The 7 Biggest Mistakes on Veteran Resumes (And the Fix for Each)

1. Acronyms

Fix: Spell out every acronym on first use. Better — replace it with the civilian equivalent.

2. Job titles like "SSG, U.S. Army"

Fix: Use the civilian function: "Operations Supervisor — U.S. Army."

3. No numbers

Fix: Every bullet needs a quantity: dollars, people, percent, time, volume.

4. Combat narratives

Fix: Translate to leadership and decision-making outcomes.

5. Listing every award and ribbon

Fix: Keep only the top 2 most prestigious and most relevant.

6. Two-column or graphic-heavy templates

Fix: Single column, plain text, ATS-safe.

7. The objective statement

Fix: Replace with a 3-line summary that leads with results.