Target the bait to the fish you seek to catch.

That’s a bit of shore fishing wisdom I use on the Atlantic beach a block east of my house when I go fishing.

That’s because there about forty or so species within cast range, and you can only catch certain species of fish at certain times of the year.

Therefore, you have to target your bait.  And lures.  Otherwise, you’re far less likely to catch what you’re after, and you’re far more likely to catch nothing at all!  That’s why they call it “fishing” and not “catching”.

Now, I am not suggesting hiring managers are fish, but, if they see the requirements on your resume that they’re looking for, they move your resume from the large pile of resumes they have to get through before lunch in twenty four minutes to the short pile of resumes that represents those hiring candidates they’ll call for interviews.  And that’s the function of a resume.  A targeted resume.  Get an interview!

So get industry certifications and degrees that professionals in the career field your targeting to land in post-military Service, college, or sports career have.  They’ll recognize them and value them.  Heck!  They probably hold one or two themselves!

Then use the interview to “land” the job, just like you’d “land” the fish your resume correctly targeted and caught.