How to Explain Unique Military Requirements on a Resume

#realtalk One of the most challenging aspects that I found when I transitioned from the military was making my experience make sense to recruiters, hiring managers, and decision-makers in the civilian job market.  You know you bring leadership, problem-solving, and mission accomplishment to the table, The question is: How you do you show/prove it? Heck, I should have known I was in danger before I transitioned when I could not effectively explain to my civilian friends what I did in the military other than to say, “I flew helicopters.”  Sidenote—if you, like me, cannot explain what you do in the military to your civilian friends that should be a warning to you that you will struggle doing it to the aforementioned in the job market. Using your civilian friends is a great way to practice the art of, “Tell me about yourself.” I digress. Proving it is where the STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) method comes in. Yes, you heard about it in TAP. But have you actually applied it effectively? Without a STAR method your talk and resume will read like a list of duties or your efficiency reports. With the STAR method, those duties will tell a results-driven story: ➡️How to Use STAR: ✔️Situation: Set the stage—what challenge or scenario were you facing? ✔️Task: What was YOUR responsibility or goal? This is important.  ✔️Action: What steps did you take to address the challenge? ✔️Result: What were the measurable outcomes? Two examples: 1-Instead of saying “Led a team of 12 in high-pressure environments" reframe it-->Managed a team of 12 conducting customer support in high-risk operations. I was responsible for improving mission efficiency under tight deadlines. I implemented a new training system that enhanced team coordination and reduced mission errors by 30%. As a result, our organization completed 50+ successful missions with zero safety incidents. 2-Instead of saying “Led logistics for deployments” reframe it-->Managed a team of 10 in coordinating supply chain logistics for overseas operations, ensuring 100% on-time delivery of critical equipment. Implemented a new tracking system that reduced inventory discrepancies by 35% and saved $500K in operational costs. ✔️ In resumes, STAR statements provide clarity and impact. ✔️In interviews, they ensure structured, confident responses to behavioral questions. #Veterans, if you’re struggling to translate your experience, start with STAR. What are your experiences with STAR or some other method?

In the 4.5 (!) years since I left active duty in the U.S. Army JAG Corps, I’ve reviewed a lot of resumes for transitioning veterans. Without exception, they're great teammates with strong backgrounds, a fantastic work ethic, and intellectual curiosity to spare. They’d be an asset to any organization and will be phenomenal Army alumni. If only all of these transitioning veterans had resumes that (a) matched their credentials and (b) told a story about their experience. There’s plenty of military resume advice that tells you to “avoid acronyms” and “describe your experience using analogous ‘civilian’ language,” but I’ll focus my advice on two practical tips and one mindset shift: (1) Screen your resume for terms and concepts that mean a lot to your military colleagues and nothing to a civilian with no military experience. You should assume that whomever is reading your resume has no context for words and phrases like “battalion” or “brigade staff” or “formation." When someone new sees something they don’t understand on your resume, they’ll skate right over it. If you can’t talk about something without framing it in these terms, you need my next tip. (2) Add detail. Every experience you have on your resume should have bulleted highlights of things you accomplished -- you might think it’s gauche to advertise how many courts-martial you’ve prosecuted or defended, but it means more than saying you “served as the primary legal advisor for a 3,000-person Brigade.” Quantify where possible and add texture so that people (a) understand what you have actually done, not just where you have been and (b) have something to dig into. Your goal is to get someone to want to talk to you. (3) Change your mindset. Remember that you have benefited from a few headwinds that you’ve probably taken for granted that will not exist outside of the military: * Your resume won’t be on your uniform. People cannot assume or assess your competence based on a badge or a patch or a level of promotion. You’re starting fresh. * Your reputation won’t precede you. In most services, the world is smaller than you think -- and people talk. Your reputation often gives you the crucial few months of grace to establish yourself in a new job. In the absence of your reputation, you now need to advertise your skillset to each new audience. It takes practice, but it’s essential. * You get to tell your own story, and choose your own next steps. An assignment history is not the same as a career path -- you have less choice, less agency, and less flexibility in assignments than you do in choosing your post-military employment. Think carefully about where you want to be and make sure your resume tells the story of why you belong there -- don’t just tailor it to the job application in front of you, but to how you want to be seen and your individual value proposition for a civilian employer. Need help applying the above? Get in touch. #military #transition #career

I've reviewed 150 or so military transition resumes in the last few weeks. Most of them struggle to quickly share how the candidate is qualified for the target job. How do you help someone make the transition on paper? Here are a few thoughts: 1. Start with the job aim. Translating military language to civilian language is overwhelming. When you have a specific job to align with, this is easier. 2. Narrow down what you share to what matters to that job. Select stories that show required skills, write them, and adjust to target job language. 3. Ditch the fluff. Yes soft skills are important, and they need to be demonstrated in the experience, not listed in a core competencies area. 4. Question every word. After you have the main stories aligned with the job requirements, ensure each word aligns to the target role and employer. These terms will vary with the target job, and some changes I'm frequently suggesting include: soldiers => team members mission => projects service member => patient or customer Plus removing unnecessary specifics like mission names, technologies and equipment (unless relevant to the new employer), locations, and more. There are more great suggestions in these podcasts on military transition featuring Marisol Maloney - https://lnkd.in/g2WE_BMN and Cassie Hatcher - https://lnkd.in/gtb49T8D What would you add to help veterans transitioning into the civilian workplace? #resume #careers #newandnext

Job tip for military veterans moving into industry (especially Air Force): Please, I beg of you, do not transcribe your OPR bullets into your resume. You and I both know you weren't personally responsible for 2 billion dollars in US government assets when you were 23 years old and making a system 63% more effective. It may have gotten you a "DP" rating for your promotion board, but it isn't helpful on an industry resume. Instead, summarize the results of your military experience by drawing out the important things that you did, relate the relevance of those things to the job you're applying for, and explain your personal impact to your organization's mission. That will get you much further than dazzling dollar amounts and percentages.

I’ll admit—when I transitioned, condensing decades of leadership, operations, and training into a 2-page resume felt impossible. But here’s the thing: a focused resume speaks louder than a cluttered one. I can share what can help you to make it impactful: ✅Show your impact: Instead of “Managed logistics,” try “Oversaw logistics operations, delivering projects ahead of schedule 90% of the time.” ✅Tailor for each role: Highlight skills and experiences that align directly with the job description. ✅Translate military jargon: Your prospective employer might not know what an “Instructor in Gunnery” does, but they’ll understand “Expert in technical training and precision operations.” Remember, your resume is your first conversation with an employer—make it count. What’s the hardest part of summarizing your experience? Let’s discuss. ----------------------------------------------- To explore top-notch Resume, LinkedIn and Interview tips for transitioning military veterans, follow me -https://lnkd.in/d39b7S3C Click on the bell icon 🔔 on top right corner of your profile to get notified of my posts. --------------------------------------------- #CareerTransition #Learning #linkedinstrategy #jobsearchstrategies #transitioningmilitary #transitioningveterans #commanderram #mentorship #resumetips