By its own admission, the federal hiring process can be tricky. The advertisement for this hiring event asks, “Have you explored opportunities to work for the Federal government, but were overwhelmed by the application process?” Fortunately, there is a team of experts that can help. For professional assistance all of your military resume and federal resume needs, contact Military Resumes.

In the course of these many job fairs, the CivilianJobs.com team has accumulated these top tips to help military job seekers have success at these type of events:

1. Have your elevator speech ready – When attending military job fairs, transitioning service members should have not only a resume prepared but also their elevator speech ready. You’ve got only a few minutes to make a good first impression. The first thing a recruiter will ask is, “Tell me about yourself”, so be prepared with a two to three minute speech that answers this question. You’ll need to practice it a number of times, out loud, so that it sounds natural and confident.
2. Take off the blinders – Most transitioning service members who attend military job fairs will only visit the booths of companies that they are familiar with. By focusing on these large companies, a candidate can limit themselves from discovering the perfect job. Many job seekers tend to visit the companies that they know, but the perfect opportunity might be with a company you’ve never heard of. To really make the most out of military job fairs, visit each booth and talk with every recruiter.
3. Do your homework – Before a transitioning service member attends a job fair, they should spend some time researching the exhibiting companies. By knowing a little bit about the company and the job opportunities that they have available, the candidate can talk about their interest in the company and ask some relevant questions. Having an idea how your skills and experiences may fit in with a company can really help you stand out in a crowd of candidates at a military job fair.

The latest CivilianJobs.com military job fairs schedule can be found here.

The most popular job search strategy consists of throwing a resume together and “winging it.” According to Block, the average job seeker spends less than 11 hours per week “winging it”. While I highly recommend consulting a professional (such as MilitaryResumes.com) to ensure that your military resume adequately markets and conveys the value in your unique military experience, the best resume in the world won’t get you anywhere if you don’t have an effectual plan for its distribution – just as a great plan is wasted on a dismal resume.

Block outlines 10 primary job search strategies appropriate for tough economic times:

• Networking and new contact development
• Target marketing (identifying companies you want to work for)
• Internet searches / postings
• Federal jobs
• Search firms and employment agencies
• Newspaper and trade journal classified advertisements
• Job fairs
• College placement offices and alumni associations
• Workforce system / one stops (Department of Labor)
• Creative self marketing

Customize a plan for yourself that incorporates four to six strategies. If you are still in the military or currently employed elsewhere, committing 10 hours a week to a campaign is not asking too much.

If you are between jobs, you should be dedicating at least 50 hours per week to your job search. For a 50 hour week, you may spend 30% on networking, 30% on federal jobs, 20% on job fairs, 10% on search firms, and 10% on Internet searches and target marketing. These percentages may breakdown as follows:

• 15 hours spent on networking (10 new contacts referred by your network and made on your own, communicating through sites such as LinkedIn, volunteerism, etc.)
• 15 hours spent on federal jobs (determining your special hiring privileges, constructing a federal resume, researching agencies and postings, targeting your resume with the keywords appropriate to each job announcement applied for, following up, etc.)
• 10 hours spent on job fairs (researching companies in attendance and preparing your elevator speech accordingly, copying your resume, traveling, etc. (for instance, see CivilianJobs.com for a schedule of regional, military jobs fairs).
• 5 hours spent on search firms (for instance, see Bradley-Morris, Inc. (BMI)).
• 5 hours spent on Internet searches and target marketing (25 resumes submitted online, 15 unsolicited resumes submitted, follow-up calls/letters from the previous week, etc.)

For maximum results, break each weekly total into a day-by-day action plan. As Block points out, winging it is a strategy – just not an effective one.

“I ended up paying more than $400 to help find me a job and to no avail. I was now out $400 and no job. So I continued to look on my own… I received a call stating that [a company] had seen my resume on a job board and would like to come in for an interview. Well this would be the answer to my prayers… Now I love my job, I get to help people by finding them jobs after they transition and the best part of it is that the people that I find jobs do not have to end up like I did and fork out an arm and a leg to find nothing. Check out veteran job boards, you have nothing to lose.” Submitted by Mrs. Sharleene Davidson. View the entire entry.

Veteran job boards are a safe and effective job search avenue, especially in a tough economy. But be weary of anyone who is willing to take your money in exchange for the promise of finding you a job. Any reputable transition assistance resources (recruiters and job boards) are free to transitioning military job seekers.

CivilianJobs.com is a company dedicated to helping introduce military-experienced job seekers to employers specifically seeking military-experienced talent. Sign up for their services and your resume will be posted on a veteran job board routinely searched by companies already sold on the value of military experience. CivilianJobs.com also hosts military job fairs in cities across the country, allowing you to sell yourself to potential employers in person. Best of all, these services won’t cost you anything.

While job boards (such as the one hosted by CivilianJobs.com) and the services of a reputable recruiting firm (such as Bradley-Morris, Inc. (BMI)) are free, your resume is one tool in your arsenal that may be worth investing in. My company, MilitaryResumes.com, offers professional resume writing services specifically tailored to the unique needs of military job seekers. Your resume can make or break a first impression… and you only get one chance to make a great first impression as it is impossible to apply for most jobs twice.  A great resume will also get you a greater rate of return on job board searches.

These are the top three reasons that MilitaryResumes.com customers point to as to why they think it was beneficial to have their resume professionally written:

1. Modesty can be a roadblock to adequately playing up one’s knowledge, skills, ability, and accomplishments.  Professional resume writers who specialize in military resume writing have the know-how to make military-experience shine.
2. Portraying military experience to a civilian audience in a meaningful, attention-grabbing way is daunting for many military-experienced job seekers.  The MilitaryResumes.com team not only consists of professional resume writers with years of specialized military resume writing experience under their belts, but is managed by a team with decades of military-to-civilian placement experience.
3. The job market is more competitive than ever. There is a glut of resumes crossing hiring managers’ desks and filling their inboxes. Our customers realize that they only have one chance to make a first impression and aren’t willing to risk that perfect opportunity by presenting a less than perfect resume.

• First compile a comprehensive list of companies represented at the event. Upon pre-registration (always pre-register), some job fair companies who specialize in military, such as CivilianJobs.com, provide you with a customized list of employers searching for candidates with your skills. Do background research on those that interest you.  Be prepared to explain how you can become an asset to a company.
• Depending on the fair and how many employers interest you, you might not have time to speak with every employer, so make “A” and “B” lists of employers to meet.
• Recruiters tend to remember the first and the last people they meet. Arrive at the job fair early while recruiters are still fresh. Conversely, as the day winds down so does the candidate pool, which frees up recruiters for individualized attention and allows you to make a lasting final impression.
• Target specific employers by focusing your resume to highlight the experience most relevant to their respective businesses. If you’re looking for more than one type of position, (like marketing and human resources), two different versions of your resume may be appropriate. Because hiring managers will leave the event with a stack of resumes, be absolutely sure that your resume stands out and will carry your hard-earned, great in-person impression forward.
• Know the dress code. Some fairs are business casual; some require interview attire. If you are unsure about what to wear, contact the fair sponsor and ask.
• Rehearse a 20 to 30 second personal introduction that allows you to sell your skills and make a good impression in a short period of time. Tailor it to each of the companies on your list to include specific information about the company and how you see yourself fitting in there.
• After the career fair, follow-up with companies that interest you. Take notes on people with whom you spoke and ask each about his or her preferred method for following up on the position. Send personalized notes to thank recruiters for their time; mention something interesting you learned about their organization; and tell them you hope to hear from them soon.