Family Support Center eases résumé worries

  • Published
  • By 1st Lt. Dustin Hart
  • Public Affairs
MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. --  The average employer will view a résumé for 15 to 20 seconds before moving on to another, according to Moody Family Support Center officials. 

For this reason, they said it is vital for job seekers to have a résumé that represents their skills and abilities in the best manner. 

“The résumé is your doorway to an interview,” said Sharon Register, FSC community readiness technician. “It’s your calling card to highlight your skills and show an employer what type of candidate you are.” 

To ensure Team Moody job seekers have the best résumés possible, the FSC has a variety of free resources. 

For job seekers who have enough time, the FSC provides personal assistance in crafting résumés for private-sector and government jobs. While résumés for private-sector jobs are usually limited to one or two pages, those for government work can be up to five pages and require specific information, said Sharon Thompson, FSC community readiness consultant. 

“It takes time to craft a good résumé,” she said. “We can provide people basic information and certain guidelines on the spot, but to do the best job, it takes a considerable amount of research and time.” 

Providing this type of assistance free is a great benefit to both military members and their spouses, said Ms. Thompson. Résumé assistance can cost up to $1,000 in the civilian world. 

Plus you can ensure a quality product when dealing with the FSC, she said. 

“There isn’t one way to do a résumé, so you can pay a lot of money and still not get a quality product,” she added. 

If job seekers need immediate or additional assistance, the FSC provides résumé and job guidance handouts and also offers a career-resource room with a variety of research material. 

The resource room contains research books and videos for check out that highlight different career fields. It also has Internet-capable computers allowing members to search job engines and conduct research on potential employers, said Ms. Thompson. 

In addition to helping Moody members prepare for the job-searching process, the FSC is also bringing the jobs to the base. It is scheduled to host a job fair Monday at the Moody Field Club from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., featuring local businesses. 

The FSC may also have jobs for those who can’t attend the job fair. It maintains a current job search board, as well as relationships with employer recruiting services and the Georgia Department of Labor. 

While many of the FSC’s services are geared toward separating Airmen, Ms. Register said the center also wants to help their families. 

“All of our services are available to spouses,” she said. “Plus we can educate them on the employment needs of our local area and provide guidance on how to create a transportable career.” 

Ms. Thompson said its extremely important for spouses to have careers that can transport from place to place to accommodate the Airmen’s constant transfers. In cases where employment can’t be found in an area, the FSC can also find spouses volunteer or internship opportunities to prevent gaps in their résumé’s work history. 

For more information or to make a personal appointment, call the FSC at 257-3333.



Résumé checklist

While there are numerous types of résumés and ways to prepare them, Family Support Center officials said following the below checklist can ease the process: 

- Identify your desired job and decide what type of résumé is required for the particular position (private-sector, government, etc.) 

- Research the particular job and capture any specific verbiage the employer uses to add in your résumé. 

- Craft your résumé to fit the job. Ensure your identity information is clearly visible. Collect all appropriate information on job skills, work history, education and training. 

- Edit your résumé. Résumés should contain no grammatical, spelling or punctuation errors. Private-sector résumés should be one to two pages. 

- Have someone review your résumé (either professionally or personally if time is constrained.)