"Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard."

Building off Myrna's reply, you might make your work ethic explicit: "Financed education through full-time work while a full-time student," for example. I don't recommend going into detail about a dishwashing job as it isn't relevant, but work ethic is priceless. Without it, everything else you can do is impaired.

The safe strategy is to: a) include a cover letter and b) make sure your resume can sell you on its own merits. This way, whether they read your cover letter or not, whether they insist on a cover letter or not, you get your major selling points across. There's no point to second-guessing when a little effort will…

My go-to authority for salary negotiation strategy is Jack Chapman, who literally wrote the book on the subject: http://www.salarynegotiations.com/

Thanks, Alan. Including industry-specific terminology is also a powerful strategy for showing up in search results and surviving applicant tracking system filters—assuming recruiters/employers are intelligent with their search techniques. Unfortunately that's often a generous assumption.

Buzzwords are a waste of time. However, accomplishments described with your industry's key performance indicators and metrics are very powerful. You can't go wrong speaking your audience's language and addressing the metrics they care about.

Lead with the result, THEN how you accomplished it. Usually we think in terms of A+B=C, as in "here's a situation, here's what I did, here's the outcome." That's not bad, but C=A+B, leading with the outcome, will have more impact. It prioritizes the value you delivered.

Wherever possible, show your math: describe your results and the differences you've made in terms of $, #, %. "Excellent" by itself is a cliche; showing WHY you're excellent with specific examples wins. Results trump superlatives.

P.J., one idea: briefly describe *why* your contribution was significant to the overall group's success and recognition? This could illustrate some of the valuable skills you will bring to bear for your next employer.

Many of my military clients have what they call "I Love Me binders" containing their official evaluations, training records, award narratives, etc. These are an indispensable resource for resume writing—and a career management habit civilians would be wise to emulate.

He wasn't driving a Bitchin' Camaro?

If it's comparing your resume and the job description—both user-provided—why is it limited to only a handful of job types?

You're right: the metrics for some jobs aren't as obvious as for others. But you might be able to come up with something meaningful by considering:

You're right: the metrics for some jobs aren't as obvious as for others. But you might be able to come up with something meaningful by considering:

"Surprise them by including a poster, a song you’ve written, a video, or something else made specifically for that company."

Re: corporatespeak, it's always a good idea to speak the language of your audience. Don't just pack the resume with buzzwords, though—say something meaningful about the results you've obtained. The bottom line speaks louder than jargon.

Keywords are important, but it's better to integrate them into the resume in a natural way than stuff them into one section. Even stronger: use metrics to benchmark the results you've delivered and the value you offer your next employer. Keywords + provable, valuable results = connecting the dots for the employer.

Content should drive the format. As a general rule, no more than 2 pages. Make sure your strongest qualifications appear on page 1, preferably in the top half, so they'll be read and understood in the opening seconds. This is why you use a brief introductory section up front; the rest of the resume provides supporting…

One idea: consider listing relevant course titles associated with these degree programs. This will help someone unfamiliar with an MRE, for instance, understand why it matters. Were there elements of the MRE program focused on educational administration, nonprofit organizations, etc.?

"Doing nothing wrong" isn't the same as "getting it right." No obvious mistakes is nice, but it sounds like what's missing is giving the employer a reason to call you—that's crucial.