Resume Revamped and Transition Troubles Disappear
December 8, 2009
I have seen and heard so many negative transitioning stories on here and I wanted to post something positive.
I was a sergeant first class station commander in recruiting when I started my terminal leave. Three months prior to starting my leave I got my resume together and started sending it out to companies.
I received no hits until I had a professional double check my resume. What you think is a good resume, is in all reality may not a good one. Once I had my resume revamped and I re-started my search. I was getting hits from employers within the first week or two.
The company that hired me, had me go through four interviews before they hired me. I competed againt 14 other people who were interviewed and it was then narrowed down between me and this other applicant. No one or no articles could have prepared me for my third interview.
I was interviewed for an hour and a half. I still can’t remember everything that I was questioned about. I was honest with them from the get go and said I have never been through an interview before. They wanted to know what I knew about their company and I told them without hesitation.
They also wanted to know why I would like to work for their company. I did my home work and googled everything I could find on that company before my interview. Then, I sold myself and my experience in sales with 110 percent confidence.
I believe the key to my success in transitioning was my resume. Have a professional help you with your resume. There are hundreds of differnt versions out there. But, that doesn’t mean that they are all good.
I landed a job and started that job on the first day my terminal leave started and I believe anybody can do it. I found that Military.com careers and job noggin were my best two resources for job searching. They were also very user friendly. Good Luck!
(Submitted by SFC Ron Deutsch)
I’ve also had better luck since I went back and re-did my resume!
I am applying for Federal Jobs — everyone knows that getting a Fed job requires applying multiple times (ten or twenty applications are not unusual.) And then waiting several months (if not a year) before you can start actually work.
But I was having no luck, kept getting “Does not meet minimum qualifications,” although I know my education and experience DO make me qualified for what I’m applying for.
I went and got a book called “Federal Resumes” by Troutman. It’s available at a lot of public libraries. Highly recommend it!
Now I am getting “You were qualified but not best qualified.” It’s getting better! I fully expect that I will soon be getting a response of “You were referred to the selecting official.“
It’s a matter of hard work and persistence. In the meantime, if you don’t have a job right now, go back to school. It looks better on your resume than a year of unemployment.
Posted by Ruanne | on December 13th, 2009