How can we get the civilian market to recognize military certifications?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 13:19:34 -0400

I remember seeing a video awhile back about the Senior Enlisted Advisors to Congress about the problems facing SM's in gaining meaningful employment after service. They said the largest issue we face is that the Civilian Market doesn't recognize Military Certifications and Training.

What if any is a solution to this?

Response by SGT Jim Arnold made Jun 2 at 2017 1:37 PM

SGT Jim Arnold — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 13:37:45 -0400

collect them as you go then having a few under your belt go to the education center on post and they can help and take college courses as you can

Response by SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM made Jun 2 at 2017 1:57 PM

SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 13:57:53 -0400

I used my Security Managers course for the Army on my resume to come on board with DOD in the DON with NAVY and I think the way you word everything on your resume because I had a lot help on rewording my resume for civilian sector.

Response by SSgt Ryan Sylvester made Jun 2 at 2017 3:30 PM

SSgt Ryan Sylvester — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 15:30:36 -0400

There's no real solution. If HR can't quantify the data, it doesn't count. They have a list of acceptable certs for the position, and if your cert doesn't fall into that list (even if it's complete on par with something on the list), the checklist monkey has no ability nor desire to critically assess that. Or worse, the program that they feed the batches of application into, to weed out the "weak" ones, will file it into the bit bucket. You are not a cog that fits properly into the machine.

Best thing you can do, as stated, is focus on your wording. My application that eventually landed me my current position (the third one I'd submitted to my facility) was laden with KSA equivalencies. I had 5000 characters per work experience, and I used every bit of that to come up with a roughly 13 page resume. I had a tentative offer in two days after my interview. Of course, since it's a federal position, my >30% 10 point vet pref probably was a deciding factor there, more than my overly wordy USAJobs app...

Response by SGT David T. made Jun 2 at 2017 3:41 PM

SGT David T. — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 15:41:21 -0400

The solution is on you. You have to translate the military experience into civilian terms. Do not expect the civilian world to adjust to you, you must adjust to it.

Response by SGT Edward Wilcox made Jun 2 at 2017 4:10 PM

SGT Edward Wilcox — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 16:10:56 -0400

Depends on the job. I was a medic and an IT specialist. The Army used civilian certifications to determine if a soldier was MOSQ'd. My suggestion for you is to contact any law office in your state and find out the qualifications for a paralegal. Once you know that, you can tailor your training, and use your GI Bill, to get the required education and certifications.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jun 2 at 2017 8:51 PM

CAPT Kevin B. — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 20:51:48 -0400

Military Certs are recognized to the extent they have any worth to the commercial sector. In other words, in many cases, not much. Why? Let's say you have paper which covers a few things that match but the rest doesn't. The hiring firms have a decision to make. Is it better to grab fresh meat or do the deprogramming drill and move on from there with an exMIL? Exceptions abound, most notably for professional stuff the MIL side doesn't teach or administer. Doctors, lawyers, engineers, etc. are obvious. Seabees tend to have a shorter path to their Journeyman ticket. The MIL side still embraces Lean Six when the commercial sector started moving away from around 10 years ago. Sometimes it's a translation issue in which you need to say in english what the skills are the cert covers. Some certs are worthless. If there was one for Artillery whatever, who needs that out in town? Just because you have something doesn't mean anyone cares about it. What I do see are technical types who have all sorts of certs on certain systems wind up going to work for the contractor that provides them.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Jun 3 at 2017 1:11 AM

COL Charles Williams — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 01:11:09 -0400

They must be certifications that are on their level...

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 3 at 2017 8:57 AM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 03 Jun 2017 08:57:32 -0400

The solution is to align military training requirements to civilian requirements for the job the big problem is that many certs don't go from one state to anther so there is no way that the military can meet every states requirements. That and we don't care about civilian cets look at 88m they don't need a CDL to do there job so they don't get one to do it on the outside you need a CDL.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 14 at 2017 1:39 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 13:39:10 -0400

A lot of it is if it is applicable. Requiring the driver's safety course or being the UPL may not translate. However, when I help my battle buddies with their resumes, I always make sure that if they went to Basic Leader's Course (BLC, formerly WLC/PLDC), that it is on there under additional education outside standard civilian education. I finished with Commandant's List so I put it on my resume as:
United States Army Warrior Leaders Course
•Three week course that used experiential learning to teach valuable skills in leadership, teamwork, and critical thinking
• Graduated at top 10% with academic honors and recognition among peers

A lot of AIT training also translates so that too will show up on my resume. The conferral of your MOS in itself has multiple courses that you are trained in, and many employers will recognize training is not always related to a certification. However, in some jobs, yes, the civilian certification is necessary.

Response by SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM made Jun 14 at 2017 2:34 PM

SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 14:34:25 -0400

Know really well how to word the language on your resume and have proof of if and I also did American Council on Education (ACE) Transcripts from military to convert to civilian. Joint Service Transcripts (JST). Everything counts brother. I use them all the time for my transcripts I submits with my college transcripts.