Adding Civilian Positions

What Civilian Positions should I add to my profile?

Professional profiles are about quality, not quantity. Hiring managers don't have time to read through three-four pages' worth of positions held, dating back to when you were a dog sitter in high school. Consider removing any experience that is more than a 10 years old, especially if it's not applicable to the position for which you're applying. Focus instead on experience and education that show you're relevant and up to date on the newest skills and technology. Since recruiters will spend 30 seconds or less scanning your profile or resume, they will be focused on your two most current job titles and companies, the dates associated with them, and your education. If your Civilian experience happened before your Military positions listed, you may not need to add them.

Options of things to add:

• Internships (free or paid) related to your next career
• Positions that highlight skills related to a job posting you found
• Quantify your major accomplishments and contributions for each job
• Add years of experience to the Skills tab based on the job description rather than more jobs if it goes beyond 10 years. For example: "20 years of Conflict Management"
• List only the title, name of the company and dates of employment with no bullets for a job older than 10 years if it's relevant to the job you're applying.

What to list under your job titles:

• Quantify the impact of your actions in your previous positions. Facts, figures, and numbers help to do this. For example: How many accounts did you work on? How many employees did you supervise?
• A good rule is to use the "result BY action" sentence structure whenever possible. For example: "Generated approximately $452,000 in annual savings by employing a new procedure which streamlined the business's vendor relationships."
• Find key words and terminology in the job advertisement and be sure to include them in your resume.
• Employers need to know what you've done to contribute to the growth of your department, team, and company to determine whether your strengths align with the needs and responsibilities of their company and the job opening