From Military to Civilian: Translating Your Resume

How do you write a civilian resume after being in the military?

One thing is for sure: being in the military has afforded you some great opportunities – unique opportunities – to learn things your civilian counterparts won't know. When it's time to transition from military to civilian life, translating your military experience to a civilian resume in a way that a hiring manager will understand and appreciate can be a challenge.

When you can nail down a great resume that properly highlights your skills and accomplishments, you'll significantly improve your chances of landing an interview for a new civilian job.

What is a military-to-civilian resume?

When someone asks you, “What do you do for work?” the answer you give them forms the basis of your resume. The difference is that you have to bridge the gap between the structured language used in the military to more generalized, diverse terminology used in civilian job markets.

For example, if you were an Infantry Team Leader, your civilian resume should have “Team Manager.” Similarly, a Combat Medic/Corpsman would use something like “Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).”

By effectively converting how you say something into civilian-friendly language, you help prospective employers understand your value and the relevance of your experience. The main things to keep in mind when working on converting your military experience to a civilian resume are:

Keep the overview of your career highlights and goals concise
Describe your military roles, responsibilities, and achievements using everyday language rather than military jargon
Create a list of skills that align with the job you're looking for
Leverage any military training and relevant certifications you've obtained to boost your qualifications

Transferable skills are your friends

One of the most important concepts to grasp when you're adding military experience to a civilian resume is transferable skills. These are the types of skills that are applicable across a variety of jobs and in countless industries. One of the main goals of transferable skills is to prove that you can adapt and succeed in different environments.

Let's face it; in the military, you develop a wide range of skills that are directly relevant to civilian jobs. Here are just a few examples of military experience and how they translate to the civilian world:

Leadership

Military Experience: As a military leader, you may have been responsible for leading a team, making strategic decisions, and ensuring the successful completion of missions.
Civilian Equivalent: In the civilian workforce, this translates to roles like team leader, manager, or supervisor, where you lead teams, manage projects, and drive organizational success.

Teamwork

Military Experience: Military service emphasizes the importance of working effectively as part of a team, often under high-pressure situations.
Civilian Equivalent: In civilian terms, this skill is valuable in any collaborative work environment, such as project teams, departments, or cross-functional groups, where effective communication and collaboration are key to success.

Problem-solving

Military Experience: The military trains people to assess situations, develop solutions, and make quick decisions to overcome challenges.
Civilian Equivalent: This skill is essential in roles like operations, consulting, and management, where analyzing problems, developing strategies, and implementing solutions are critical.

Project Management

Military Experience: Managing military projects often involves coordinating resources, managing timelines, and ensuring mission success.
Civilian Equivalent: In civilian roles, project management skills are applicable in areas such as construction, IT, marketing, and business operations, where overseeing projects, managing budgets, and meeting deadlines are crucial.

When you get to a point where you're capable of talking about your transferable skills in a way that resonates with civilian hiring managers, you'll stand out from the crowd since other job seekers won't present with that robust set of skills and experiences.

Jargon isn't your friend

When translating your military experience to a civilian resume, it's essential to avoid military-specific jargon and acronyms. Civilian hiring managers are probably not going to be familiar with most military terms, which can make it difficult for them to understand your qualifications and experience. If they don't immediately grasp the connection between your experience and the need they have, your resume will end up in the rejection pile.

Not only that but using military jargon will not help your resume get past the applicant tracking system. A ridiculously large number of companies use a computer program to scan through incoming resumes to weed out candidates who don't fit the bill. Civilian employers won't have military terms programmed into the ATS, so your resume will likely be rejected before it ever reaches the hands of a human being.

Instead, use civilian-friendly language to ensure your resume is clear and accessible to everyone.

Key takeaways:

Military jargon and acronyms can confuse hiring managers who are not familiar with military terminology
Civilian employers need to see how your experience applies to their industry and roles.
A well-translated resume demonstrates your ability to communicate effectively in a civilian context.

Tips for Using Civilian-Friendly Language:

Translate Military Terms: Convert military job titles and duties into their civilian equivalents. For example, instead of “Platoon Sergeant,” use “Team Supervisor” or “Operations Manager.”
Explain Acronyms: If you must use an acronym, explain it the first time it appears. For example, write “Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO)” instead of just “NCO.”
Focus on Responsibilities and Achievements: Describe your roles in terms of responsibilities and achievements that are universally understood, such as leadership, project management, and problem-solving.

Before-and-After Examples:

Platoon Sergeant

Military Description: Led a platoon of 30 soldiers in combat operations, ensuring mission readiness and operational success.
Civilian Translation: Team Supervisor
Civilian Description: Supervised a team of 30 employees, managed project execution, and ensured operational efficiency.

Logistics Specialist

Military Description: Managed supply chain operations, coordinated the distribution of equipment and supplies, and maintained inventory control.
Civilian Translation: Logistics Manager
Civilian Description: Oversaw supply chain operations, coordinated equipment, and supply distribution, and maintained inventory control.

