Why is using military experience, in the civilian job market, pointless?

2014-06-02T16:17:50-04:00

In my civilian career I have found that even mentioning my military career is absolutely pointless. First the employer has no idea what you are talking about, even if you put your job description in English for them. When mentioning my military experience, the first question I get is, "Did you serve overseas in the war?" When I answer "Yes!", then the next question is, "Do you have any sort of PTSD from that?". From there my answer is, "That is none of your business." Guess what! Employers don't like to hear that at all. So as much as I love showing off that I was in the military and proudly served my country, I keep that part off of my resume. Now, I have found that military experience is definitely more accepted in the government. I am solely talking about non-government civilian jobs.

What do you all do with your military experience on resumes with these non-government civilian jobs?

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2014 4:21 PM

2014-06-02T16:21:30-04:00

It all depends on if your military experience is relevant to the job you happen to be applying for. I outline my military experience in resume and it's helped me get interviews and a job on the civilian side.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2014 4:24 PM

2014-06-02T16:24:27-04:00

SPC Morey, you might want to check out Hiring Our Heroes. They have good resources to help vets translate military skills on resumes. As for the PTSD stuff, it really is unfortunate that they focus on that first. I'm sure you have lots of skills and experiences that any employer would find valuable if they understood what an asset our vets can be to the workforce. I highly encourage you to check out the linked site and good luck getting that dream job!

http://www.hiringourheroes.org/

Hiring Our Heroes

Hiring Our Heroes is a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment opportunities. Donate Today

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Jun 2 at 2014 4:28 PM

2014-06-02T16:28:48-04:00

Listing your military experience on your resume is never pointless. Veterans can make it pointless thought by not taking the time to really list the highlights from what he/she did while in uniform. If you just put "Served in the US Armed Forces for X years" you are making it pointless. What I did on my resume was I went through my NCOERs and awards and I put down the highlights as bullet points on my resume. I didn't list every thing I did as a Multichannel Transmission Operator though because that would make my resume drag on.

As far as PTSD is concerned, I'm very up front about it when asked. I've yet to meet an employer who stopped the interview upon hearing I was deployed and now deal with PTSD. If that was the reason they didn't call me back, well that's on them but I've been able to hold meaningful employment ever since I transitioned out and all my jobs have been non-government positions.

If you find yourself having issues with including your military experience on your resume, then reach out to one of us out here. I'm always willing to help a fellow Veteran.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2014 4:37 PM

2014-06-02T16:37:07-04:00

SPC Morey,

I understand what you are saying, however, I believe it is more complex than that. There are many factors at play that it is difficult to generalize that military experience is useful or useless. It depends on your MOS, how long you have been in the service, your personal experiences, and the job/position you are applying for to name a few factors. This creates thousands of different combinations that could lead to the conclusion of military experience being either useful or useless. Additionally, I do not think "military experience" in general is pointless regardless of your MOS/experiences and what you are applying for. The military has the potential to teach many great "general" skills that can help an individual positively grow. It can help instill discipline, code of ethics, and healthy lifestyle to name a few. How does this help your career? Well, because of your military experience you now know how to talk to others in a way that creates positive impressions, or you are never late to an interview and are dressed appropriately because you know right time, right location, right uniform...etc. So, in conclusion, is military experience "pointless"? If you make it so, YES

Response by SPC Scott Morey made Jun 2 at 2014 4:58 PM

2014-06-02T16:58:33-04:00

Thanks for the responses, and I completely understand what all of you are saying. I was a 74B (Information Systems Specialist/Analyst) prior to them changing the MOS. I put all of my accomplishments and what I had done, both stateside and overseas, and the awards/recommendations that I had received for those accomplishments. However, for me, once an employer sees that I went overseas, they automatically think I am some sort of basket case. I am extremely proud of what I did in the military and will explain for an hour (if I have to) on what I did. For my current employer, I has to explain what SIPRNet and NIPRNet was and how that would apply to this company. I just hate how some employers look at vets as having some sort of problem to where they can't work.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jun 3 at 2014 12:38 PM

2014-06-03T12:38:22-04:00

I have found that civilian employers, unless they have a military background, can not relate military experience to the context civilian experience, no matter how much you civilianize your resume. IMHO, many employers see military on the resume and translate it to firing weapons, PTSD and how much time out of the office will this cost me.

I was bucking for a promotion at work and had my supervisor 2 levels up tells me I didn't know what a high stress environment was from a commercial point of view, but yet he couldn't explain it himself. When I told him I had leadership and personnel management experience, he told me it wasn't relevant to which I remarked, "Gee, I didn't know that the all the other managers here to include the HR department had experience watching out for their employees 24 hours a day 7 days a week. helping employees deal with problems at home 1000 miles away or had been in a combat zone."
Needless to say I no longer work there. I feel that I have been barred from management in the civilian world because employers don't get it.

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Jun 3 at 2014 12:45 PM

2014-06-03T12:45:21-04:00

Remember, it's not what you say, it's how you say it.

Response by Capt Michael Greene made Apr 24 at 2016 3:04 AM

2016-04-24T03:04:49-04:00

You're right. Saying ""That is none of your business." is a show-stopper, even if it's true. Remember, the cover letter persuades the HR guy to look at your resume. The resume might get you the interview. Then the interview is all about seeing how well you get along with people. If they love you personally, you're hired. If they feel threatened or if you look uncomfortable, you're toast.

Response by Capt Seid Waddell made Apr 24 at 2016 3:28 AM

2016-04-24T03:28:50-04:00

I just put years served and rank. You have to account for the time.
My AFSC does not translate to the civilian world.