Looking for a Job...

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Brian04 @ Jul 14 2007, 02:11 AM) [snapback]478549[/snapback]</div>

That's not my resume. It's jmp470's resume. He set up the format. I edited as per my post which are reflected in the document. The doc shows the edits which he can then accept or discard.

I usually use pdfs myself.

 

To everyone,
Thank you for your comments! As for staying in for 5 years. I have 10 years for retirement and 14 years for pay, meaning I would have to do another 10 years before I could retire. I know this is not a very long time, however, when you wake up thinking why am I doing this, why do it??? I've been in the military since I was 17 and want to see what else is out there!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jmp470 @ Jul 16 2007, 12:04 PM) [snapback]479622[/snapback]</div>

Its a big change, leaving the military life. I know alot that become police officers, others go to work in the private sector.. most feel sorry after the fact, that they didn't stay in until retirement.. and then pursue other things. 10 yrs will fly by..

I have Sgt.s & Lt's that have retired from the military only to work for an agency while collecting their retirement checks and they live quite well...

You should take time to think deeply on the matter, our ideas are not going to pay your bills, nor are we going to take you under our wing, until you get back on your feet..

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jmp470 @ Jul 16 2007, 09:04 AM) [snapback]479622[/snapback]</div>

So are you saying you have "broken" service? I'm guessing you have 14 years TOWARD retirement pay, but have 10 continuous years of service. Did you get out after an initial four year tour and then rejoin? AKA "broken service."

If that is the case, you are then looking at a retirement pay of 70% and the chance to move up a couple of more pay grades. All of that means a much larger retirement pay. And of course, rank has its privilege during those ten years.

Best words of advice I ever received while in the military. (From a Navy Master Chief) "I have never met a military retiree who wished they would have quit after 10 years service, but before they retired. I know many civilians who did and now regret making such a stupid mistake."

What are you looking at? A retirement with medical coverage at age 42/43?
I bet if you asked a bunch of civilians if they would put up with a crappy job for ten years and earn the retirement you are looking at giving up, the vast majority would gladly take your place.

I would . . . but I AM retired military . . . so no thanks.
But . . . it really does go by fast, especially if you make the next advancements in rank.

 

I understand the military's retirement is amazing, but what I'm experiencing is everything is safe. I know this is a quality everyone loves, but it is something I've always had. It's like my entire life is planed out for me. I know my fiancée and I will have a child in 2 years, I got accepted back to Cornell for my masters, or I could get a double masters with the military, then I will become a MAJ and do the same exact job I'm doing now. (Literally, I'm a CPT and I'm working in a senior Maj slot). I entered as an enlisted man, paid for school (while in the Army but I was working with another agency [hence my time doesn't count for retirement, but it does for pay]. And when I'm 42 I could retire and find another job in the civilian sector. Trust me I get this all the time from my boss's and peers.

But there are 2 quote's by Theodore Roosevelt that tell me I should do something different:

"Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure... than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.â€

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly ... but who does actually strive to do the deed; who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly. So that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.â€

With these quotes: My dream is to open up an independent living community for the elderly, where I could focus on giving back for what I have gotten! I would try to open up the 1st GREEN community (at least I haven't found one yet). Once established I would then push for my second part dream. To open up an extreme camp for overweight children, with a focus on mental and physical development.

As stupid as all this sounds... I know what I have and I know what I want. Now getting there is something I haven’t got a clue about. But that’s what happens when you pave your own path versus follow in the footsteps of great men.

 

I'm not sure that the centered format is working for you; I'd go all flush left instead. Right now you're bouncing back and forth between the two.

Consider using a sans serif font for subheads and setting smaller type/body copy in a serif face.

Think of designing it so that there's a clear hierarchy of information. If I've never seen this sheet of paper, where do you want my eye to go first? It's more involved than "the top left corner."

You might also take a look at some of the resume templates out there, just to see other design options.

And, yes, keep it shorter. This could indeed fit on one page.

Also, setting blocks of type in italicized type is a way to ensure that they *won't* be read; get rid of that content or bullet point it.

