How To Create Your Master Resume: A Guide For Transitioning Service Members!

So...you have a ton of experience, you KNOW you will dominate any job thrown in front of you...you don't give up! However, how in the hell do you articulate that into a resume that doesn't come off as "brash" and in a way that someone who has never been in the military can understand? Well, before Chat GPT, you had to rely on others to do this for you. Not anymore!

Walk-through Video HERE !

This article is a step by step checklist that you can use to translate every single bullet you have received while serving in the United States Military into civilian language. Follow this to a "T" and you will complete your LinkedIn experience section like a pro....and THEN have a master resume that can be printed right from your LinkedIn profile! How cool is that!

Check out the LinkedIn Masterclass series I am working on before starting this! I teach you how to create a professional LinkedIn photo, banner, headline, about section, and am currently producing the experience section video (coming soon). The entire idea is to create your BRAND. When a hiring official or recruiter views your profile you want them to understand immediately "what you are all about". This should be something that matches your why, what you have an education in, certifications, your skillset, etc. As you continue to provide....key word here VALUE to others within the niche you want to get into you will begin solidify who you are and why you should be hired!

So, let's get to it shall we!

Step 1:?Pull all of your annual performance or “appraisal” reports from the time you joined the military.?Have these ready to go in digital format with the most current one on the top!??

Step 2:?Hop on LinkedIn and create your experience section using your duty titles from each report.?NOTE:?you really only need to go back 10 years but I would still list everything so you have this information to create your master resume!?

Step 3:?Open up a word document.?Add each duty title as a heading, then copy and paste your bullets under each specific duty title.?

Step 4:?head over to Chat GPT !??

Step 5:?Starting with your most recent job, copy and paste all of your bullets into the CHAT GPT chat box, and ask it to do the following:?Please create a highly targeted, short, and concise resume summary by consolidating all of my bullets.?These are from my annual military performance report and I need these translated from military jargon to civilian language.?Please limit your response to 3 or 4 sentences MAX!?You will notice that there are quite a few acronyms.?This is what each acronym means (spell out each acronym listed in your bullets, Example:?NCOIC:?Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge).

Step 6:?Chat GPT will produce a seriously good resume summary for you that can be copied and pasted within your duty title in LinkedIn.?I would recommend saving all of this information into a separate “master resume” word document.??

Step 7:?Head back to chat GPT and conduct the following prompt with the SAME bullets:?Please write three accomplishments that showcase what I did during this time period.?Please ensure they are to the point, showcase my skills, and list all quantifiable data.?Tie my awards (if you have any) into these bullets and ensure each one is translated from military jargon, to resume format.?Place emphasis on ensuring your output displays the most strategic answer possible and tailor them to (The Civilian Equivalent of your Military Duty Title). ?If you aren’t sure what the civilian equivalent of your military duty title is, you can use the military crosswalk application on O’Net .?This will give you specific ideas of what you have experience in.?

Step 8:?Once you are happy with your accomplishments (it might take a few prompts) paste them under your LinkedIn Duty Title Summary.

The Format should look like this: (This is just an example, something clear, concise, and hard hitting). Just get the info in there for now then refer to step 16!

Duty Title

Summary

Accomplishments:

Your Resume Bullets.?

NOTE: You can view my profile HERE as an example.

Step 9:?Congrats!?You have just completed your first duty title on LinkedIn.?For the rest, just repeat this checklist until all have been completed in this format!??

Step 10:?You now have a master resume (if your profile is complete) that captures your EXACT skillset that can be printed from LinkedIn.?Once again, make sure you watch my LinkedIn Masterclass series from beginning to end and apply the concepts I teach to your profile.

NOTE:?Before you do this, make sure your about section and headline really reflect your BRAND!?What do you want to be when you grow up??Example:?Project Manager…make sure your profile reflects that!

Step 11:?A Step Further – Now that you have your master resume, you should also take this a step further and translate EVERY one of your military bullets to civilian language.??

Step 12.?Hop BACK on chat GPT.?Copy your bullet, or bullets (these can be done in bulk) and paste them into the chat box.?Make sure you have spelled out your acronyms just like you did earlier for your LinkedIn stuff.?Only this time, you are going to use THIS prompt:?Please translate these bullets from my annual military performance (or appraisal) report to civilian language.?My duty title was X, Y, Z which directly translates to X, Y, Z (based on what you learned from the military crosswalk on O’net ).?Please output in resume format and author them as if you are the best resume writer in the world!?

Step 13:?They should output really well based off of that prompt, but you will probably need to tweak them a little.?It’s easier to do this one bullet at time.?I usually say something like:?Please rephrase to ensure better clarification, more numbers, better impact, etc.?Doing this will eventually output awesomeness!??

Step 14:?Remember that “separate word doc” I talked about earlier??Add all of your translated bullets to that and label it as Military Bullets:?Translated.?Congrats!?You know have a COMPLETE history of your accomplishments that can be used for targeted resumes when applying for jobs!?

Step 15:?VERY IMPORTANT!!!?Do NOT use your master resume as the only document that you are sending to apply for numerous jobs.?EACH job has a job description and you MUST meet the requirements in which the hiring officials are looking for.?If you don’t TAILOR a TARGETED resume…. your application will end up in the trash.?So…use your tailored bullets and find jobs that match your experience.?Create a NEW resume…apply….and knock the interview out of the park!??

Step 16:?ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS have a MENTOR look over your profile!?I will have an in-depth training video on this very topic at the end of the LinkedIn Masterclass series!??