Your experience in the military makes you an exceptional candidate for all sorts of different jobs in the corporate world. However, in order to catch the eyes of civilian hiring managers, you’ll need to describe your skills and qualifications in language they understand. Here are the most common obstacles you’ll need to overcome when writing your veteran-to-civilian resume:  

1.     Translating military experience (and language) into civilian terminology — Military personnel have their own unique language and culture, which not all people in civilian businesses and organizations can understand. So, as you transition from your career in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marines, or Space Force, it’s important to learn new, more generalized ways to explain your work experience. The easiest way to do this is by reading lots of job descriptions and taking note of how skills and accomplishments are described. Try to avoid military-specific jargon, and write about your military experience in the same way you might describe it to a respected contact who has never served. (This quick guide to civilian business language might come in handy, too.)  

2.     Identifying skills and accomplishments from your military career that apply directly to a specific civilian job — The experience you have accumulated during your time in military service might be way more applicable than you think to a civilian job. You just need to help hiring managers, especially those who have never held a military position, understand exactly which technical skills, soft skills, and achievements you acquired in the military can be applied to a specific non-military job. Read the job description very carefully, note all the important keywords, and consider how you can use your skillset to succeed at this new non-military position.  
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3.     Presenting your military career in a format that’s familiar to non-military hiring managers and recruiters — When formatting your resume, make sure you follow the standard structure hiring managers look for: Name and contact information at the top, then a summary or objective, list of relevant skills (a.k.a. core competencies), professional history in reverse chronological order (your most recent position listed first), and, finally, your education. Recruiters are usually in a rush to fill a position, so they will often only consider resumes that are easy to navigate.