Throughout the last year I have been on an aggressive campaign to educate public policy leaders, community colleges, employers and the media about the need to close the skills gap in the United States.

Recently, I’ve been advocating for stakeholders to embrace military personnel and veterans who already posses the qualities today’s workforce is lacking. Furthermore, we have all seen the data on the difficulties veterans face during the hiring process. As I embarked on this campaign, I discovered that one of the reasons employers and veterans might not be in sync is the lack of resume clarity.

I see an answer in an idea called “Resume 101,” which I affectionately refer to as the process of translating the extraordinary set of skills, abilities and training military veterans possess into language prospective employers can understand and apply to their businesses.

I reviewed a number of resumes that crossed my desk and was truly impressed with the diversity in abilities and the skill set offered by this candidate pool. However, I was disheartened that employers might not tap all their experience.

There are some examples of excellent qualifications offered by outstanding candidates who are overlooked because of lackluster resumes that do not portray the truly diverse skill set veterans possess.

Overall, the resumes I have seen do not use terms that speak to the needs of employers. From an employer’s perspective, we are seeking specific qualifications, traits or holes that need to be filled at our place of business. If we don’t see that language in a resume, we move on.

For instance, one resume I saw described experience related to “damage control” duties on a ship. This duty includes lectures, demonstrations and planning experience coupled with the know-how to deal with chemical, radiological and biological issues.

The word “damage control” would not make an employer give the resume a
second look. However, if this individual summarized his duties as “Hazardous Materials Control Technician” employers would take notice due to its detail.

Another candidate talked about his experience identifying basic principles of leadership via oral and written explanations, motivation and empowerment training and management of teams during organizational climates. The language on the resume used terms I would need to reference in order to understand. But, any employer seeking a “Human Resources” candidate with this type of experience would choose to interview a candidate with these skills.

Again, both of these examples show that military veterans possess amazing skills and experience that employers desperately need. But oftentimes the description is so specialized and geared toward military descriptions that it prevents candidates from being considered for potential positions.

So where do we go from here?

Let me give some overall advice from an employer perspective that can help bolster any resume. First, an attractive reader-friendly resume and design will provide a better first impression. The summary or objective needs to be included and should establish the focus of the resume and give a quick overview of what you have to offer the employer.

In fact, this section is often most read by those who hire and employers may dismiss candidates based on this section alone. These should include your highest achievement, experience level, value, industry experience and career goals.

As you move through the content of the resume, keep your audience—employers—in mind. Poor job descriptions that do not encapsulate your experience or are overly specialized fail to put a positive frame of reference on your achievements. They should start out strong and sustain interest by emphasizing key skills rather than listing every single “duty” you’ve ever had.

Your job descriptions should be short and to the point and your bullet points should include achievements, not general statements. Again, the more you increase a potential employer’s interest the more likely you are to get a phone call for an interview.

I do not like to use the word “jargon” but this is an important point to make. Too many resumes include military jargon or descriptions that you may know very well, and others who served in the military may know well, but a director of human resources who has no exposure to the military does not. Unfortunately, that person is doing the hiring.

I encourage you to stay away from jargon. Try to describe your accomplishments and apply them to the private sector. My suggestion: Explain what you do to a friend who doesn’t work in the military and have them help you put this into laymen’s terms. By doing this, you are not selling yourself short with simply leaving out your experiences but you are translating them into language employers can understand and process.

Please keep in mind that your resume is your introduction to the employer. This represents your first chance to make an impression and convey your unparalleled set of experience, training and work ethic you have due to your military background. You are competing with a lot of people. So remember to construct to a resume that speaks to employers and their needs.

Sandra Westlund-Deenihan is president of Quality Float Works, Inc., a Schaumburg-based manufacturing company that produces hollow float metal balls. She serves on the boards of directors of the National Association of Manufacturers, Tooling & Manufacturing Association and the National Alliance for Partnerships in Equity in Education.

Contact her at sandy@metalfloat.com or at 847-781-8960.