Resume Assistance

Resume Purpose

A good resume summarizes your accomplishments, your education, your work experience, and should reflect your strengths in a concise, coherent manner. Through your resume, you typically have about 30 seconds to convince a potential employer that you warrant an interview. A resume will not get you a job. It is intended to provide a professional summary of your skills, education and experience. Think of your resume as a "business card" or the "highlights" of your professional achievements. Your resume serves as a topic outline for an in-person interview; guides the conversation to the points you want to stress about your background. Because of this, you do not need to include all of the information about your background on your resume. Your resume is, simply, a snapshot of your accomplishments, education and work experience. Think of it as a way to give the interviewer information to ask questions about; from there you can expand on the information.

Resume Preparation & Guidelines

Here are some key points to keep in mind as you develop your resume:

  • Do not include an objective statement. Space is limited so use it wisely. We won't present your resume to any position that you are not qualified for, or haven't expressed an interest in.
  • Include a summary. A summary is a well written concise paragraph that focuses the reader's attention on your most important qualities, achievements, and abilities.
  • Keep resume length to one page (if you cannot get all of it onto one page, go to two pages, but NEVER more than two pages).
  • When you are selecting a font for your resume, the font size should be between 10 and 12 to allow for readability (don't make section headers bigger.) Your name (which should be placed at the top of your resume) can be slightly larger.
  • Use a font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri. Black is the only acceptable font color.
  • Do not be afraid to change the margins. This will often adjust the information to fit far better on the page (do not make the margins smaller than 0.5)
  • The information listed (specifically experience and education) should be in reverse chronologic order (the most recent first).
  • Set off your accomplishments and work experience in a "bullet" format.
  • Your accomplishments should be quantifiable and each accomplishment should be supported with tangible results. For example: "Achieved a 98% completion rate, 13% above normal." Use your evaluations to find some great accomplishment bullet points.
  • Never use pronouns such as: I, me, my, our. Never speak in the first person.
  • List GPA only if it is 3.0 or higher.
  • Personal information is not information for a resume (age, health, marital status, etc.).
  • No need to put "References Supplied Upon Request" or include reference at the end of your resume. Of course you will supply outstanding references when requested.
  • Spelling and grammar on your resume must be correct and consistent. Double and triple-check to make sure you have no grammatical or punctuation errors. Triple Check Spelling!
  • Do not use military jargon. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms. Write your resume so any reader will understand what you are trying to convey.
  • Your email address should be professional. For example, JohnSmith@email.com. Not, harleydude@email.com.
  • Check the tense. If you are listing information about a past position, it should all be in past tense. Additionally, if you are listing information about a present position, it should all be in present tense.
  • Should be formatted consistently in use of italics, spacing, capital letters, bullets, boldface, and underlining.
  • There should not be any date gaps on your resume. You need to adequately cover all time periods specified on your resume.
  • Pictures or icons are not acceptable on professional resumes.
  • Resume paper should be a neutral color, preferably white or off-white.
  • Do not use text boxes when formatting your resume. Use a standard MS Word document.
  • Remove any hyperlinks on your resume (ex. when your email address shows up blue and underlined, right click and select "remove hyperlink")
  • Make sure you can backup what you include on your resume.

Chronological Resumes

You should typically use a chronological resume if your professional experience and your professional timeline are relatively easy to follow. This format lists your professional experience in reverse chronological order, so a potential interviewer, military or non-military, can easily follow your professional timeline and get a good overall understanding of what you are quali?ed to do in a very short period of time. The sample chronological resume format in this section should serve as an excellent starting point when developing your own chronological resume.

Sample Chronological Resumes

We invite you to browse the samples below and download the sample that is closest to your background. Personalize it with your own experience and send to your Recruiter for review.

Electrical Operator / Technician
Mechanical Operator / Technician
Electronic Technician

Skills Based / Combination Resume

You should typically use a skill based / combination resume if you have more than 15 years of professional experience. You may also want to consider this style if you have a very diverse professional background and are trying to tailor your resume for a specific industry or position. This format starts with a professional summary and highlights of key professional attributes that you want to emphasize. The skill based / combination format allows a potential interviewer to view your background in an easy to read format that emphasizes the skill sets that you are trying to convey. The sample format below should serve as an excellent starting point when developing your own skill based / combination style resume.

Key points for a skill based / combination resume:

We invite you to browse the samples below and download the sample that is closest to your background. Personalize it with your own experience and send to your Recruiter for review.

  • Ensure your summary paragraph accurately outlines your professional experience.
  • Carefully select the three to four skills that you will list and detail the achievements that support each skill. Highlight those skills that are most relevant to the employers that you will be targeting. The first skill set listed should be your strongest and the one that you want to emphasize the most.
  • Your achievements supporting each skill set should be specific, concise and quantifiable where possible.
  • Your Employment Chronology section should not contain any gaps in your timeline.

Sample Skills Based / Combination Resume

If you would like to use a Skills Based / Combination Resume, feel free to download this sample, personalize it with your own experience and send to your Recruiter for review.

Action Verbs for Resumes

Refer to this list for suggestions of strong, action verbs to use in your Resume.

