by Bradley Hood
Contributor, In Military Education
Service members often hear about how job training and discipline gained during the course of their time in the military will help them when they transition to the private sector – but I have contended with today’s job market myself, and I know that the transition not as easy as some might believe. Prior to my transition to the “dark side” as an officer, I spent 5 years as an enlisted Bulk Fuel Specialist (1391) in the Marines. When I enlisted, I was offered a choice between Bulk Fuel and Motor Transport, and with Bulk Fuel falling under the “13” occupational code of engineering, I thought I would be learning skills immediately applicable in the civilian world. Like many service members, I soon found that the skills I learned applied only to very specific equipment (How many civilians need to build an Amphibious Assault Fuel System?), and as a result found work in an unrelated civilian field when the need arose. However, the opportunity to use the skills gained by military service in the civilian world arise, and the difficulty lies more with learning to sell your skills as adaptable, and learning civilian lingo, rather than not having the ability and experience.
Though the opportunity is limited, and I have a more immediate interest in aviation in the civilian world, especially given my impending career as a pilot (SNA) contracted Marine, even a Bulk Fuel Specialist can find work. Several months ago, a Marine who recently separated passed word to some of the NCOs at my old unit that Philadelphia Airport was hiring – they needed people to work their fuel tanks: gauging, testing, pumping, and transporting fuel. I was surprised to read in the job description a near mirror image of the skills I was trained in at MOS school. Such clear-cut instances are rare, but they demonstrate that even for an MOS I thought unusable in the private sector, there are ways to use your skills. However, while most places list a compendium of civilian certifications and specific experience required that you may not have, you may have comparable experience that an employer would be willing to accept, if you are able to write this into your resume in a way that a potential employer understands. In fact, your experience may be more desirable, because it also comes with a bundle of characteristics and training that the average civilian employee does not have: ambition, discipline, initiative, and a professional appearance and way of carrying oneself, among only a few of the perceived traits (It’s up to you to uphold this reputation if you get the job).
So how do you convert from exclusively military, jargon laced experience into more generalized experience in your resume? There are a few options. You can pay to have your resume converted by a military to civilian resume expert. A simple Google search turns up dozens of these services. Additionally, I would be very surprised if resources like Military OneSource did not provide support in helping you make this transition. Something I found helpful, and free, was providing my resume to a civilian friend who had spent some time working with a temp agency. Her immediate reaction was to send it back with a big question mark, commenting at the bottom: “I have no idea what any of this means”, and this was after I made my best attempt to write a simplified version of my (then) limited experience! You would be surprised at how much of what seems commonplace to you is confounding to a civilian.
Finally, it also helps to know where to look. Most service members have a general idea of what kind of skills they possess from their service. Think outside of the box! Do not just use job hunting services like Monster (though they are useful tools) – check the websites of relevant companies and inquire about opportunities by phone or in person. For example, while I wait for orders to active duty, I have taken a job in a hospital. Although job openings from the hospital sometimes find their way onto Monster, they are usually outdated by that point, and HR for the hospital is usually slow to begin with. The surefire way to get an interview in my department is to talk to one of us, or speak with one of my bosses, who can then request your resume directly from HR. Even if someone at the company of your interest cannot direct you to any immediate openings, they may know where you can look elsewhere.
Some military jobs have clear cut transitions: Navy Corpsmen and Army Medics can find gainful employment as EMTs. While civilian certification is still necessary, a job as an EMT employed by a hospital is very competitive and military medical experience will be very attractive. Medical transport companies have many more openings for Basic EMTs, and offer an excellent way to transition into the civilian medical field, even if only to work a decently paid job while pursuing further education (there is a lot of opportunity for Nurses right now, and a 2 year Nursing degree along with certification as an RN is a great career opportunity). Other jobs, like infantry, may struggle to find directly transferable opportunities as civilians. Even so, infantryman have received a great deal of training and have a lot of confidence in their physical ability and discipline. Military service also demonstrates a commitment to public service, and I personally know many former infantrymen serving in the public sector as firemen, police officers, emergency response. There is also opportunity in private security, which is what I currently do for my hospital.
Transitioning from the military to the private sector can be trying. Generating a civilian palatable resume and readjusting to the civilian mindset for the interview and even in the workplace itself when hired is no easy task for many. The key is persistence, if you do not succeed in your initial endeavor to find your place in the civilian world, keep trying, and I guarantee you will eventually find success. Good luck!
Bio: Bradley Hood is a Marine Corps Second Lieutenant in IRR status with 5 years of prior enlisted experience. He is a recent graduate of American Military University, and currently is working towards a Master’s degree in Military History through Norwich. Bradley lives with his beautiful wife in historic NJ.
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