3. TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Purpose of this Addendum 4
General Good Practices 5
Resume Problem Areas 6
Section 2: Professional Profile 7
Section 3: Education 8
Section 4: Experience 9
Translating Your Service 10
Military Spouse Resume 11
Military Spouse Resources 12
Transition Resources 13
Example Resumes 14
Transitioning Veteran 14
Military Spouse 15
4. PURPOSE OF THIS ADDENDUM
Page 4
This addendum, along with the SNHU COCE Career
Resume Writing Guide, will help you avoid those mistakes
by showing you how to translate your service, highlight
your skills, and craft a winning resume.
Veterans and transitioning military members tend
to make a few big mistakes on their resumes that
keep them from getting interviews, such as:
Over-using military
jargon, technical
terms, and
acronyms
Having a resume
that is either much
too short or much
too long
Including irrelevant
experience while
excluding relevant
information
You can find the SNHU COCE Career Resume Writing
Guide under the Career tab on your mySNHU webpage!
5. Keep It
SHORT
• Aim to have a
one-page resume
by only including
the billets you
filled that are
directly relevant
• Don’t include
awards unless
you indicate very
specifically why
you received the
award
• Never include
unit awards or
campaign
medals!
Keep It
SIMPLE
• Avoid using
military jargon,
including but not
limited to:
• Rank
• Technical
terms
• Acronyms
• Check out page
10 of this
addendum for a
list of common
translations!
• Use a clean and
easy-to-read
format
Keep It
RELEVANT
• Focus on Skills,
Knowledge, and
Abilities for the
job you want, not
the job you had
• Only include
combat related
work when you
can frame it in a
way that makes it
relevant
• Focus on
transferrable
skills like
leadership and
management
Page 5
GENERAL GOOD PRACTICES
Write your resume so a 24-year-old female with no military
experience can pick out the important stuff in 6-20 seconds.
Check out the SNHU COCE Career Resume Writing Guide or
contact COCE Career at COCECareer@snhu.edu for more tips
on how to craft a winning resume!
6. RESUME PROBLEM AREAS
Page 6
Section 2:
Profile
•How can you
highlight your
military service
in your profile?
Section 3:
Education
•How much of
your military
training should
you include?
Section 4:
Experience
•How can you
best translate
your military
experience?
Pages 6 to 16 of our
Resume Writing Guide
provide an in-depth review of
all of the sections of a resume.
7. Page 7
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
ARE YOU applying to military friendly organizations?
• Begin your profile with a couple of adjectives followed by
“[Your Branch] Veteran”
• For example, “Analytical and innovative US Army Veteran
and logistician dedicated to superior customer service.”
• This is especially great for those whose military service is
more than 10-15 years ago
ARE YOU having trouble finding space for your soft skills?
• Incorporate soft skills into your Professional Profile
• For example, “Adaptable team player” or “Collaborative
mentor”
• Highlight transferrable skills like problem solving, critical
observation, leadership, and conflict resolution
HAVE YOU tailored your profile to the job you want?
• Avoid focusing on combat related statements, such as:
• “Marine Corps Infantry Veteran with 7 deployments to Iraq
and Afghanistan”
• Focus instead on the job title you are looking to fill, such as:
• “Marine Corps Veteran and marketing professional
dedicated to superior customer service”
Check out pages 9 and 10 in the
SNHU COCE Resume Guide for a step-by-step
system for writing your Professional Profile!
8. EDUCATION & TRAINING
So, what training should you include?
And where should you include it?
Not all of your military training is relevant in the civilian world.