  • ACCOMPLISHED

    ACHIEVED

    ACQUIRED

    ACTIVATED

    ADAPTED

    ADJUSTED

    ADMINISTERED

    ADVERTISED

    ADVISED

    ALLOCATED

    ANALYZED

    APPLIED

    APPROVED

    ARRANGED

    ASSEMBLED

    ASSISTED

    BALANCED

    BOUGHT

    BUDGETED

    BUILT

    CALCULATED

    CATALOGUED

    CHAIRED

    CHANGED

    CHECKED

    CLEANED

    COLLABORAED

    COMPLIED

    COMPLETED

    COMPOSED

    COMPUTED

    CONCEIVED

    CONCEPTUALIZED

    CONCILIATED

    CONDENSED

    CONDUCTED

    CONSTRUCTED

    CONSULTED

    CONSUMED

    CONTRACTED

    CONTROLLED

    COORDINATED

    CORRECTED

    COUNSELED

    CREATED

    DECIDED

    DEFINED

    DELEGATED

  • DETERMINED

    DEVISED

    DIRECTED

    DISTRIBUTED

    DROVE

    DUPLICATED

    EDITED

    EDUCATED

    EFFECTED

    ENLARGED

    ENLISTED

    ENSURED

    EQUIPPED

    ESTABLISHED

    EVALUATED

    EXAMINED

    EXECUTED

    EXHIBITED

    EXPANDED

    EXPEDITED

    EXPLAINED

    FABRICATED

    FACILITATED

    FAMILIARIZED

    FED

    FINALIZED

    FINANCED

    FORMULATED

    FORWARDED

    GENERATED

    GOVERNED

    GRANTED

    GUARANTEED

    GUIDED

    HANDLED

    HEADED

    HELPED

    HIRED

    IDENTIFIED

    ILLUSTRATED

    IMPLEMENTED

    IMPROVED

    INCREASED

    INDEXED

    INDOCTRINATED

    INFLUENCED

    INFORMED

    INITIATED

  • INSTALLED

    INSTITUTED

    INSTRUCTED

    INSTRUMENTED

    INTEGRATED

    INTERPRUTED

    INTERVIEWED

    INTRODUCED

    INVENTED

    INVESTIGATED

    LECTURED

    LED

    LOCATED

    MAINTAINED

    MANAGED

    MANIPULATED

    MARKETED

    MEASURED

    MINIMIZED

    MODERNIZED

    MODIFIED

    MONITORED

    MOTIVATED

    NEGOTIATED

    NOTIFIED

    OBSERVED

    OBTAINED

    OPERATED

    ORGANIZED

    OVERHAULED

    OVERSAW

    PACKED

    PATROLLED

    PERSUADED

    PHOTOCOPIED

    PLANNED

    PREPARED

    PRESENTED

    PRESIDED

    PROCESSED

    PRODUCED

    PROGRAMMED

    PROMOTED

    PROPOSED

    PUBLICIZED

    PUBLISHED

    PURCHASED

    QUANTIFIED

  • RECOMMENDED

    RECORDED

    RECRUITED

    REDUCED

    REFINED

    RELATED

    REORGANIZED

    REPORTED

    REPRESENTED

    RESEARCHED

    RESOLVED

    RESPONDED

    RESTORED

    RESTRUCTURED

    RETRIEVED

    REVIEWED

    REVISED

    SCHEDULED

    SELECTED

    SERVED

    SET UP

    SHIPPED

    SOLD

    SOLVED

    SORTED

    SPECIFIED

    STAFFED

    STANDARDIZED

    STARTED

    STRENGTHENED

    STRUCTURED

    STUDIED

    SUPERVISED

    SUPPLIED

    SUPPORTED

    SURVEYED

    SYNTHESIZED

    TAUGHT

    TRACKED

    TRAINED

    TRANSFERRED

    TRANSLATED

    TRANSMITTED

    TRANSPORTED

    TYPED

    UPDATED

    UPGRADED

    USED

Chronological Resume Worksheet

Many transitioning service members struggle with where to begin developing their resume. It really can be as simple as the worksheet below. Start by filling in the basic items. With the help of the Orion Recruiting Team, we can take this basic information and develop a solid resume.

While completing this worksheet, pay special attention to the accomplishments. Most candidates reiterate responsibilities in this area. What will truly make you stand out in the market will be a track record of performance supported by consistent accomplishments in every billet.

Read through your evaluations for the following:

  • Rankings, especially those against your peers or peer units. If you can consistently show you were rated in the top 25% or better, these are strong numbers to show.
  • Quantifiable numbers, such as maintenance readiness rates, or unit evaluation scores. While the reader may not understand what deployment readiness means, they will definitely understand concrete numbers such as "98% readiness rate, highest in the unit."
  • Outstanding comments from evaluators can also be strong accomplishments to list, even if a number is not attached.
  • Try to show where you have improved a process, saved time or money, or overcame obstacles to achieve success.

Once you have completed this worksheet, either scan or utilize our downloadable sample resume, type up a rough draft and send to a recruiter for review and further development.

Chronological Resume Development Worksheet

Resume Changes

Resumes are living documents that change on a regular basis, especially with the highly opinionated nature of the topic. Make sure that you practice solid file management. If you make changes to your resume, please send us an update so that we are using the most current document.

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