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Resume Preparation

Resume Preparation Instructions 
 
The resume is an essential element in your career search. Writing a resume is important for a variety of reasons. First, it helps organize your thoughts about your significant achievements. Second, it is the first impression a company will have of you. Third, while many opinions exist on style, format and content, a resume is a personal document; it should both capture your achievements and stimulate an interviewer's interest. Our commitment to you is to suggest changes in content or style; however, you must invest the time to eliminate spelling and grammar errors. Please be specific and careful in your preparation.

Please follow these guidelines very closely in your preparation. The resume you prepare for our clients, your future employer, should be in either format. Our experience with our customers has proven this format to be simple, effective, and easily understood.

As you update/make changes to your resume, please attach the revised resume in your personal profile or e-mail it to us as a Microsoft Word attachment. The resume filename should be lastname-firstinitial.doc. This allows us to print your resume from a file to a laser printer without any of the distortion caused by Fax machines, copies of copies, etc. This helps improve the first impression your future employers may have of you!
Resume Guidelines
 
  • Use plain WHITE 8½ x 11 paper
  • Allow ¾" from the top of the page.
  • Allow ½" margins on the sides and bottom. While one-page resumes are the best, two page resumes are acceptable rather than scrunching the information into obscurity. If you have concerns about the length of your resume, CALL US!
  • When printing additional copies, always use a laser jet printer or better quality.
  • DO NOT INCLUDE AN OBJECTIVE!
Follow our examples for personal information, education, activities and military background for your format. 

Write your resume in the third person singular, DO NOT USE PASSIVE VOICE. Use words like ACHIEVED, SELECTED, RECOGNIZED, IMPROVED, LED, STREAMLINED. Stay away from words like rewrote, managed, maintained, coordinated, etc. List your positions in reverse chronological order. Account for all time with no gaps between responsibilities. Describe responsibilities in 2-3 lines; be specific about numbers of people supervised and types of equipment. Avoid acronyms as much as possible! (H.M.M.W.V. = truck, UH60= Helicopter) Describe accomplishments after your responsibilities for each position. "Bullet point" (with circles or dots) as many notable and preferably quantifiable achievements as possible. Ideally you will have 3-5 excellent achievements for each position. This will aid in your interview preparation by stimulating your thought process on why you have been successful and how that success is measured.
Acceptable types of accomplishments
 
  • Personal Accolades
    Examples- Selected for position over 8 other candidates
    - Personally selected to . . .
    - Voted Junior Officer of the Quarter (over how many eligible)
  • Unit Accolades (implies this is due to you) Important to show this as an
    improvement or as competitive rankings.
    Examples - Ranked #1 platoon out of 28 in battalion.
    - Placed 1st of 7 in annual gunnery exercise.
    - Passed annual inspection with commendable ratings (unit had failed previous
    two years).
  • Performance (Most Important!) - Must have an action and a result (in either
    order) and should be measurable.
Focus on impacts you have made using words like designed, developed, initiated, created, innovated, etc. Stay away from passive words like coordinated, maintained, managed, etc. What you are selling is your ability to impact things, so focus on:
  • Initiative - things you took on that no one told you to do
  • Improved productivity
  • Improved efficiency
  • Innovations (i.e., new ideas you developed)
  • Saved time, dollars, or man-hours
Examples of Accomplishments
  • Redesigned maintenance procedures, resulting in a 20% increase in vehicle readiness.
  • Innovated use of incentive-based training program, resulting in a 38% increase in skills qualification scores.
  • Saved 400 man-hours annually by computerizing manual administrative functions.
  • Decreased turnaround time for supply parts by 18%.
We have included two sample resumes for you that are examples of the format we have found to be most sucessful. Approach your resume with one goal in mind, a dynamic, exciting career in Corporate America.