I am job hunting and most applications ask for duties. I was infantry for 7 years and somehow closing with and destroying the enemy doesn't seem like a great way to describe my job duties. Mostly I just put down that I maintained unit equipment as function as a team member in order to achieve unit objectives. I am curious how anyone else sums up their military experience in similar situations. FYI, I am applying for welding jobs.

If you were an officer or an NCO you can include supervisory functions.

Entire books are written about this.  Check Amazon for popular titles, then find them at the library for free.

Always shoot for the people skills/leadership/communications part then after the important stuff (fire TOW missles at angry people wearing towels)

Ha, I could write a book on this!

Not sure what industry you are applying to, but as a Veteran, you would be well advised to apply for federal jobs.

That said, I am a federal (law enforcement) supervisor who has been a part of the hiring process many times. Prior to this, I was on hiring panels on a city PD and a corporation.

While we in the federal world are bound to not say what goes on behind those closed doors, I can tell you this...don't sell yourself short! That is the #1 thing that holds people back.

For example, we use checklists of things we are looking for when reviewing resumes-- and what we hold in our hands are precisely the resumes that you fill in on UsaJobs.com or similar sites, we just print them from there. I cringe when I see someone that myself and the rest of the hiring panel unanimously agree would most surely be an awesome candidate, but we can not proceed because their resume did not contain the right things we needed to see to score it higher. We can not assume anything, we need to see it in writing to give you credit.

Specifically, something like this...person for an entry-level LE position who is a Veteran and now works as a supermarket produce manager. Candidate spends just TWO LOUSY LINES of space discussing his military experience, even though it was twelve years in the Guard with several deployments, NCO schools, etc. We see this, and we know this person is probably someone that we want, but instead he felt it was more important to spend A WHOLE PAGE writing about his accomplishments at the supermarket! We can give him points for, let's say, taking the supermarket's management classes, however we don't care about 99% of the other words he writes about that job. That person just sold himself short and dropped out of the race because of a resume that concentrated on the wrong things.

Anyhow...be succinct but thorough. Your resume does not have to be dry and boring and super-formal. You can creatively phrase concepts like teamwork, leading by example, etc. Tell us the schools you went to, describe your duties. Maybe you were an 11B who sometimes pulled gate guard duty-- mention that! Did you also search vehicles at the gate, or check IDs in databases? Mention that too!

Did you go to some odd schools? Tell us! Voluntarily added a skill? Looks good and shows initiative! Save all of those certs that you get, Lord knows I have, and it paid off for me.

You can private message me if you want, as I mentioned I could write a book on this topic. Being an Army Veteran myself, I know how tough it can be to translate military experience to marketable civilian skills. And I swear it can be done, no matter what you did in the military!

just tell them your a trained killer works every time

Did you not go to seps and taps or TRS? They go over all that very in depth. Also the VA offers resume building services for free.

I ended up going with something like "Functioned as a member of a team in order to accomplish unit objectives." Whatever I wrote down on my applications sounded much better than what I just typed out. Interview for my top pick job is Thursday.

Good luck.  Many vets downplay their accomplishments.  This is your time to shine.

For anyone else with the same questions, NCOERs or OERs that show quantitative shit you were in charge of "Cost of equipment, number of people you supervised". Bring up deployments and briefly describe your MOS duties. That will cover your bases.

Worked for US Army. Systems troubleshooter with ability to locate and resolve persistant problems with special ability to negotiate during unplanned meetings. Meeting facilitater.

Since this thread was bumped, today was my 2nd day at the new job. It is a good company that has orders for the next few years and expects a slow exponential growth, so job security is great. Great benefits and apparently I am making a couple of bucks more than the typical person fresh out of weld school, which the average employer sees and thinks "No experience." Sometimes being a vet really pays off big time when it comes to being handed great opportunities' and this was another one of them.

Congratulations!

Good to hear!

Congrats op! Glad to hear it.


3. Draw penises on porta potties.

"I shoveled horse shit in Louisiana."

Max is funny as hell, but this kind of thinking is why so many vets have a hard time finding a good job after separating.  Go through your old evaluations and awards.  The bullet statements and descriptions of duties are full of information that can be used on a resume.

In 2008--when NOBODY in this area was hiring--I landed a job as a DOJ contractor with stuff that I basically copy/pasted directly from my 214, decorations and EPRs.  The hysterically funny part of this to me is that I was a 2A676, aircraft electrician...I had absolutely zero experience with any kind of litigation software, and other than surfing Arfcom, I didn't spend much time using a computer. The job I got was database admin and document analysis--I built and managed the online document viewing databases for the EOUSA (Executive Office of US Attorneys).   I worked there for almost 3 years and did pretty well--got some big raises, bonuses and plenty of recognition from FBI, DEA, and several US Attorneys.

I resigned from the DOJ in 2011 and moved into management positions.  I ran a rental and maintenance shop in the hydroblasting industry for a couple of years, and did well there too--bonuses, raises, etc.  My boss begged me to stay but I was tired of commuting 60 miles/day, traveling 3 days/week and being on call 24/7.  Now I run a County vehicle/equipment maintenance shop just 4 miles from home....better money, no commute, weekends are always free, and no sales--life is good!  

My point here is that every job I do adds to my experience--but the majority of my resume still highlights leadership and skills I picked up in the military--and it's been the military experience that has been opening doors for me.