Finally, at the top, put the position which you're going for, not what you are/were now/last. I found that a bit confusing.

And, don't forget that if your potential employer is going to scan it, certain fonts and designs don't scan well and may actually inhibit your chances...simply 'cause the scanner couldn't read your resume in the first place.

You might also consider saving it as an Acrobat PDF instead.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jmp470 @ Jul 18 2007, 11:52 AM) [snapback]480963[/snapback]</div>

I'm misquoting now, but, not all men are meant to walk the well trodden road; some go where few others have gone before, and leave a path for others to follow...

Whomever wrote that originally said it much better than I, but you get the idea.

GO FOR IT!!!

 

How's the job market in SF?? I went there not to long ago and loved it

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jmp470 @ Jul 18 2007, 11:05 PM) [snapback]481389[/snapback]</div>

I have no idea what that job market is, but check out the most expensive cities to live in. A lot of them are in California. I think San Francisco was one of them along with L.A.(7) and San Diego (5).

For what you want to do I don't think you want a big city anyway.

Here's a cost of living index you might want to look at.

 

Don't count on the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence either. I know the whole "Dream Big - Achieve Big" is really fun at night when you're trying to think about what is the cause of that big hole in your soul. I seriously doubt you'll find the answer in striking out for big things elsewhere. You quit your current thing, have about a month of "Wow, I'm really doing it, this is great" and about 4 months after that you have a realization that this big dream achievement comes with a lot of problems and roadblocks and is it really worth it?

This kind of thing happens to so many people in so many ways. If I could just divorce her, I could marry her and then blah blah blah... 5 years down the road two marriages are a wreck, your current one and the woman you are sharing your kids with on weekends.

A friend of mine (no eductation) rose up through the ranks of a small company and recently quit as president of a 120 person 10 million a year company... He just got tired of doing the president thing and decided the grass was greener if he could just be one of those guys who goes to work at 9, has a task list, does it... goes home at 5 and doesn't have to decide on stuff or be responsible for so much. My advice to him was to keep the presidency, hire an assistant to do whatever it is that's keeping you so bogged down and if you need to move, open a branch where you want to be and run it from there.

Anyhow, he's working on his resume now and I hope he can get a good job where he's at.. but.. I seriously doubt he'll get a job that pays the salary that his lifestyle is used to enjoying. (no mention of giving that up by the way).

Sometimes in life, some people have a very natural, very good opportunity to walk into. If you have that, then go for it. If you quit the current gig and end up working the floor at Home Depot while you are working on getting the dream together, I'd suggest you will end up 10 years down the road without the dream, without the retirement and without much to show for your time at the big box and you'll quickly hate your new big box life.

Good luck with whichever route you head down. It's very fluffy for everyone to tell you to chase your dream. I'd tell you to make sure that's solid and achievable before making the jump.

 

Sorry about the delay. I had a job explosion, and just found out I'm teaching in Sensei's place for two weeks. One thing I immediately noticed is your security clearance. Have you looked into DARPA and DHS funded research facilities? Seems like you would have a real advantage over others in that sort of field, as your background and clearance put you ahead. Just a thought.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(FiftyOneMPG @ Jul 19 2007, 09:01 AM) [snapback]481557[/snapback]</div>

I agree, the decision has to be well-considered and have reasonable odds for success.

But...

We're here to fulfill our purpose/fate/destiny on Earth. I think it's wrong to limit oneself by always reverting to the surest thing/most practical alternative. Heck, society does this enough for us already, with concerns of job lock and not losing our health insurance...

If work isn't fulfilling and satisfying, and doesn't create opportunities for us to contribute our personal strengths, it'll become a burden of increasing weight that, eventually, even the stoutest shoulders will be unable to bear.

We'll also probably not do that well when it comes to evaluation time.

In any case, I don't think it's 'fluffy' to encourage achievement, and expand one's horizons. It's also not Liberal, either.

What, I'm suggesting is that, since we spend so much time at work, it's worthwhile to really examine what we need to take away from the experience (in addition to the paycheck), so what we do for a living makes sense for each of us.