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I am considering taking an early separation from the Air Force (my career field is critically over manned and going through a lot of changes), and would like to get my resume straightened out and in the hands of numerous potentially new employers.

Does anyone have any online resources to aid in writing your resume?
Are any of you in the position of hiring new personnel and have some tips?

Thanks!

From my experience, a resume is the easy part.  Much more powerful is to put together a portfolio of your work, code samples and things of that nature.  Build up your network of contacts.  Build up your online presence.  If you are an X developer than make yourself a well known and valuable presence in the X community.  People want to know what you are capable of and a resume does nothing for showing that off.  If you have all of the above taken care of, you may never again have to submit a resume to anyone. 

Of course that also depends on your situation.  A lot of employers have that HR gatekeeper where you cannot get past without papers.  Those papers include a cover letter, resume, degree, certifications and things like that.  Still, you should have the goods to back yourself up.

One way to create a decent and quick resume might be to go to linkedIn and create a full profile.  You can then export that profile as a PDF.  You can then take that info and layout and modify it a bit for the job you are seeking.  Keep all your information relevant to the job you are looking for.  Keep it relatively short and to the point.  Every piece of information should serve a purpose other than wasting the time of the person reading it.

Create a general cover letter and change it as necessary to relate your skills to the needs and wants of potential employers. Before sending out cover letters, do a bit or research on the web about each potential employer. Try to learn their user audience and point out pertinent skills that might be useful to each potential employer.

Personally, I like resumes that include a short concise summary of skills, including the languages you know, communication skills, complimentary skills, etc. Management and supervisory skills are valuable assets. Ancilliary skills like technical writing and spoken languages are often considered by employers. This should be followed by your resume. Human resource managers usually have to read many resumes on a routine basis. Try to catch their attention in your summary. With a summary, you really don’t have to worry about resume length. If you can capture their attention, the resume will more than likely be passed on to the actual managers who handle the relevant interviews. Include an email address and url on your resume.

Your personal site should reflect your skills and show off your expertise. You can use it as an online portfolio. Consider adding some case studies to discuss different projects you have worked on in the past. You can make a pdf of your resume available online for download, but also consider that you can be more creative with a special resume created especially for your site. The history area of your resume could include links to case studies or more detailed content about your track record.

Don’t discount your armed forces skills. There are many military suppliers and government agencies who look for personnel with a military background. If you have security clearances, identify these on your resume.

The web has changed the world immensely over the past decade. Post your resumes globally on job hunting sites. I work with people on a daily basis whom I have never met personally. We work together via email or using other forms of communication. Many companies in different locales are outsourcing work to other locales for economic reasons.

If you need to present your portfolio in a more personal nature, possibly for privacy or security reasons, you might consider making a CD or DVD. It is possible to run PHP, Apache, and MySQL from a CD or DVD.

A few months before leaving the service, you might consider mass mailing your resume to local employers. In fact, you might consider doing this on a periodic basic if you are considering a life of contracting for others.

Although CV’s are important, i think that the interview will lead to the expected job.
Would recomand you to read about neuro- linguistic programming ...

I hear Blackwater is hiring :D And I know they pay well. As I mentioned on your blog I too am a former Armed Forces member… 2 months after our contract ended a few of my peers went to work for Blackwater and one of them keeps telling me that they are actively recruiting former members with IT skills.

I dont know you reasons for leaving the force, but if its pay and lack of challenge….