The task of finding a job after military service can be particularly overwhelming. The economy is bad, and companies receive hundreds of resumes for one open position. So how does someone whose norm has been pulling security in Iraq or driving a Humvee in Afghanistan find a job in the "real world"?

Navigating the job market is made easier with help from employment transition coaches at the Washington National Guard's J9 Directorate Joint Service Support Center on Camp Murray. The J9 has 13 ETCs at Camp Murray along with 11 more located in satellite offices throughout the state. ETCs help transitioning servicemembers with resume building, interview skills, job hunting, training, and more.

One important piece of the employment puzzle is the professional resume, and one size does not fit all.

"You need to know your target and the job you want," said Tamie Clark, employment transition coach and resume specialist at the J9. "State, local and private companies all require a different format and focus."

Federal resumes, for instance, require templates (such as Resumix), which can't be used for other positions. Moreover, "If you don't follow the directions, your resume won't be accepted," Clark said. "And you may not even know it."

Clark and other resume specialists at the J9 work with service members, veterans and families to create effective resumes and help them find employment. They offer resume training classes, such as Tools of Resume 2010, a four-hour class offered once a month for those who are starting from scratch, overwhelmed and don't know where to start. Another class, Writing a Resume to Your Job, is more specific and geared toward individuals who have written a resume but need to align it with a specific position. It is offered as needed. ETCs also offer assistance and training one-on-one, Clark said. "We do what we need to meet the need of the individual."

But a resume will only get your foot in the door; it isn't what gets a person a job, Clark stressed. The goal is to get an interview. "I can help write a golden resume, but if they get lots of interviews and still have no job, they need help with interviewing skills," she said.  Body language, presentation, and what you know about the company are important tools. "You need to sell yourself," she said, "but not oversell."  ETCs offer coaching and assistance with all aspects of the interview process, including staging mock interviews to get feedback to help them, she said. Furthermore, ETCs work with human resource specialists in the community who have partnered with the Hire America's Heroes program to provide resume feedback and advice.

Servicemembers who do not have work experience outside of the military "tend to sell themselves short," Clark said, and "don't know how to give themselves credit for what they know and can do." The J9 ETCs can help transcribe a servicemember's experience, skills, and talents into a civilian resume and ultimately a permanent job.