How to Translate your Military Skills to Civilian

Language Effectively

5 Things to Remember

1. Your MOS likely means nothing

2. Your role within the military is a foreign language to most you’ll interview with

3. Communicate your responsibilities

4. Pretend you’re explaining your job to your non-military mother

5. Distill your skills and apply them

1. Your MOS means nothing

- Civilian hiring managers/recruiters don’t know what MOS stands for, let alone everything it means.

- To you, saying “11B” paints an entire picture of infantry and all that comes with it. For hiring managers, it does not.

- MOS provides a good exercise for you to prepare for your job search. Paint that picture you see in your mind with words on paper.

2. Your role within the military is a foreign language to civilians

- Similarly, your role within the military is empty to civilians. “Platoon Leader” by name doesn’t sound relevant to the civilian world.

- However, explaining your leadership role, your organizational ability, your conflict resolution, and your team achievements within a larger body (all things you did as a platoon leader) are extremely relevant to the civilian world.

- This could take some studying on your part if you haven’t worked in a civilian role before.

3. Communicate your responsibilities

- Place things in terms virtually anyone can understand

Example – 91G, Fire Control Repairer, E5

My role was to ensure that our laser and thermal imaging equipment was maintained, and I completed first level repairs on the battlefield in Iraq. As a sergeant, I also had a team leader role and led a team of 5 maintenance personnel. The role developed strong mechanical and electronic maintenance skills that includes troubleshooting, schematic and wire diagram understanding, and hands on capabilities.

4. Pretend you’re explaining your job to your non-military mother

Answer the following questions:

- What do you do everyday?- What does that mean?- How many people do you lead?- What size budget do you manage?- How do you help resolve conflict?- How do you plan and execute projects?- How do you deal with setback?- What is your greatest accomplishment?

5. Distill your skills and apply them

- Read the job description of the position to which you are applying.

- Make four bullet points of the “skills” they’re seeking.

- Find areas in your experience that fit those skills.

- Explain them.

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