There’s a world of opportunity waiting for you in civilian life. Employers hire ex-military people because they bring knowledge, skills and experience they struggle to find. You will have acquired a diverse range of skills from your Service in the Armed Forces, especially ‘soft’ skills. Understanding and translating these soft skills are crucial to landing your dream job and embarking on your second career. Follow our checklist to give you the best head start.
CHECKLIST
Identify your transferable skills
Translate your hard and soft skills
Explore and understand your military skills and experience
Translation of titles and qualifications
Next steps
1. Identify your Transferable Skills
Jot down a list of your key skills and any qualifications you might have. While doing this, make sure you think outside the box and examine your career history in detail as not all of your skills will be immediately obvious or directly related to your job. For example, if you managed a troop or platoon of service personnel your leadership skills might be obvious, but you may also have led strategic planning operations, worked with complicated IT systems or managed projects. Remember that soft skills such as your ability to communicate, empower and support others and other personal attributes are important and are well worth mentioning. If stuck, have a look at some of our examples below.
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Hard skills are specific abilities or qualifications that can be possessed and demonstrated in a measured way. They are typically gained through on the job training or educational programmes, often through military training.
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Soft skills are self-developed attributes that aren’t specific to a particular role, picked up through your life and work experiences, including your military service.
Here are a few examples of hard and soft skills:
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HARD SKILLS
- A degree (or other academic qualification)
- An industry specific certification
- IT & Comms skills
- Foreign language skills
- Military Security qualification (e.g. USO)
- Budget/ Fund Management qualification
- Project/ Risk Management qualification
- Health and Safety/ ISO 27001 or similar qualification
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SOFT SKILLS
- Values driven
- Analytical & problem solving skills
- Ability to work calmly under pressure
- Interpersonal skills
- Negotiation skills
- A good work ethic & ability to get things done to high standards
- Team skills
- Leadership
- Adaptability & resourcefulness
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Soft Skill Translator
Soft skills are unique to you - so a template solution doesn’t work. Identifying your soft skills can be difficult but we’ve made it easier to do so. Look at the scenarios overleaf, which showcase examples of various situations. Now, think back to your past (whether in your career or elsewhere) and consider similar scenarios that you might have been in. What soft skills did you use during this time?
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SCENARIO
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EXAMPLE SOFT SKILL
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Describe a situation in which you have had to negotiate a solution to resolve a situation or problem, perhaps with representatives from the civilian community, different units or foreign Armed Forces representatives.
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Negotiation Skills
Problem Solving
Communication Skills
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Regardless of your rank, describe a situation where you have led or participated as a member of a team to react or resolve an incident or problem.
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Team Skills
Leadership
Adaptability, Resourcefulness
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Regardless of your rank, describe a situation where you were the key (‘point’) member of a team in resolving a situation or problem.
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Team Skills
Calmness under pressure
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Describe a situation where you have had to work with your colleagues to bring an event or project to a successful conclusion.
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Project Management Skills
Organisational Skills
Communication Skills
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Summarise the preparation, execution and after-actions you have undertaken to achieve an operational or training mission/ objective.
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Analytical Skills (e.g. the Estimate or 7 Questions process)
Project Management Skills
Written and oral communication skills
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Describe the most challenging situation in which you have had to work with others to overcome.
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Leadership Skills / Team Skills
Problem solving Skills
Calmness under pressure
Negotiation Skills
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Describe how you have helped a subordinate or colleague to overcome a personal or military problem.
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People Management Skills
Emotional Intelligence
Interpersonal Skills
Communication Skills
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Describe a situation where you have had to intervene, either directly or on behalf of someone else, because you believe something is wrong.
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Values driven
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Describe the values or attitudes that you best bring from your military life to your future employer.
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Values driven
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Describe a situation in which you have had to use your initiative to find people or other resources to solve an immediate problem.
