations Team Lead

Do not, however, go for titles like CEO, President, Vice-President.  In the private sector, these carry specific roles which do not exist in the military.  Using such titles indicates you have not really understood the career you seek.

In some cases you may want to add one line that explains the mission or uniqueness of the assignment, if so, do this right under the title.

Then move into a bulleted list of your achievements.

4. Education and Training

List your degrees first, starting with the most advanced degree you have, like this:

MBA, Human Capital Management, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania.
BA, History, Purdue University

If you have a BA or BS, do not list your AA or AS degree or your HS diploma.

List any certifications which are important to the work you seek.

Add in any training you have which is directly relevant to the job you seek.  Omit training that is not relevant to your target job/field, and also training which is more than 7-10 years old.

5. Technical Skills (optional)

If the work you want to do requires specific technical skills, add a list of them.  Do not put in every technology you ever worked with — just those which you are skilled at, are current, and required.  This is also true for language skills.

6. Awards

Got personal or valor awards?  Put them on your LinkedIn profile if you want but they do not really add much to most resumes as few people will understand them.

7. Personal Information

Skip personal information unless it is really related to the work you want.  If you want to go into sports marketing, the fact that you are a top-ranked tennis player might be of interest.  But usually personal info only takes space you could better use to demonstrate your value.

NO References!

Don’t mention your references, or even that they are available on request.  Employers know that and will ask if they want them.

Bottom Line

Your resume is a sales document promoting your services as a solution to the employer’s needs, not a wish list of what will make you happy. That’s it!

About the author…

Patra Frame has extensive experience in human capital management and career issues in large and small corporations. She is an Air Force vet and charter member of The Women In Military Service for America Memorial.  Patra speaks and writes regularly on job search and career issues through her company Strategies for Human Resources (SHRInsight) and PatraFrame.com where she blogs advice for veterans and other job seekers. Watch Patra’s ClearedJobs.net job search tips videos on YouTube, and follow her on Twitter @2Patra.
More about this author…

The post Smart Military Transition Resume appeared first on Job-Hunt.

And many military members are very successful at doing so within the military – yet cannot see quite how to do it for transition.

You can’t get through TAP or open a business publication without seeing something about networking. Why?

Studies show regular networkers are more successful in business and in life.

3 Tips for Successful Transition Networking

It’s not rocket science or millions of people wouldn’t be doing it so successfully. And you know how to do it, too, if you take the time.

Tip 1. Define your Plan

Start with a plan. As usual! What do you need to do now and what will you do once you are in your desired civilian location? What do you want to get from your networking efforts in terms of your job search and future success?

When you look at building your network, it is often smart to start with military friends and peers. You can probably still find many, if you have lost touch. Some will be valuable references, others may be able to tell you what they did best and worst in their job search. If you are returning to your original hometown, re-connecting now with people you know from school or work is smart.

While you are on active duty, you can begin to build your civilian network through LinkedIn and its interest groups, Twitter, alumni organizations, and professional associations too. This will help you learn more about civilian opportunities and find people to help you to the right job/career.

Here is a “cheat sheet” of categories – build your networking ideas list from it:

• Professional groups’ meetings – such as: national/local groups in your chosen field, chambers of commerce, job clubs, veteran or alumni groups.
• Individual meetings – specific people in your field and outside it.
• Developmental events – seminars, conferences, courses in your field.
• Reconnect – with people you value but have not connected with lately.
• Online aids – LinkedIn, Twitter, MeetUp, etc.

Tip 2. Define your goals

Don’t just go to events, send email or have coffee with friends and call it networking.

Define what you need, what you offer, and what you will do in fairly specific terms. Numbers alone are not worth much. You want quality connections for mutual benefit.

Consider:

• What do you want to learn from each contact?
• What will you share about yourself?
• What help do you want – such as: company info, references, referrals?
• Who do you know you might introduce to others?
• Who will you ask for introductions and to whom?/li>

LinkedIn has a number of groups designed to help transitioning military – and many people on them who really want to help.

However, keep your online comments positive. Ask for the help you want, but do not whine about the difficulties of your search. No prospective employer is going to be impressed if they see a litany of negative comments.

Tip 3. Make it Easy

Never go to an event without a plan, just like every other “battle” you ever participated in.

It could be to meet specific people or to learn something specific in talking with many people there. Remember to talk with others there about the market, your job interests, and other things you want to know. And remember to learn about them, and offer any assistance you can!

Have a goal when you meet with an individual or small group too. What do you want out of the meeting? What are you offering in return?

Bottom Line on Tips to Successfully Transition from Military to Civilian

Keep going! Networking builds on itself. If you build good connections and are helpful in return, you will find it easy to maintain your network consistently over time. Pick a process, make a plan, and execute it for your transition success – and beyond!

For More Information About Transition Job Search

• Military Career Exit Strategy
• Military Networking Letter
• Military vs. Civilian Cultures
• Military Women: Finding Job Search Success
• Avoid Self-Sabotage

About the author…

Patra Frame has extensive experience in human capital management and career issues in large and small corporations. She is an Air Force vet and charter member of The Women In Military Service for America Memorial.  Patra speaks and writes regularly on job search and career issues through her company Strategies for Human Resources (SHRInsight) and PatraFrame.com where she blogs advice for veterans and other job seekers. Watch Patra’s ClearedJobs.net job search tips videos on YouTube, and follow her on Twitter @2Patra.
More about this author…

The post Networking: The Secret of Successful Military-to-Civilian Job Transition appeared first on Job-Hunt.