A resume is where a lot of veterans undersell themselves. Four years of real responsibility can shrink into a list of acronyms that a civilian recruiter skims past in a few seconds. After the Marine Corps, I enrolled at the University of Alabama, earned a degree in operations management with a minor in supply chain management, and then finished an accelerated master's in operations management. Along the way I learned that the work you did in uniform only helps you if you can explain it in the language of the job you want.
This post is about that translation step: the free tools that help, the records you already have, and how to turn military duties into lines a hiring manager understands.
Start with the records you already have
You don't have to rebuild your service history from memory. Two documents do most of the work:
- Your Joint Services Transcript (JST). The JST lists your military training and occupational experience along with American Council on Education credit recommendations. It's free to download, and many schools use it to award college credit, so it's worth pulling before you apply anywhere.
- Your Verification of Military Experience and Training (VMET), DD Form 2586. The VMET is available through the DoD Transition Assistance Program site and summarizes your experience and training in a format meant to help you write a resume and apply for jobs.
Keep your schools, qualifications, and awards in front of you while you write. Specific courses and certifications are far more convincing than "various training."
Use a crosswalk to find the civilian words
The Department of Labor's O*NET program maintains a Military Crosswalk where you can enter your MOS code and see related civilian occupations. Its companion site, My Next Move for Veterans, does the same thing in a simpler format and shows the tasks, skills, and outlook for each matching career.
The value isn't just the job titles. Read the task lists for the civilian roles that interest you and borrow their vocabulary. If a posting talks about "quality control," "inventory accuracy," or "process improvement," and you did that work, use those words instead of the military ones.
My primary MOS was 0451, Airborne and Air Delivery Specialist. On paper that sounds like it has nothing to do with operations or supply chain. In practice, a parachute rigger's job is built around inspection, packing to exact standards, tracking equipment, and getting the right gear to the right place on time. That's the kind of connection a crosswalk helps you spot.
Translate duties into results
Most military evaluations describe duties. Civilian resumes are read for results. A simple way to rewrite a line is to answer three questions: what did you do, how big was it, and what changed because of it?
- Replace jargon with plain terms. "NCOIC" becomes "supervisor" or "team lead." A unit name means little to most recruiters; the size of the team and the value of the equipment you were responsible for means a lot.
- Add numbers wherever you honestly can. How many people you led, how many items you inspected or tracked, how many hours of training you ran, how often your work passed inspection.
- Match the posting. Write a version of your resume for each type of job you apply to, and lead with the experience that posting asks for.
- Keep it readable. One or two pages, clean formatting, and a short summary at the top that says what you're looking for in civilian terms.
Don't stop at military experience
This is where my advice to student veterans comes in. Your service is a strong foundation, but employers also want to see that you can do the job in a civilian setting. The best way to show that is to build your resume while you're in school through internships and student worker programs. That experience can be just as valuable as your classes when it's time to land a job after graduation.
The VA's work-study program is one option. If you're using an approved VA education benefit and enrolled at least 75% of full time, you can get paid for a part-time job tied to VA and veteran services, at places like an approved campus office or a VA facility. It pays the federal or state minimum wage, whichever is greater. Your campus career center is another resource, and most will review a resume for free.
Free help if you want a second set of eyes
- The Transition Assistance Program includes employment workshops focused on resumes and job searches, and veterans can attend after separation too.
- VA careers and employment resources cover career counseling, and Veteran Readiness and Employment (VR&E) can help eligible veterans with job training and placement.
- American Job Centers, listed on CareerOneStop for veterans, offer priority of service to veterans for job search help.
The bottom line
You did real work in uniform. Pull your JST and VMET, use the crosswalk to find the civilian language, rewrite your duties as results, and then add civilian experience through internships and student jobs while you're in school. That combination is what makes a recruiter stop skimming and start reading.
Semper Fi,
Ryan Gunning
