Tips for Veterans to Nail an Interview

Nancy Anderson
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Transitioning back to civilian life can be difficult for military veterans who are used to following orders, using specific terminology and going through advanced training. The difficulty comes in translating military experiences into success at a civilian company. Discover what it takes to nail a job interview as you re-enter civilian life and settle into a rewarding career after your military service is up.

Prepare Yourself

Just like your constant military training prepares you for combat and real-world scenarios, you must prepare for a job interview. List your highest-level skills on paper to map them out before you talk about them during an interview. For example, if you commanded a team of 12 people, you have a high degree of management skills. Ask yourself what else you did on a daily basis during your military service and how your personality fit with those tasks.

Three Essential Soft Skills

Military veterans have three essential soft skills that translate well into civilian life. Consider focusing on how you display these skills in a job interview to achieve success.

1. Leadership

The military builds up men and women who show leadership potential, whether your fellow recruits voted you as company leader during basic training or you attended formal leadership classes later in your career. You even showed leadership skills when you took the initiative on certain tasks and duties, such as helping fellow service members accomplish a goal or working with other units to solve a problem and make appropriate decisions. Relate how you showed leadership through storytelling during a job interview.

2. Team Player

As a member of a military unit, you were already a team player before stepping into a civilian job interview. You followed orders, performed your daily tasks with poise and precision and treated your superiors, subordinates and equals with respect and humility. You also came in contact with diverse groups of people, which means you got along with diverse personalities. Employers love team players, which is why this soft skill is well-suited for you to talk about as you look for a civilian job.

3. Technical Skills

Although technology may not be as important as your personality, technical skills in the military translate well to civilian positions. The U.S. military has some of the most advanced technology in the world, and chances are you used some of those systems at some point during your military service. Perhaps you used a highly advanced GPS system to track your unit's location, or maybe you repaired high-tech airplanes or military equipment. Although running customer management software, data analytics tools or IoT sensors aren't necessarily the same as making sure an airplane's engines work in top condition, the underlying technical expertise remains the same. You need to run advanced equipment from memory, and companies need highly skilled people to run software, fix machines and interpret data.

Take these tips and show a high amount of energy during your job interview to accomplish your mission. Treat your interview as if you're up for promotion to the next rank. Look sharp, research the job beforehand and speak with confidence. What are your experiences transitioning from military to civilian jobs?

Transitioning back to civilian life can be difficult for military veterans who are used to following orders, using specific terminology and going through advanced training. The difficulty comes in translating military experiences into success at a civilian company. Discover what it takes to nail a job interview as you re-enter civilian life and settle into a rewarding career after your military service is up.

Prepare Yourself

Just like your constant military training prepares you for combat and real-world scenarios, you must prepare for a job interview. List your highest-level skills on paper to map them out before you talk about them during an interview. For example, if you commanded a team of 12 people, you have a high degree of management skills. Ask yourself what else you did on a daily basis during your military service and how your personality fit with those tasks.

Three Essential Soft Skills

Military veterans have three essential soft skills that translate well into civilian life. Consider focusing on how you display these skills in a job interview to achieve success.

1. Leadership

The military builds up men and women who show leadership potential, whether your fellow recruits voted you as company leader during basic training or you attended formal leadership classes later in your career. You even showed leadership skills when you took the initiative on certain tasks and duties, such as helping fellow service members accomplish a goal or working with other units to solve a problem and make appropriate decisions. Relate how you showed leadership through storytelling during a job interview.

2. Team Player

As a member of a military unit, you were already a team player before stepping into a civilian job interview. You followed orders, performed your daily tasks with poise and precision and treated your superiors, subordinates and equals with respect and humility. You also came in contact with diverse groups of people, which means you got along with diverse personalities. Employers love team players, which is why this soft skill is well-suited for you to talk about as you look for a civilian job.

3. Technical Skills

Although technology may not be as important as your personality, technical skills in the military translate well to civilian positions. The U.S. military has some of the most advanced technology in the world, and chances are you used some of those systems at some point during your military service. Perhaps you used a highly advanced GPS system to track your unit's location, or maybe you repaired high-tech airplanes or military equipment. Although running customer management software, data analytics tools or IoT sensors aren't necessarily the same as making sure an airplane's engines work in top condition, the underlying technical expertise remains the same. You need to run advanced equipment from memory, and companies need highly skilled people to run software, fix machines and interpret data.

Take these tips and show a high amount of energy during your job interview to accomplish your mission. Treat your interview as if you're up for promotion to the next rank. Look sharp, research the job beforehand and speak with confidence. What are your experiences transitioning from military to civilian jobs?


Photo courtesy of 143d ESC at Flickr.com

Photo courtesy of 143d ESC at Flickr.com

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