| Veteran Transitioning Tips Military servicemen and women make outstanding employees in occupational areas across the board. Veterans have strong leadership skills, a strong work ethic, team member skills and work well under pressure. However, transitioning from a military job to a civilian career can be a challenge. One of the challenges is the ability to convert military skills to civilian job skills on a resume and during an interview. Massachusetts has developed a new software program called TORQ, for Transformational Occupational Relationship Quotient. The program is intended to help match the knowledge, skills and attributes associated with a job seeker’s previous work experience. The program will be particularly helpful to veterans since it includes more than 9,700 military occupations. American companies are beginning to recognize the value of Veterans. Employers are tapping the technical skills, communications skills and leadership abilities of service men and women transitioning into the civilian work force. Transitioning Military and Veterans need to remember to include current contact information including an email address and phone number. When Veterans write their resumes, they should highlight specific military skills that are relevant to the responsibilities required for the job they are applying. Veteran resumes need to be short and concise. Veterans need to get the attention of the employer and compel the employer to contact and set up an interview. We recommend that a Veteran resume include accomplishments that demonstrate a Veteran’s knowledge and expertise. Veterans should describe the skills gained in the military in a generally understandable manner. They should not focus on one aspect but their responsibilities and accomplishments as a whole and not necessarily specific to the military. The Veteran must be responsible for translating his or her military skills into what the employer will understand! Hiring Veterans into the workplace strengthens any organization. With only minimal effort and cost, more companies are becoming Veteran friendly employers. They are finding loyal, dedicated and highly motivated personnel by recruiting from veterans and active members of the National Guard and Reserve. Employers are also finding incentives to hire veterans and better resources for locating them. The VOW To Hire Heroes Act provides significant tax incentives to employers that hire veterans. |