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Resourcefulness
Problem solving Skills
Adaptability/ Flexibility
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2. Translate your Hard and Soft Skills
The key to translating your skills is to let go of the military terminology. Strip your military jobs back-to-basics and concentrate on your role, its function and the skills that you used to carry it out – this is what civvy employers want to know about. Some terms are easy to translate into “corporate speak”, while others will be more difficult and will require a bit of research to get right. For example, an employer might not know what a Senior NCO such as a Warrant Officer is, but they will understand the skills and qualities of someone who has worked as a Team Leader or Department Manager, so list the skills you possess to demonstrate your value. Or, if you worked as a Submarine Intrusion Analyst highlight that you can operate complex computer programmes, complex communication systems and that you are also familiar with cryptology.
If your achievements are military specific and can’t be translated, then explain what you did and achieved in a civilian-friendly manner and show how the training and experience you gained in the military is relevant to the position that you are applying for.
—> DOWNLOAD OUR FREE SKILLS TRANSLATION WORKBOOK
3. Explore and Understand Your Military Experience
Your military experience is as valuable as your skills. In order to give evidence and contextualise your skills we’d recommend that you think about how you would convey your experience in a civvy-friendly way. People with no experience of the Armed Forces will have no idea what ‘8 years in the Royal Marines’ offers them, or what 3 tours in Afghanistan means. Be conscious that your experience might also scare them, so try to use a scenario to illustrate one of your skills rather than simply retelling a war story!
Here’s an example. In an interview you might be asked to give an example of when you had to put your negotiation skills into practice. You might have been in a situation where you were surrounded by half a dozen rival tribal leaders and had to solve a problem through an interpreter in 54 degree heat… Pull out the key facts and demonstrate that you were able to negotiate a solution in the ‘challenging environment’ of Afghanistan while overcoming language barriers. If you can negotiate in an environment like that then you’re more than well equipped to do so in a conference room with a bunch of civvies in Milton Keynes.
4. Translate your military titles, military qualifications and military terms and jargon
Differences in rank can be confusing and not everyone understands the internal structures of the military. Translating your rank and job titles is as much about presenting yourself in terms that employers will recognise as it is about understanding the level of job that you should apply for when you do leave Service. Have a look at our examples below.
JOB TITLES
- Operations Officer = Operations Manager or Supervisor
- Accounting Officer = Financial Manager
- Intelligence Officer = Research
- Squadron or Platoon Leader = Director, Team Leader
- Commander = Senior Manager, Supervisor, Director
- Senior NCO = Supervisor
- Sargent = Team Leader or Manager
- Supply Sergeant = Logistics Manager, Supply Manager
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RANK
- Lance Corporal = Assistant Supervisor, Team Leader
- Corporal = Manager
- Warrant Officer / Sergeant Major = Team Supervisor, Department Manager
- Major = General Manager
- Brigadier = Managing Director
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Though it can be tempting to list every training and educational course that you completed during your years of military Service it is likely that some qualifications won’t be relevant outside of the military. Ask yourself which qualifications add value and demonstrate the acquisition of a transferable skill or a commendable achievement. And with military terms and jargon, many are incomprehensible to anyone not in the Forces.
Here are a few common military ‘translations’ that you can use:
- Combat = hazardous or challenging environments
- Tank = operational vehicle
- Reconnaissance = data collection
- Mission = project, task, goal, objective
- Subordinate = employee, team member
- Squadron / Platoon = team
- Company = department, area, section
- Weapons = mechanical / electronic equipment
- Ammunition = supplies
- Radar / Sonar = sophisticated electronics systems
Translating your military background can be a lengthy process. It is worth taking your time and doing it properly as through understanding what civilian employers are looking for you’ll gain an insight into what you are capable of and what value you can bring to their business. Moreover, the more work you put in now the more prepared you’ll be for an interview and it’ll save you time in the long run!
5. Next Steps
So now you’ve identified your skills and experience, it’s time to craft your CV. Not sure where to start? Read our CV writing guide.