Veterans

Veterans

Coming to Lewis and Clark after serving in the military can be disorienting. Veterans come to campus with a wide range of life experiences, often after traveling the world and taking on significant responsibilities. The Career Center at Lewis and Clark is committed to helping veterans access opportunities and overcome unique challenges they may face as they pursue their next chapter.

Resume Writing for Veterans

Veterans often bring significantly more work experience than their peers. However, translating that background for a civilian audience can be challenging.

One recommendation is to translate military jargon into language that the broader public can understand. Veterans often use acronyms such as FOB or AFB to describe a base or abbreviate their job titles using military occupational codes and designators. We recommend adapting this type of language into more common terms (such as “Non-Commissioned Officer,” “Leader of Infantry Squad,” “Operations Department,” etc.)

The military also helps develop experience and transferable skills for the broader job market. Veterans have learned how to: lead, train, facilitate, collaborate, plan, improvise, speak publicly, supervise, organize, and solve problems. Incorporating these types of strong verbs on your resume and including specific details about your responsibilities and accomplishments is helpful. For example:

• Learned and applied technical procedures to safely operate and maintain specialized military equipment.
• Led a team of 8–12 soldiers during training exercises, assigning responsibilities, coordinating tasks, and ensuring objectives were completed safely and on schedule.
• Trained and mentored new soldiers on procedures, equipment, and safety standards, adapting instruction to different experience levels.
• Diagnosed and resolved equipment problems by evaluating potential causes, testing solutions, and restoring equipment to operational condition.

It can also be helpful for veterans to consult evaluation reports (NCOER) for specifics to list on their resume. NCOERs often list information like “Responsible for $100,000 worth of equipment” that can be expanded on: “Managed and maintained accountability for $100,000 in equipment, ensuring inventory accuracy throughout the assignment.”

The Career Center can offer guidance and assistance with all of these tasks.

Veteran Career Resources

Military.com: Offers career advice, job-search tools, resume guidance, and resources specifically designed to help veterans transition into civilian employment.

CareerOneStop: Helps veterans explore civilian career options, translate military experience into civilian skills, and find career and training resources.

FourBlock: Provides career-readiness programs and resources designed to help veterans successfully transition from military service into civilian careers.

U.S. Department of Labor – Veterans’ Employment Resources: Provides information about employment services, career resources, training opportunities, and other programs available to veterans.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs – Employment Resources: Connects veterans with career counseling, job-search assistance, education and training opportunities, and other employment resources.