Military resume formatting has gotten complicated with all the applicant tracking systems flying around. Your military resume might be getting rejected before a human even sees it. Here is a 5-minute fix that could double your callback rate.
The problem? Acronyms. Military resumes are packed with them, and applicant tracking systems often reject resumes they cannot parse.
The Simple Acronym Fix
Probably should have led with this section, honestly. Open your resume right now and spell out every acronym the first time you use it. MOS becomes Military Occupational Specialty. PCS becomes Permanent Change of Station. NCO becomes Non-Commissioned Officer.
This simple change helps both software and human recruiters understand your experience immediately.
You should also replace military jargon with civilian equivalents. Instead of saying you led a platoon, say you managed a team of 40 employees. Instead of conducted reconnaissance, say performed market research or gathered competitive intelligence.
These quick changes take five minutes but can dramatically improve your response rate from civilian employers.
Leave a Reply