INDIANAPOLIS—Service members exiting the military system face a unique challenge in their job search. They must translate their military experience into skills civilian employers and recruiters can understand, according to Wendy Enelow and Louise Kursmark in their new release Expert Resumes for Military-to-Civilian Transitions, Second Edition.

Writing a resume is a transitioning service member’s first step in translating his or her military positions and responsibilities into recognizable job skills. A strong, achievement-focused resume that clearly communicates his or her skills, expertise and performance record is essential in earning employers’ attention.

“Transferable skills are the foundation of every successful military-to-civilian career transition resume. Your goal is to downplay your specific employer and job titles on your resume, while highlighting your skills and core competencies as they relate to your current objectives,” say Enelow and Kursmark.

Identifying their key transferable skills, however, is problematic for many service members. To overcome this obstacle, Enelow and Kursmark offer the following advice:

· Review advertisements for positions that interest you. You can gather this information from newspapers,
professional journals and online resources. You can also talk to and network with people who are already working in your new career field and ask them to give you feedback regarding their responsibilities, challenges, opportunities and career path.

· Make a detailed list of the specific requirements for these jobs. Go through the list and highlight each of the skills in which you have some experience from your work, education or outside activities. Now you can use those skills and competencies as the foundation for your new career-transition resume.

· Remember, your entire background counts—everything you’ve ever done, from your 10-year infantry career with the U.S. Army to your six years as a volunteer for the local Special Olympics. Just think of the great skills you might have acquired in event planning, logistics, volunteer training, fundraising, media affairs, contract negotiations, and more. Those skills are just as important to include in your career-transition resume as any other skills you acquired in a paid position.

Enelow and Kursmark offer many more guidelines for military-transition resumes throughout Expert Resumes for Military-to-Civilian Transitions, Second Edition, which published this month. The book is now available at Amazon.com, all major bookstores and from the publisher (www.jist.com or 1.800.648.JIST).

Enelow and Kursmark are Master Resume Writers, Credentialed Career Masters and Certified Job and Career Transition Coaches. They are immediately available for print, online and broadcast interviews. To schedule an interview with one or both of them or to request a copy of their book, contact Selena Dehne.

JIST, America’s Career Publisher, is a division of EMC/Paradigm Publishing. As the leading publisher of job search, career and occupational information, JIST empowers today’s workforce and students to achieve long-lasting rewards in their careers.