A few years ago, we received a resume for the service manager position at our dealership. The applicant had over 10 years of vehicle maintenance experience in the Army, and from the very first page, acronyms like MOS 91B, NCOIC, and PMCS were lined up.

Honestly, I had no idea what he did at first. It wasn't until I asked him directly in the interview that I understood. He was the very person we were looking for, managing dozens of maintenance personnel and hundreds of vehicles.

Since that day, I've come to firmly believe one thing: it's not that military experience is lacking; it's just that it hasn't been translated properly.

With Veterans Day coming up on November 11, I wanted to bring this up. There are many families in this area, especially since Fort Gordon is right next door.

For reference, this base was renamed Fort Eisenhower in October 2023, but it will revert back to Fort Gordon in 2025. It's home to the Army Cyber Center of Excellence, so there are particularly many IT and communications professionals.

First, let's look at the numbers. According to data released by the BLS in April 2026, the average unemployment rate for veterans in 2025 was 3.5%.

In the same period, the unemployment rate for non-veterans was 4.2%. From the numbers alone, veterans actually have a lower rate.

However, the rate increased from 3.0% in 2024, and the BLS has stated that the 2025 figure is difficult to compare directly due to the shutdown that caused the October survey to be omitted. Please keep in mind that this is the latest annual data available at this time.

This means that it's not a lack of jobs causing struggles, but rather that many are losing out because their documents aren't being read at the initial threshold. My experience was exactly that.

So how do you translate it? The first thing I recommend is the O*NET Military Crosswalk Search. It's a free tool sponsored by the Department of Labor.

If you enter your MOS code or job title, it will provide a list of corresponding civilian occupations. My Next Move for Veterans, which is designed to be easier for veterans, uses the same data.

Take the civilian job titles and the words used in their descriptions directly from here. Both recruiters and applicant tracking systems ultimately search using those words.

The second step is to eliminate acronyms. While everyone in the military knows them, no one outside does.

NCOIC can be explained as team leader or site supervisor, and S-4 can be described as logistics and procurement. Instead of stating your rank, it's much more effective to mention how many people you led.

The third step is numbers. "Equipment management" in one line is far less impactful than "managed several pieces of equipment, maintained assets worth X amount, and kept inspection records flawless for X years."

No department in the military fails to keep numerical records. If you pull out evaluations or commendation records, you'll find more usable figures than you might expect.

The fourth step is to make sure to list security clearances separately. Especially in areas like this, where defense contractors and cybersecurity companies are concentrated, having a clearance itself is valuable.

The fifth step is to tailor your resume for each job application. If you try to include everything from your military career, it can quickly exceed two or three pages.

Be bold in cutting out missions that are unrelated to the job posting. It may feel wasteful, but from the reader's perspective, it's actually more considerate.

If you're still active duty, you should definitely look into SkillBridge. It's a Department of Defense program that allows you to participate in internships or job training with civilian companies during the last 180 days before your transition.

There are conditions. Command approval is required, and depending on the mission situation, permission may not be granted. The duration and specific regulations can vary by branch, so it's best to check with the transition office at your base first.

We have friends in our industry who entered through SkillBridge and became full-time employees. The company gets to see them work in advance, and they get to experience civilian organizational culture, so it's beneficial for both sides.

Translation is also necessary for interviews, not just resumes. Practice saying, "When a problem arose, I assessed it and resolved it this way" instead of just saying, "I followed orders."

Civilian companies appreciate people who can follow instructions, but ultimately, they pay more for those who can make decisions on their own. There are plenty of examples from military experience, but many people overlook them because they seem too obvious.

Personally, I find it disappointing that while government-supported tools are quite well-made, not many people actually use them. Since these tools are funded by taxes, utilizing them is a win-win situation.

The manager I mentioned earlier, who came from a maintenance background, now oversees our entire regional service department. If he had submitted his first resume as is, he likely would have been eliminated from consideration.

If I were in your shoes, I would start by searching for MOS on O*NET this weekend, then choose one of the job titles that come up and rewrite the summary at the top of my resume based on that job.

While getting restaurant discounts on Veterans Day is nice, if you know someone transitioning out, helping them review their resume together would be an even greater gift. It's a shame for valuable experience serving the country to be overlooked due to just a few words.