Veteran to civilian resume
Military experience is valuable, but civilian hiring managers often don't know what an MOS, rating or AFSC means. Your resume has to do the translating.
1. Translate your job title
Use a civilian equivalent alongside or instead of the military title: "Logistics Supervisor (Army 92A, Staff Sergeant)". The free My Next Move for Veterans tool from O*NET lets you look up civilian occupations related to your military job code.
2. Remove the acronyms
Spell out or replace terms like NCOIC, CONUS, and unit designations. Write "supervised" rather than "was NCOIC of".
3. Show scale in plain numbers
"Led a team of 14", "Responsible for $3M in equipment", and "Maintained 30 vehicles" are understood everywhere.
4. List training and clearance
Military schools, certifications that transfer (such as CDL, HAZMAT, or IT certifications), and an active security clearance can all go on the page if the job could use them.
5. Keep it to civilian length
One to two pages. Awards can be summarized in one line unless one is directly relevant.
Fictional sample
Fictional example: "Marcus Bell" isn't a real person. Every name, employer, number and date below is made up to illustrate the advice. It isn't a customer's resume.
Marcus is a made-up Army veteran moving into warehouse operations management.
MARCUS BELL · Fayetteville, NC · marcus.bell@example.com
Summary
Logistics supervisor with 10 years of U.S. Army experience leading supply teams and accounting for high-value equipment. Seeking a warehouse operations role.
Experience
Supply Supervisor (Staff Sergeant), U.S. Army · 2016–2026
- Supervised a 12-person supply team supporting 600 personnel.
- Accounted for about $4M in equipment with zero losses at annual inspections.
Sources
How we can help
Send us your evaluations or a list of duties. We'll translate them into civilian language and won't claim anything they don't support.
Prices
Flat prices with no add-ons or upsells. You always get a Word file you can edit and a PDF, at no extra charge.
| What you get | Price | Ready in |
|---|---|---|
| Resume refresh We rewrite and reformat your resume for the kind of job you want. Up to 2 rounds of changes. | $59 | 2 business days |
| Resume + cover letter The resume refresh, plus one cover letter for a specific job. | $79 | 2 business days |
| Cover letter only One letter for one job posting. Send us the posting and your resume. | $25 | 1 business day |
We'll email you a draft; pay only after you approve it. If it isn't right, tell us what to change. You owe nothing until you approve it.
An honest note: we use AI to help
We use AI writing tools to help draft and format your resume. A real person reads, checks and edits every page before it reaches you.
- We never make anything up: no invented jobs, dates, degrees, licenses or skills. If something is unclear, we ask you.
- We take out your phone number, email and street address before using any AI tool and put them back at the end.
- You can ask us to delete your information at any time. See our privacy note.
What we won't do
- We will never ask for passwords, PINs, bank or card numbers, or your Social Security number. Please don't send them. Anyone who asks you for these is not us.
- We don't log into job websites or accounts for you.
- We don't give legal, medical, or financial advice, and we don't make those decisions for you.
- We can't promise you'll get a job or an interview. Nobody honestly can.
Related guides: Resume for retirees going part-time · Your first resume in 20 years · HVAC technician resume
Want us to do it for you?
Email orders@scantoolmatch.com with your old resume (or a phone photo of it) and the kind of job you want. Rough notes are fine. We'll email you a draft within 2 business days; pay only after you approve it.