Janet I. Farley, author of "Military-to-Civilian Career Transition Guide"
In addition to deciding the content for your resume, you have to decide what type of language to use, military jargon or everyday English. If you're targeting a job within the defense industry, feel free to use the military jargon to which you've become accustomed. The defense industry likes to hire employees who understand the lingo.
On the other hand, if you're targeting a job outside that arena, you may have to use everyday English. If you were to take someone who has never been exposed to life in the military and plant them in the middle of a typical conversation between service members discussing work, that person would probably feel as though he was a stranger in an even stranger land.
The military loves its acronyms. Once you get used to them, it's not so bad; however, civilian employers may not understand them at all. I've provided the following translations to assist you in crafting your resume and your speech. Not that some words or job titles may be clearly understood without changing them.
Common Translations
In the Military: Commander
In the Civilian World: Director/Senior Manager/President
In the Military: Executive Officer
In the Civilian World: Deputy Director/Assistant
In the Military: Action Officer
In the Civilian World: Senior Analyst
In the Military: Branch or Division Chief
In the Civilian World: Branch/Division Chief
In the Military: Program or Project Manager
In the Civilian World: Program or Project Manager
In the Military: General Officers
In the Civilian World: President/Senior Director/Chairperson/ CEO/COO/CFO/Senior Vice President/Executive Vice President
In the Military: Senior Field Grade Officer
In the Civilian World: Senior Administrator/Chief Executive/Department Head/Program Director/Deputy Chief/Senior Executive
In the Military: Field Grade Officer
In the Civilian World: Executive/Manager
In the Military: Company Grade Officers
In the Civilian World: Associate/Operations Manager/ Unit or Section Manager
In the Military: Warrant Officer
In the Civilian World: Director/Specialist/Department Manager
In the Military: Senior NCOs
In the Civilian World: Director/First-Line Supervisor
In the Military: Infantry
In the Civilian World: Ground Security Force
In the Military: Sergeant Major
In the Civilian World: Senior Advisor
In the Military: First Sergeant
In the Civilian World: Personnel Manager
In the Military: Squad Leader
In the Civilian World: Team Leader/Team Chief
In the Military: Supply Sergeant
In the Civilian World: Supply Manager/Logistics Manager
In the Military: Operations NCO
In the Civilian World: Operations Manager
In the Military: NCO
In the Civilian World: Supervisor/Manager
In the Military: OER/NCOER
In the Civilian World: performance rating/evaluation
In the Military: AI
In the Civilian World: additionally skilled in...
In the Military: AAM-ARCOM
In the Civilian World: award/recognition
In the Military: ANCOC/BNCOC
In the Civilian World: advanced (specialty) course
In the Military: battalion (BN)
In the Civilian World: unit/organization/agency
In the Military: headquarters
In the Civilian World: headquarters
In the Military: combat
In the Civilian World: conflict/hostilities/emergency/ highly hazardous conditions
In the Military: company
In the Civilian World: company/unit/department
In the Military: correspondence course
In the Civilian World: extension course/distance learning
In the Military: leader
In the Civilian World: supervisor/manager
In the Military: medal
In the Civilian World: award recognition
In the Military: military personnel office (MILPO)
In the Civilian World: personnel office
In the Military: mission
In the Civilian World: task/function/objective
In the Military: military occupation specialty (MOS)
In the Civilian World: career specialty
In the Military: platoon
In the Civilian World: section/element/department
In the Military: Platoon Sergeant
In the Civilian World: Supervisor/ Instructor/Trainer
In the Military: physical training (pt)
In the Civilian World: physical training
In the Military: reconnaissance
In the Civilian World: data collection/survey/analysis
In the Military: regulations
In the Civilian World: policy/guidelines/instructions
In the Military: security clearance
In the Civilian World: security clearance
In the Military: soldiers/airmen/marines/sailors
In the Civilian World: personnel/staff/employees/individuals/people
In the Military: subordinates
In the Civilian World: employees/personnel/staff/individuals/people
In the Military: Temporary Duty (TDY)
In the Civilian World: business trip/ temporary duty
In the Military: Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ)
In the Civilian World: legal action/document
In the Military: TDA/MTOE
In the Civilian World: organizational structure/human and material resources
In the Military: Personnel Action Center (PAC)
In the Civilian World: personnel office
In the Military: AR/DA/NAV Pamphlets
In the Civilian World: policy/guidelines/rules
In the Military: team
In the Civilian World: team
In the Military: squad
In the Civilian World: section
In the Military: brigade
In the Civilian World: group/division
In the Military: battalion
In the Civilian World: division
In the Military: PLDC/BNCOC
In the Civilian World: leadership or advanced leadership development course
In the Military: Command and General Staff College
In the Civilian World: strategic management course
In the Military: War College
In the Civilian World: advanced strategic studies course
By Janet Farley, author of The Military-to-Civilian Career Transition Guide (Jist, Inc., 2004) and "Jobs and the Military Spouse, 2nd Ed," (Impact Pub., 2004). She can be reached at janetfarley@hotmail.com. She is also the JobTalk columnist for the European, Pacific & Asian Stars and Stripes. Mrs. Farley is also a contributing editor to Civilian Job News, a Militaryresumes.com publication.
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Using the Right Lingo in Your Military to Civilian Job Hunt Updated at :
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
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