Combat Medic/Corpsman

Military Description: Provided emergency medical care in combat zones, conducted medical training for unit members, and maintained medical supplies.
Civilian Translation: Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)
Civilian Description: Delivered emergency medical care in high-stress environments, conducted medical training for team members, and managed medical supply inventory.

Operations Specialist

Military Description: Planned and coordinated military operations, conducted strategic planning, and managed mission execution.
Civilian Translation: Project Manager
Civilian Description: Planned and coordinated project operations, developed strategic plans, and managed project execution.

The main idea is to make the information from your military experience accessible to a civilian hiring manager.

You have to do more than just translate your military experience to a civilian resume

Creating an effective military-to-civilian resume involves more than just translating your experience. In fact, there are several critical steps to creating a compelling career narrative that effectively communicates what you have to bring to the table.

Here are some general tips to ensure your resume stands out:

Tailor your resume to the job

Customize your resume for each job application. You do this by reading the job description for the position you want to apply to. Highlight the skills and experiences that are most relevant to the position and match them with the talents you possess. This is called finding the relevant keywords. Use those keywords to align your resume with the employer's needs.

Focus on achievements and results

A civilian hiring manager wants to know what you'll be able to do for them. They're looking for the value you have to offer. To prove to them you have what it takes, you must emphasize career accomplishments rather than just listing duties. This is called being an achiever rather than a doer. Use quantifiable metrics to showcase your impact. For example, instead of saying, “Led a team,” say, “Led a team of 20 personnel, improving project efficiency by 30%.”

Related reading: Resume Help: Are You a Doer or Achiever?

Use a clear and professional format

Choose a simple, professional layout with clearly defined sections. There are three formats you can choose from:

Reverse chronological – the most popular and the one hiring managers expect
Functional – use to emphasize skills and achievements over work history
Combination – combines the best of reverse chronological and functional in one document

You want to avoid using big blocks of text at all costs. You have about 7 seconds to get the hiring manager's attention. The best way to do that is by ensuring that your resume is easily skimmed by the human eye. Here are some formatting tips to help you with that:

Break your career history up into well-defined sections (e.g., Career Achievements, Skills, Professional Experience, Education)
Use bullet points to make your resume easy to read
Ensure consistent formatting for dates, job titles, and descriptions
Use margins that are no smaller than 0.5” all the way around and font no less than 10 pt

Related reading: Modern Resume Formatting: A Visual Guide

Proofread carefully

One thing that will guarantee your resume makes its way to the “no” pile is to have errors. Typos and grammatical errors can make or break your candidacy for a position. Consider having a civilian friend or a professional resume service review your resume to ensure it's polished and professional.

Military-to-civilian resume example

It's all well and good to have someone tell you how to convert your military experience to a civilian resume; it's another thing to see it in action. So, without further ado, here is an example of a military-to-civilian resume that you can use as inspiration in writing your own.

Jane Smith: City, State, Zip | Phone: (123) 456-7890Email: jane.smith@example.com | LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/janesmith

Senior Leader and Director of Project Management: Dedicated and detail-oriented Operations Manager with 10 years of experience in the United States Navy. Proven expertise in logistics, team leadership, and strategic planning. Seeking to leverage military experience into a civilian role in operations or project management.

Military Experience

Operations Manager | United States Navy May 2014 – Present

Managed daily operations for a team of 50 personnel, ensuring mission readiness and operational success.
Coordinated logistics for deployments and training exercises, maintaining an impeccable record of on-time project completions.
Developed and implemented strategic plans to enhance operational efficiency, resulting in a 25% increase in productivity.
Trained and mentored junior personnel, improving overall team performance and cohesion.

Logistics Coordinator | United States Navy June 2010 – April 2014

Oversaw the procurement, distribution, and maintenance of equipment and supplies.
Managed inventory control systems, reducing waste and optimizing resource allocation.
Coordinated with multiple departments to ensure seamless supply chain operations.
Implemented process improvements that reduced logistical costs by 20%.

Education

Associate of Science in Logistics Management | Coastline Community College | Graduated: 2010

Certifications

Certified Logistics Associate (CLA)
Lean Six Sigma Green Belt

You'll notice there isn't a single instance of military jargon or even an acronym. It's written in plain language that anyone, even someone who has zero knowledge about military goings on, can understand. By using regular language to include their military experience on a civilian resume, this person stands a better-than-fair chance of being called for an interview.

Adding military experience to a civilian resume done right

You may have spent the last 10 years using certain words to describe things. It may be so ingrained in your everyday life that translating your military experience to a civilian resume may feel like you're learning a whole new language. But, taking the time to put your resume together correctly – with keywords that mirror the job description and using words that a civilian hiring manager can understand – will certainly pay off!

You're not in this alone. TopResume can write your resume for you, or we can give the resume you write a free once-over. Either way, we have a team of resume-writing professionals who are pros at writing federal and military transition resumes.