Forums

Hello all,

I am retiring from the Army after a 20+ yr career in Logistics. I am applying for jobs in the UN which are Program Managers in Environmentally Sustainable Transportation and Planning.  

Would you agree (or disagree) that on my CV I should put accomplishment that match the UN Job Competencies even if they weren't the core accomplishments I completed in that particular job. (ie: I managed an entire port (not relevant) and part of that was the Hazardous material management (relevant)... dont worry it is in verb-result-method format ;-)

My justification for doing this is: I am taking a step down in responsibility to get into other industry(UN) and thus much of the job's responsibilities are tasks I did while acomplishing bigger objectives; And it is the UN (big government type organization) and most of the hiring process seem to involve getting the right Key words into the resume'. 

(Once I get to interview I can show them I have skills to program manage anything.. thanks to "interview series" podcasts!)

Any thoughts on shaping a CV for jumping to another industry? (which is what most military have to do!) Thanks in advance.

-Greg

mattpalmer's picture

Your resume will definitely stand out more if your listed accomplishments match up with what the hiring manager is looking for, even if you've got "bigger" accomplishments that aren't as relevant.  I come across this all the time filtering IT resumes.  People think that having done something big is automatically going to be impressive.  However, when their big accomplishment is using a technology set that we have no call for, not only do I not respect the accomplishment because I don't know how hard it was, it also doesn't give me an idea of how well they'll do using the technologies that we do use, so they get passed over in favour of candidates who *do* demonstrate experience with what we use.

 

gregmoser's picture

Matt,

 Thanks for taking the time to respond and providing and example.  Now once I have finished navigating the 9 different web page application process of the UN, I should be all set! ;-)

Kind Regards,

 Greg