INCLUDE
•Training related to the job to
which you are applying
•Example: Parachute Rigger
looking for Safety Tech jobs
lists military training & certs
•Training that provided you with
transferable skills
•Example: “Chosen over 12
other team members to
attend an intensive four-week
leadership training course”
OMIT
•Basic and MOS training
•Implied by your service and
therefore unnecessary
•Anything not directly related to
the job you are applying for
•UNLESS you were in the top
10-20% of your class
•High School diploma or
extracurriculars
•No longer relevant because
you are in college
Transferable trainings go
under Experience (see
next page)
Related military specific
trainings are included
under Education
9. Page 9
EXPERIENCE
Consider grouping Experience by:
Duty Station, MOS, or deployments
Include transferable military trainings
not directly related to the job at hand
here, under Experience
Keep it to one
page as much as
possible!
Replace rank with civilian equivalent
– check out page 10 for common
translations
Frame combat experience to keep it
relevant, like focusing on leadership
Focus on accomplishments at
highest rank achieved, but include
entire enlistment dates
Only include awards you can explicitly
specify why you received the award
NEWLY TRANSITIONING VETS!
Consider grouping Experience by
rank (Junior Enlisted & NCO)
10. Page 10
TRANSLATING YOUR SERVICE
Commander Director or Senior Manager
Executive Officer Deputy Director
Field Grade Officer Executive or Manager
Company Grade Officer Operations/Section Manager
Warrant Officer Technical Specialist or Department Manager
Operations NCO Operations Supervisor
Senior NCO Senior Operations Supervisor
First Sergeant Personnel Manager
Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines staff, employees, co-workers, team members
Uniforms and Weapons, etc. supplies
Barracks, etc. facilities
Combat hazardous conditions
MOS career specialty
Officer Training School (OTS) Leadership Training Program / Class
War College Executive Leadership School
NCO Academy Leadership or Management Training Program
Here are some common military terms with their approximate civilian
“translations.” Check out the Resources section of this addendum
(page 13) for other online translation tools for more assistance!
This list is obviously not exhaustive. However, the
Bottom Line Up Front here is, think outside of the
box in coming up with good “translations.”
11. MILITARY SPOUSE RESUME
Page 11
Lack of relevant work
experience
Inconsistent work history
Gaps in employment
Hesitation to hire someone
who may move soon
What challenges do
Military Spouses face?
A Functional
Resume is your
best bet
Highlight
volunteer
experience
Acknowledge
gaps and own
them!
Acknowledge gaps in your Cover Letter. Don’t make
excuses, just own it and the fact your family has had to
move around a lot. If your interviewer wonders why
you’ve moved so much, you can say, “My spouse’s
career. But we’re settled here now and aren’t moving.”
12. Page 12
MILITARY SPOUSE RESOURCES
BLOG ARTICLES
Military.com: 5 Outrageous Mistakes MilSpouses
Make on Resumes
SpouseBuzz.com: 9 Ways to Get Hired Now,
Military Spouse
MilitaryBenefits.info: Tailoring Your Resume Tips
for Military Spouses
Houston Chronicle: How to Explain Gaps in
Employment with a Military Spouse
PROGRAMS White House Joining Forces Program
US Chamber of Commerce Foundation Career
Spark Program
Blue Star Families Career Center
Military OneSource Military Spouse Employment
Partnership Career Portal
Military Child Education Coalition
For more career resources, check out the Career
tab on your mySNHU webpage! We have tons of
webinars, access to online tools, and templates!
13. TRANSITION RESOURCES
Page 13
If you are need of mental health services, please
contact the Veterans Administration Crisis Line
(1.800.273.8255).
•Find free mental health counseling through Give An Hour.
Translate your Military experience with these Military
and Skills Translators.
•The American Legion has many resources through their Veterans’
Education Center and Career Center.
Connect with Veteran friendly orgs at veteran job fairs,
through this list of Military Friendly companies, or on
these websites: Vet Jobs, Feds Hire Vets, Military Hire, GI
Jobs, and Hire Heroes USA.
The VA Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business
Utilization helps Vets who own small businesses
participate in the federal procurement system.
Don’t forget you can also always contact your
Military Career Advisor at COCEcareer@snhu.edu
or call us at (888) 672-1458!
