Stop the Operations Manager and Project Manager titles! Yes, I am cutting to the chase. Just because you worked in an S3 shop in an artillery unit, it doesn’t make you a distribution center operations manager. Because you ran mechanized infantry and heavy armored training exercises (from planning to execution), that does not make you an IT Project Manager. These are generic titles that are causing you to get lost in the crowd. They are the safe play, you are running the draw on 3rd and 20…and so what if you pick up 15 meaningless rushing yards?
Now, there is no one way to do it. Each industry is different, companies are different, and so on. Your title should capture the audience and/or explain, in general, what you did in that position. Heck, even my current position technically is Lead Materials Planning and Execution Specialist. Now I run material production control, which manufacturing folks know. I also manage relationships with suppliers, vendors and customers. I also plan and coordinate material flow. Depending on what I am applying for, I will change my title to reflect one of these three roles or possibly some others. Then I support that with my resume bullets. You need to do the same for your military job titles based on your experience and what you are applying for (which takes backward planning and know what you are going after, rather than the “this is who I am, someone give me a chance approach,” that many transitioning service members do). There is no problem leaving these titles on your master resume, but if you are applying to a vast variety of jobs with your master resume, that poses a whole different topic and problem. So back to your title. This also is going to reflect your brand on social media, specifically on LinkedIn. Not only do you have your role and titles in your experience, but you have your personal “headline” title. Now, I am currently most interested in customer support via the supply chain; moving to the front end of the supply chain and eventually the business (out of the supply chain into account management- ie. a sales function). Therefore, my linked in headline reflects as such. Sure, I may miss out on the one in a million program manager opportunity that may be a mutual fit, but only if I am waiting for it to come to me (instead of separately searching that out). The point is, I have done my research and although I managed military programs, I am not a manufacturing program manager. I rather put my eggs in a basket in which I have a legitimate shot at and that I have interest in! When you put Operations or Project Manager as your headline, be prepared to field questions about roles and positions that you are not interested in or qualified for, or even worse, have people gloss over you because you are just another military project manager, because perhaps they feel you are not qualified to run projects in that company/industry just because you ran projects in the military. Get out of this mindset you are operations manager or project manager. That is part of who you are, but not all of it. Let me ask you which title tells you more? Brigade Aviation Officer or Director of Integrated Air and Ground Operations. Now I am not saying that is the best title by any stretch, but to a civilian, Brigade Aviation Officer means nothing. Now, director means I am responsible of large portion of the business, and although my job was purely influential leadership, I was responsible for the skies above and everything in it for a 3000-person unit. Integrated air and ground were key words I selected because I believe it focuses on the strategy of integrating separate operations to work in coordination; it shows cross functional leadership. You know what you know and you believe in all the things TAP presents to you, but the only way to learn this play on words (it gets easier after the transition) is by conducting informational interviews and learning what people, roles, titles, companies, and industries do and how they are organized. So please take the time to focus on your resume titles. You can learn a lot from my podcast interview with Scott Vedder, author of “Signs of a Great Resume.” (https://anchor.fm/viewfromtheskies/episodes/Writing-Great-Resumes-with-Scott-Vedder-Best-Selling-Author-of-Signs-of-a-Great-Resume-e9u0j0). While this may not become the be all end all, it is important. As someone who sits on the other side of the table now, I find myself not knowing what you did in the military and also not knowing how it fits into the civilian sector when reviewing resumes. Take the time to do some research and come up with a title that sells what you did and how it fits into the industry you are applying for…This will be your personal brand and will help the civilian sitting across you understand. After all, you are the one percenter, not them, so keep control of the ball and drive down the field for that touchdown!
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