How to Include Metrics in Military to Civilian Resumes

Resumes

Nov 28

**Written By:** **Kelly Foy, CPRW, CVCS**

Corporate America loves metrics because, as renowned management consultant Peter Drucker said, "What gets measured gets managed." Yet, in today's daunting job market, capturing recruiters’ and hiring managers’ attention is challenging.

Merely listing dates, titles, and roles will do little to impress prospective employers who prefer seeing qualifications, work history, and achievements laid out in concise formats that showcase results, conveying your value and impact.

How can you effectively recount your contributions while illustrating your value proposition to future employers?

Brand Yourself as Someone who Gets it Done

Employers hire people they believe will effectively manage and get it done, and providing quantifiable results is the best way to show your capacity to deliver on commitments and achieve targets.

Vague statements like "improved revenue" or "cut costs" don't pack the same punch as quantitative achievements like "increased revenue by $550K" or "slashed $86K in payroll expenses.”

But employers will ask, “How did you increase sales, cut costs, and grow revenue, profitability, and accounts?”

Dazzle Them with Depth, Detail, and Dynamics

Providing context and describing the methodologies, strategies, and technologies you harnessed to achieve goals will help establish credibility and elevate your resume to the top of employers’ candidate pipelines.

Therefore, instead of “increased revenue by $550K,” write “increased revenue by $550K, innovating a brand ambassador incentive program that skyrocketed referrals, resulting in the acquisition of 45 new accounts.”

And expand "slashed $86K in operating expenses" to read "slashed $86K in payroll expenses, implementing NetSuite ERP to automate and streamline cross-functional processes, which reduced overtime hours.”

Precision helps recruiters and hiring managers visualize what you can do to amplify their top and bottom lines. Adding dimension also bolsters your expertise, showcases your thought leadership, and highlights marketable skills such as enterprise resource planning, change management, systems integration, business development, and operations optimization.

Do the same techniques work for military-to-civilian candidates?

Strategize + Demilitarize + Harmonize = Military-to-Civilian Transition Success

Channeling the magic of metrics is even more necessary if you are transitioning from the military to the corporate sector. Military-to-civilian resumes pose unique challenges you must consider to craft effective branding solutions (aka resumes) that bridge gaps between the military and civilian worlds, resonating with target audiences by communicating your value and impact in terms they understand.

Strategize: Get a Frame of Reference and Determine How to Market Yourself as a Top-Caliber Candidate

Leverage Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, and other job search boards to pull several civilian job postings that align with your career objectives, then circle keywords, which tell you what employers in your targeted job markets want. You'll learn which certifications, technical proficiencies, analytical and managerial skills, traits, and experience employers prize as you analyze and compare current job postings. Themes and trends will emerge, giving you data-driven insights, you can harness to hone your competitive advantage.

After obtaining a frame of reference, gather the relevant paperwork that documents your military service (i.e., awards details, performance evaluations, SkillBridge program descriptions, certifications, and training information). Analyze the details, comparing them with the job postings and highlighting your metrics and qualitative achievements to draw parallels between your military roles and the positions you are targeting for your transition.

Demilitarize and Harmonize: Compose Metrics-Driven Achievements, Translating Military Jargon into Civilian Terms.

Transform discord into harmony by demilitarizing language and singing familiar tunes to your target audiences.

Use the examples above to compose achievements, showing what you did, where and how you achieved your objectives, and why doing so was significant – i.e., what was the issue or goal, what specific actions did you take to tackle it, which tools, techniques, and strategies did you use, and how specifically did your actions impact productivity, efficiency, profitability, accuracy, or ROI?

Here is an example that illustrates how to bring it all together.

Job Posting

XYZ Corporation, a leading cosmetics manufacturing company headquartered in Miami, seeks a results-oriented Warehouse Manager skilled at leveraging Lean Six Sigma principles and data-driven performance management to drive efficiency and productivity through optimized teamwork, operations, workflows, processes, and space utilization.

Duties:

Achieve and surpass performance objectives, leading, motivating, and training team members to drive results by defining, tracking, reporting, and elevating key performance indicators (KPIs).
Maximize safety and accountability, maintaining a clean, well-organized environment and leveraging industry standards and safety protocols while handling materials and operating equipment, including forklifts.
Minimize errors and waste through meticulous inventory management, cycle counts, audits, and recordkeeping, including documentation related to shipping, receiving, and storage of materials and products.

Qualifications:

10+ years leading and improving the performance of cross-functional teams while managing supply chain, inventory, and warehouse operations in fast-paced organizations.
Strong Microsoft Office skills and experience using Warehouse Management Systems (WMS) combined with project management expertise and technical proficiencies to facilitate upgrades, integrations, and system improvements.
Bilingual Proficiency: English and Spanish

Final Resume, Using Demilitarized Language and Metrics to Communicate Ideal Alignment:

WAREHOUSE MANAGER | PROJECT MANAGEMENT PROFESSIONAL (PMP)

Results-Oriented Operations Leader with 10+ years of experience leading and mentoring teams to optimize cross-functional warehouse, inventory, and supply chain management in fast-paced organizations spanning the manufacturing, cosmetics, technology, and military arenas.

