4 Military to Civilian Resume Examples & Writing Guidelines

Military to Civilian Resume Template (Text Format)

Showcase your key skills and qualifications using this effective resume format.

Whether you’re an enlistee, NCO, or commissioned officer, we have the right resume sample for you to get ideas from.

Army resume

If you’re leaving the US Army, you’ll need an Army resume like this one:

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Army resume highlights

• Relevant certification: This applicant has a certification they picked up in the Army that civilian employers will want to see too (their Six Sigma certification). If you have a relevant certification, add it to your resume.
• Military term translated: Try avoiding military terms when you write your resume. For example, this resume uses the term “senior leadership” instead of “senior officers” or “commanding officer”.

Military to civilian resume example for an enlistee

You’ve picked up some transferable skills in your time as an E1–E3, and here’s how you can showcase them on an effective civilian resume:

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Enlisted military to civilian resume highlights

• Relevant skills: This vet has picked up several skills for their resume during their time in the military. Not only do they list them in their skills section, but they also note times they applied them in their work history. For example, they mention vehicle maintenance as a skill and then talk about how they used it in action to prove to employers they really have this skill.
• Action verbs: Starting each bullet point with an action verb makes you look like a servicemember who didn’t merely follow orders but sought out problems to fix.

Military to civilian resume example for an officer

You’re a trained leader, so put those leadership skills to the forefront of your resume as an officer leaving the military as this USMC major does:

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Officer’s military to civilian resume highlights

• International experience: This veteran has served in Germany and Japan, which international NGOs like Oxfam (that operate worldwide) like to see. Your overseas deployments can convince employers that you can easily travel internationally for work.
• Career progression: Military titles often remain the same despite promotions. For example, this Public Affairs Officer kept the same title: they chose to use their military ranks to show their career progression instead. You could also use equivalent civilian titles.

How to write a military to civilian resume

Write your military to civilian resume with ease by following our 4 tips to help you secure work in the civilian workforce.

1. Translate military terms into civilian language

The military uses acronyms and jargon that don’t mean much to a civilian.

For example, if you’re writing a resume and say your MOS was 11B, most hiring managers you’ll face aren’t likely to have military experience, so they’ll be confused by such terms.

So it’s important to make your military experience clear by translating military terms into words that civilian hiring managers will understand.

To help you, we’ve included an example of an infantryman’s work experience, with some military acronyms translated into civilian-friendly terms.

Notice how the candidate mentions “junior soldiers,” instead of using words that might be more difficult for people to understand such as “squad” or rank titles. You could also swap “junior soldiers” with “junior employees,” or “subordinates.”

“Base manager” is also used to represent the Tactical Operations Center (TOC); “Assignments” is used instead of “missions.”

Here are some more examples of common military terms and how they can be translated into civilian-friendly language:

2. Add numbers to quantify your military accomplishment

Adding numbers (called quantifying your resume accomplishments) helps civilian employers see what you’re capable of, and what you’d achieve for them if they hire you. So a resume with numbers is superior to a resume without numbers.

Here’s an example of a quantified job history entry for an Army E-2 with an 88M MOS:

3. List hard skills you picked up during your service

As a serving or former military servicemember looking to work in the civilian workforce, you’ll have picked up various hard skills depending on your specific role.

Check the civilian job ad for any hard skills you’ve developed in the military, and then add them to your resume’s skills section.

Here are some hard skills by common MOSs, AFSCs, and ratings:

4. Summarize your resume

Tie your military-to-civilian resume together with a strong resume summary that concisely explains your skills, qualifications, and experience.

Your summary should hook the attention of hiring managers and make them want to keep reading (and ultimately call you in for an interview).

Here are three examples of resume summaries for enlisted personnel. First, an Army E-3 with an 11C MOS applying for a security guard role:

Next, a Marine with a 0671 MOS applying for a network engineering role:

And a Naval E-4 YN applying for an office manager position:

And three examples of resume summaries for officers. First, a JAG Corps Lieutenant j.g. (250X):

Next, an Army major with a 35D MOS:

If you’re an O-4 Air Force officer with a 47VX AFSC, write a resume summary like this:

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