Fast Facts: How to Develop an Effective Private Sector Résumé
Your résumé is a one-page introduction to your professional experience and qualifications. But for security professionals changing from the public to the private sector, their résumés often fall flat with recruiters and HR professionals.
Even though many employers are looking beyond the résumé to get a fuller picture of job candidates—using LinkedIn, letters of recommendation, or network connections—it’s still essential to translate your work experience into terms and language that private sector hiring managers can understand, says Lida Citroën, CEO of LIDA360. She frequently works with veterans to transition to the private sector and partners with employers to help them understand and hire people with military experience. But be careful not to “corporatize” your experience so much that it doesn’t make sense to you.
“The military résumé reads differently,” Citroën says. “It’s a challenge if that military person has gone and had their résumé professionally written because sometimes that resume comes back and it’s civilianized, but it doesn't really make sense to the veteran, and they’re going to be asked to explain it. That’s a disconnect. On the other hand, if they just give forward a résumé that makes sense to them and really captures what they did in their time in uniform, then the employer doesn't really understand it because it’s military speak.”
Instead, look for a middle ground that explains the tangible impacts of public-service work in a way that anyone—regardless of whether they are in corporate, education, or another industry—could understand.
For more guidance on transitioning from the public to private sector, including specialized career maps, visit ASIS’s Military to Civilian Career Resources page.
