Vets can transfer training, knowledge to civilian life
Leaving the military is undoubtedly a significant change and can often feel overwhelming when thinking about how to best transfer knowledge and training for employers.
Keep in mind that almost every role in the marketplace is represented in the military, from logistics to facilities and software skills to engineering.
As a veteran transitioning to civilian life, your job is to “translate” training, qualifications, and skills to employers. Thinking as an employer helps you talk about your accomplishments in ways that hiring decision-makers understand.
For example, if you oversaw maintaining a defense vehicle or leading battalions, it would be challenging for an employer to visualize. Take some time to list the skills it took for you to help provide a thorough vehicle inspection, the record-keeping, and the problem-solving abilities you used.
Before you start a job search, first consider the message you want to send to those in the civilian workforce and how you want to be perceived. For instance, if you have been deployed on active duty as a software engineer for defense systems and your career goal is to continue in the software engineering field, use words employers can grasp when describing your training.
Take the time to understand how keywords play a significant role in summarizing your skills and conveying your value to employers. The goal of converting your military experience starts by focusing on the skills relevant to your career goals. As a veteran, you will have countless skills to offer.
In addition, keep in mind how you want to be perceived by potential employers.
Relying on military jargon to describe your experience is a big giveaway that you lack an understanding of business operations and knowledge. Instead of dwelling on your military reporting structure and ranks, translate your functions into accomplishments employers can truly visualize.
Maintaining tanks and leading battalions will be difficult for an employer to imagine in the workplace. Talking about how well you maintain the tanks requires skills that an employer can identify with, such as organization, being detail-oriented, time management, and communication skills.
Veterans especially need to take the time to translate their accomplishments for the civilian marketplace, just as though they were traveling to a foreign country in learning how to relate to their customs and business culture.
There are several online tools available to veterans to relate their military knowledge and training to civilian life.
The Veteran and Military Transition Center, www.careeronestop.org, is a one-stop website for employment, training, and financial help after military service and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Another website sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor for veterans is www.onetonline.org/crosswalk/ MOC/ and is the nation’s primary occupational information source. For veterans needing help transitioning their skills into the workforce, both tools are valuable sources of knowledge and can make your job search more effective.