Lean Six Sigma and Safety Guru, defining, tracking, and elevating key performance indicators (KPIs) and leveraging root cause and gap analyses to drive data-driven optimization while adhering to industry standards, safety requirements, and organization protocols to minimize risk, waste, and errors.

Bilingual IT Specialist and Accountability Champion, leveraging English and Spanish proficiency to strengthen multicultural relationships while translating complex technical concepts into digestible terms to develop and deliver transformative warehouse management system (WMS) integrations, upgrades, and improvements.

Areas of Expertise

Warehouse Management
Shipping and Receiving
Safety and Space Utilization
Inventory and Project Management
Materials Handling
Operations Optimization
System Upgrades and Integrations
Data Analytics and Reporting
Budget Allocation and Forecasting
Performance Management
Supply Chain Logistics
Lean Six Sigma Methodologies
Continuous Process Improvement
Recordkeeping and Data Governance
Industry Standards and Compliance

Professional Experience

THE UNITED STATES ARMY | Various U.S. and Global Locations | 2015 – 2023

Supply and Warehouse Manager

Rose to progressive leadership roles, leading 28 to 65-member teams of procurement, storage, distribution, and freight transportation specialists. Secured assets and stock valued at up to $1.5B and optimized warehouse operations.

Maintained a record of 100% accountability and zero losses while ordering, handling, storing, inventorying, and transporting life-sustaining supplies (food and infrastructure materials) and hazardous, high-risk equipment and supplies. Adhered to safety protocols and local, state, federal, and international regulations.
Optimized space utilization and supply distribution, analyzing processes and KPIs to provide C-Suite leaders with actionable insights regarding proposed system, inventory, and supplier bid and proposal modifications.
Cut costs by $250K by streamlining inventory management and reducing discrepancies and waste. Leveraged cycle counts, usage data metrics, and demand and supply forecasting to accurately compute and report estimated future ordering and replacement needs. Determined stock availability and lead times for availability of funds and procurement.

ABC LOGISTICS AND WAREHOUSE MANAGEMENT SOLUTIONS | Miami, FL | 2013 – 2015

Project Manager | Technical Specialist | IT Intern – Supply Chain, Warehouse, and Inventory Systems Optimization

Promoted twice within 18 months to lead the end-to-end implementation of warehouse management software and enterprise optimization solutions for clients across the manufacturing industry.

Skyrocketed a key cosmetic client’s profitability by 42%, conducting gap and root cause analyses to identify opportunities for improvement and leveraging cycle counts, system testing, and troubleshooting to resolve implementation, integration, and upgrade issues.
Pioneered change management and system transition initiatives, innovating user-friendly standard operating procedures (SOPs), hands-on training, and comprehensive technical support programs.
Increased average efficiency KPIs by 20% and productivity KPIs by 32% while leading cross-functional teams of up to 30 members and delivering 100% of projects within scopes, budgets, and deadlines.

Technical Skills

Microsoft Office – Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Outlook, Teams, Project

Warehouse Management Systems (WMS), Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), and Inventory Management Systems, including SAP, Oracle Cloud, Microsoft Dynamics 365 Supply Chain, NetSuite, Barcode Inventory System, and CMPlus

Education and Certifications

EDF UNIVERSITY | Miami, FL

Bachelor of Business Administration, Supply Chain Management | 2015

Associate of Science, Computer Science | 2013

PROJECT MANAGEMENT INSTITUTE (PMI)

Project Management Professional (PMP) Certification | 2023

NATIONAL FORKLIFT FOUNDATION (NFF)

OSHA Forklift Certification and Online Training | 2013 – Present

Analyzing the examples above will help civilian as well as military-to-civilian candidates conquer the competition. The secret lies in polishing and persuasively communicating your brand: the one-of-a-kind blend of skills, attributes, and accomplishments that differentiate you from your peers, amplifying your value and positioning you as the top contender for your targeted roles.

As you draw connections between targeted job postings and your background and qualifications, you'll learn to transform bland resumes into winning branding solutions that score interviews and jobs.

How to Include Metrics in Resumes Recommended Reading

Resume Writing: The Definitive Guide

ChatGPT Resume Prompts

Resume Cliches and Buzzwords to Avoid

Contributor: Kelly is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and a Certified Veteran Career Strategist (CVCS). With over two decades of experience steering the ships of C-Suite executives and spearheading human resource functions, she now write resumes for military and first responders transitioning into private industry. You can work with Kelly through Optim’s Resume Writer Partnership.