What is the best resume format for a veteran or spouse during military transition? Without a doubt, it is the checklist resume format.
What Is the Checklist Resume Format?
A checklist resume is the one that comes in two parts. Part One is a checklist that includes contact information, plus a list of your work skills as mentioned in the job listing.
This is where it differs from your current resume. Instead of a list of your current areas of expertise, or a list of every work skill you have ever had, the checklist section of a reverse resume includes only a list of the skills the recruiter is looking for particularly.
The checklist section itself changes with every job, but it only takes 20 minutes to put together, tops. It is a time saver for everyone.
Part Two of the checklist resume is your job history and education sections, which pretty much stay the same from application to application so you don't have to rewrite it every time. Boom.
FREE VEP checklist resume template
To make it even easier for you, I provided free checklist resume templates for veterans in the recap section of the Reverse Resume 2.0 master class. You can also find free checklist resume templates in the recap section of the Spouse Resume Master Class
Why Do a Checklist Resume?
Not only do military people love a checklist, but recruiters and hiring managers love a checklist, too.
Not convinced? Think about it: Recruiters and hiring managers are busy. They have too many jobs to fill in too little time, with too many candidates in front of them at once. They don't have time to fully read a text from their lover/cardiologist/grandmother-on-her-deathbed, much less sort through the 10-point type on your resume.
Cut them a break and write the checklist resume for them. After all, they are the target audience. You are not writing this thing for yourself, some random stranger or your judgy active-duty friends.
You are writing your resume for that busy talent acquisition professional so they can quickly compare your resume to the job listing and see that you are the best candidate to bring in for an interview. Check. Check. CHECK.
The checklist resume also helps you in so many ways. For example, it reminds you of skills and experiences you have had in your military career that you forgot to include on your resume. It also gives you space to include skills you used more than 10 years ago that are still relevant, but don't have a place on your current resume.
There are so many advantages to the checklist resume format that I can't include here, but I list all the advantages in each of our FREE Veteran Employment Project Master Classes.
If you are a veteran or you are active duty in the middle of military transition, you can catch our instructional FREE Master Class Reverse Resume 2.0 video. I also offered a spouse-only version in our Master Class Spouse Reverse Resume.
When you are looking for a job, the resume is only one of the tools you need. With the best resume format for veterans, you will be able to include all the skills recruiters are looking for and get your name on the list of people who must be interviewed.
Jacey Eckhart is Military.com's transition master coach. She is a certified professional career coach and military sociologist who helps military members get their first civilian job by offering career-level Master Classes through our Veteran Employment Project and on her website, SeniorMilitaryTransition.com. Reach her at jacey.eckhart@monster.com.
Learn More About the Veteran Employment Project
To get more tips on how to make a successful military transition, sign up for one of our FREE Military Transition Master Classes today. You can view previous classes in our video library. Questions for Jacey? Visit our Facebook page.
