For Veterans
Angelo State University has partnered with Purepost. Purepost enables any student Veteran to understand and articulate their military career in private sector terminology, while gaining guidance and assistance from the ASU Career Development office.
-
Resume Writing
- The most common type of resume is chronological with the most recent job experience at the top followed by all previous places of employment. This type of resume is not always the most effective for veterans, especially if you are entering a new career field.
- When beginning a new career, a functional resume might better demonstrate your skills to an employer. Rather than emphasizing previous job positions, a functional resume emphasizes categories of skills(e.g. Leadership, Communication, and Management).This allows you to market entire groups of skills, regardless of where you developed them.
Acronyms: Spell them out and consider simplifying them
Example: Use the word “Base” rather than “FOB” or “AFB”
Use “Non-Commissioned Officer” or “Supervisor” rather than “NCO”
• Occupational Designator: State your job title rather than the MOS/MOC designator
Examples: Use “Infantry Squad Leader” rather than“11B”
Use “Aircraft Load master” or “Cargo Manager” rather than “1A2X1”
• Technical terms: Put them into the simplest possible terms
Example: Use “Military Helicopter” rather than“AH-64”
Use “Operations Department” rather than “S3”- Create a section called “Additional Education and Training” and list the schools you attended, where they were, and the length of the course. If the name of school is not self-explanatory, describe the program. Also,state why that experience was valuable and any accomplishments you achieved.
- Example:
Warrior Leadership Course,Fort Bliss,TX | February 2012
- Two-week course that used experiential learning to teach valuable skills in leadership,teamwork,and critical thinking
- Recognized as “Soldier Leader of the Class” for outstanding physical and academic performance
Serving in the military gives you many great experiences and skills. But which ones are useful to employers?
Here are some skills common to veterans that would be valuable in any job position:
• Leading
• Motivating
• Critical Thinking
• Communicating
• Adapting
• Working under pressure
• Training
• Organizing
• Working in team
• Facilitating
• Inspecting
• Decision making
• Planning
• Supervising
• Multi-tasking
• Improvising
• Evaluating
• ManagingProvide specific statements of how you used these skills, why you used them, and for whom.
For example:
- Trained over 20 soldiers in first aid techniques, which facilitated deployment readiness for the unit
- Used critical thinking skills on a daily basis to ensure communications equipment functioned properly
- Worked on a diverse team of five people for three years,succeeding through stressful work conditions
Angelo State University has partnered with Purepost. Purepost enables any student Veteran to understand and articulate their military career in private sector terminology, while gaining guidance and assistance from the ASU Career Development office.
-
Job Search Resources
Discover Criminal Justice: This website compiled a list of 101 criminal justice job resources.
Military to Civilian Occupation Translator: This tool helps service members match military skills and experience to civilian occupations.
Military Crosswalk Search: This tool searches codes or titles from the Military Occupational Classification (MOC) to find potentially equivalent civilian titles or occupations.
RecruitMilitary: This website helps veterans reach their goals, whether in education, careers, business ownership or professional development training.
Texas Veterans Commission: This group helps match veteran job seekers with the best employment opportunities available.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Program: Some veterans may be eligible for employment if they meet the criteria listed on this website.
Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS): This organization offers support, advice and resources for job-seeking veterans.
Zety Career Tool Box: Zety is a career site fueled by some of the best career experts and a community of 40 million readers a year.
-
Jobs & Networking
Hiring Veterans
G.I. Jobs: This website contains job hunting tips and a list of veteran-friendly employers.
Networking
While on the job hunt, it often helps to have the right connections. Contacting these veterans organizations in our area may help you get one step closer to your next job.