3 Job Search Strategies for Life After The Army When Transitioning Out of The Military Service

Military to Civilian Interview Code-Switching: Translating Your Value

Among the key hurdles separating military service members from civilian employment is establishing relatability around your experience. Reframing battlefield insights into civilian contexts proves challenging yet essential during job interviews. Code-switching your responses to avoid niche military terminology helps emphasize transferable leadership abilities.

For example, rather than focusing interviews solely through missions like “leading night raids against Taliban insurgents” or “coordinating carrier air wing sorties during tours in the Persian Gulf,” highlight elements demonstrating sought-after qualifications like:

• Managing teams of up to 50 personnel

• Coordinating intricate operations spanning multiple units

• Analyzing risks and probabilities while making rapid critical decisions

• Cultivating partnerships across global regions and cultures

• Planning contingency operations and crisis response activities

Resources like the DoD Skills Bridge (https://dodskillsbridge.usalearning.gov/build-your-skillsbridge.htm) provide military-to-civilian skills translators to help frame experiences into civilian parlance based on those broader capabilities.

Additionally, commenting regarding VA disability ratings unnecessarily during interviews risks raising questions around ability to perform which only merits addressing regarding accommodation requests once an offer emerges contingent on understanding health-related work impact discussions.

Concentrate first on emphasizing leadership scope, operational expertise, and team coordination mastery leveraging missions providing impactful examples yet described applying widely understood terminology. Highlight successes managing substantial budgets, assets, equipment and stakeholders rather than focusing solely on military-exclusive tools like coordinating “special ops night raids” which fail to convey transferable context around methodologies and leadership competencies applied ensuring optimal outcomes.

What aspects of interview code-switching have you found important emphasizing in civilian job discussions? Please share your insights below!