military to civilian cv

Military to Civilian CV

Mike KelleyCV Expert

CV-Serice.orgCV-Blog.org

Mike Kelley | cv-service.org | cv-blog.org

(Curriculum Vitae Writing Consultant Mike Kelley explains how to write a CV and make it and effective

weapon in your job hunting campaign).The aim of the CV is to secure an interview. To do that

it must have a high readability factor. This means that it must pass a “15 second reading filter”,

catching the recruiter’s eye so he or she can put it on the “to be read again later” pile. One important way of ensuring this is brevity; it always surprises

me that many people write CVs with so many pages. Two pages are quite sufficient.


There no such thing as a Perfect CV that applies to everyone.

There is no perfect CV that you can copy by simply replacing content with your own. Your

personality will not come through and the readers’ hearts will sink when they yet again read all those standard soulless, buzz words and phrases on the regular CV format that is

not the reaction that you want.


Areas of Expertise of Former Military Personnel:Lots of people talk about “key words” and “key skills”. These should be indexed

under a heading of “Areas of Expertise.” Conducting a job search is like marketing and selling a product – You! So, in the time honoured sales

sequence, you should consider the “Features and Benefits” of the service or product you provide. These can then be “sold” as your “Skills and

Achievements”. You can offer a great deal of expertise in the commercial job market. Yet there skills and abilities can be easily overlooked, because they’re

not always able to clearly translate “Military CV” into civilian terms; if the language and “buzz words” do not equate, or the recruiter is forced to decipher

too much information or jargon, and he or she may be unable to see your qualifications and skills etc. With some innovation however, you can effectively communicate and position yourself as the well-qualified, capable candidate you are. You will need to assess and understand your skills and abilities – and how

those attributes relate to civilian business and industry. These should be indexed on the front page of your CV for added impact – anything from

Leadership, Human Resources, Strategic Planning, Operations Management, Purchasing, Training, Systems Administration and Support to name a few.


Creating a Highly Presentable Civilian CV.Your CV’s visual presentation is as critical as

content. Readers should be immediately impressed with the appearance, content and targeting of your CV. It should be easily read, with clearly headed, and with relevant content using the industry terms

specific to your chosen job target area. As with any other specialise field, you will also need to

communicate how you will “fit in” and “market” yourself throughout the hiring process. Most importantly, you must demonstrate the future

application of your skills, abilities and experience – and how you can benefit you future employer.


Thanks!!

First Impressions

Mike Kelley

http://www.cv-service.org

http://www.cv-blog.org

military to civilian cv

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