Translating Your Military Experience
One of the biggest challenges I believe veterans face when leaving the service is understanding how to translate their skills and military experience to appeal to civilian employers – particularly without underselling themselves. Knowing where to look for employment, re-framing job experience void of military jargon, and even finding the time to devote energy towards anticipating the transition can all be very difficult. Nowadays, it seems veteran underemployment is a bigger deal than veteran unemployment.
Talking with veterans and preparing some of my own Sailors for their separation, the transition readiness seminars going on seem very surface when it comes to the needs of today's veterans. Additionally, I have repeatedly heard that there is a significant overlook on the power of networking – instead, the focus is on attending job fairs where veterans can meet company recruiters. This can be helpful in securing a job, however, these headhunters are trying to make quotas and fill positions. They may not always have the individual’s interests and skill sets in mind when placing them with a company. Having a successful civilian career after military service is highly dependent on fit – the individual’s skills being a good fit for the job and the job being a good fit for the individual.
One of the most effective things you can do to help find a good fit, which I am reiterating from a previous post: is to seek out mentors. Civilians really want to say "Thank you" in a way much deeper than doing so in an airport or during a holiday. If you reach out, people will respond. I personally recommend reaching out on LinkedIn. In your message, do not ask for a job. The point of mentorship is to build a learning-focused relationship. Maybe say something like, "I'm a little behind the curve, how would I get to where you are? How would I go about making up that ground a little faster? What would you tell the ‘younger you’ 5 or 10 years ago?" Formal mentors (through programs) can be great resources, however, I have found informal mentors to be the most helpful. You just have to ask. And I don't think you can have enough mentors – the more you have, the better chances you have at succeeding when you separate.
Before you reach out, make sure you have a civilian-ready resume handy. So… how do you talk about Marine Aviation, Naval Propulsion, or Army Infantry in a language that civilians can understand?
First, you need to identify what your objective is. What kind of civilian job are you considering? Where do you see yourself excelling? What would feel gratifying and fulfilling? Find something you're interested in doing and look into the professional body of knowledge that accompanies it. Think of the professional body of knowledge as the "ROE".
Next, just like writing a FITREP, evaluate your skills and experience from your work history. Use this information to draft a tight, economical, and substantial write-up to translate your experience by identifying aspects or statements in your objective’s professional body of knowledge that resemble or demonstrate your job experience.
Finally, take these write-ups and insert them into your resume, highlighting aspects that appeal to your objective’s “ROE”, and re-framing the military jargon into civilian-friendly language. Oh, and by the way, the top three or four bullets will make great talking points in an interview as well. You will be able to show the interviewer your passion and conviction when you talk about the endeavors that you were able to pull off in some very interesting resource-constrained environments.