Best ways to highlight military skills for a civilian job?

I'm considering joining the military, but I'm also thinking ahead to when I might apply for a civilian job. How should I present my military skills on a resume or during interviews to make the most impact?

Highlighting your military skills for a civilian job is a critical part of transitioning from military to civilian life. Here are some tips on how to effectively present your military skills:

1. Translate Military Jargon: Remove all military-specific lingo from your resume. Not everyone in the civilian world will understand military terms, abbreviations, or codes. Convert your army skills into equivalent civilian skills. For example, "battle drill" can be translated into "emergency response drill," while "hand-to-hand combat training" can be translated into "self-defense training."

2. Highlight Soft Skills: The military instills a range of valuable soft skills, including discipline, teamwork, adaptability, and leadership. Make sure to highlight these in your resume and during interviews. For example, you could say, "In the military, I was responsible for leading a team of ten, which has developed my leadership and team-building skills."

3. Draw Attention to Relevant Hard Skills: Certain military training may equip you with hard skills that are applicable to civilian jobs. If you've gained experience in logistics or supply chain management, IT, aircraft maintenance, or medical services, ensure you bring attention to these. Describe this kind of training in ways a civilian hiring manager can understand and appreciate.

4. Discuss Achievement, Not Rank: Civilian employers might not ascertain your abilities based on your ranks or medals. When talking about your achievements, focus on the nature of your responsibilities and accomplishments rather than your rank. You could say, "I successfully managed logistics for a group of 200+ personnel" instead of "I was a First Lieutenant."

5. Use Power Verbs: Start bullet points with action verbs like directed, managed, or coordinated to emphasize your leadership role and responsibilities.

6. Prepare for Interviews: Draw upon your military experiences to answer behavioral questions which assess your problem-solving, teamwork, leadership, and adaptability skills. Do practice beforehand to express your thoughts in a civilian-friendly language.

7. Focus on Transferable Skills: Whether your military work has a direct civilian equivalent or not, focus on skills that can be transferred to different jobs and fields. These might include problem-solving, strategic planning, and crisis management, among others.

8. Highlight Your Security Clearance: If your job required security clearance, it could be a valuable asset for certain government affiliated jobs or private sectors like aerospace or defense contracting industries.

Remember that a good resume and strong interview skills are only part of the picture. Networking can also play a vital role in landing a job, as can additional education or certifications. Good luck with your transition!