Military Transferable Skills

Hiring Veterans with a minimum of three to four years of hands-on experience in their field provides a vast of experience and transferable skills to employers.  The Veteran candidates get quality training similar to vocational schools, if not more advanced.  Essentially, these Veterans come with a wealth of experience that the employer will be getting at the Government expense.  

The Tierney Center for Veterans uses several tools to help educate our Veterans who are job seeking and need help building their resumes.  There so many tools on the Internet that can help Veterans learn how to market their transferable skills to employers.  Tools such as: Military Skills translator, CareerScope, O*NET can help Veterans use their transferable skills in a way to represent them on their resumes.  By using these tools the Veteran take advantage of the skills they have learned in the military and learn how to place them on their resumes.  Most of the skills that they have had hands on experience with would not know how to use without these tools and the classes we provide Veterans would overlook the most important transferable skills.

Many veterans underestimate their skills when they try to transition into the civilian world.  They might think that they don’t have anything transferable, because the working and living in the military is completely different from working and living in the civilian world.  Veterans come with a safety orientation and are comfortable working in an environment that emphasizes policy and procedure. Veterans are used to a 'mission critical' mindset and are very disciplined in job delivery.  Veterans leave the service with strong leadership skills, discipline and drive. These are valuable skills in any industry, especially in the public service sector.  

Below are some transferable skills that may be relevant to your job opportunity and that are exercised on a daily basis in the military. Think about how you can convey them in an interview.

•Communication skills - Critical in conveying orders and articulating information clearly, effectively and persuasively.

•Leadership skills - The ability to inspire, influence, motivate; assess situations, make decisions; take risks and determine goals; achieve results through resourcefulness, creativity, and teamwork.

•Analytical skills - Used to evaluate data; research, compile, and interpret information; apply logic; handle numbers; and determine patterns.

•Organizational skills - Includes time management; the ability to prioritize, disseminate and record data; generate accurate reports; manage resources; multi-task, administer, direct, and coordinate.

•Technical skills - The application of practical know-how and hands-on proficiency with specific equipment and machinery, software and hardware, chemical substances, techniques and procedures.

•Personal qualities - Having integrity, loyalty, resilience, character; self-discipline and control; being punctual, reliable, responsible, structured, resourceful, mission-oriented, with a can-do attitude.

•Interpersonal skills - The ability to listen, take orders, cooperate, supervise, negotiate, guide and be part of a team.