The Office of Career and Professional Development is committed to being a partner to our student veterans. We look forward to helping you prepare for your next steps after Georgia Southern and helping you build on the skills you have already gained through your experiences. Below are some veteran-specific links that will help you get started. If other questions arise, look at our additional resources on our websites or make an appointment with a Career & Internship Advisor by following the button below.
Developing a “Civilian-Friendly” Résumé
To be competitive for jobs and internships outside of the military, you will need to translate your military experiences and skills to civilian terms on your résumé. Regardless of your specific profession in the military, you developed and strengthened marketable skills for a civilian workplace.
Georgia Southern University Resources
- Review the Résumé and Letters page of the OCPD website for general resume tips and to begin a draft.
- Get feedback by uploading a résumé to Handshake for immediate personalized feedback.
- Make an appointment with a Career & Internship Advisor experienced in working with students with military experience.
Translating Military Skills on Civilian Résumés
This will help you identify your skills which will be helpful in your job search and in developing your resume.
- Translation of common terms and skills
- Military Crosswalk Search find similar careers to positions held within the military based upon codes or titles from you MOC. Provided by O*Net OnLine.
- Military to Civilian Occupation Translator. Match your MOC or keywords to civilian careers. Provided by CareerOneStop, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor.
Exploring Civilian Options
Career Assessments
OCPD Resources
- Take the FOCUS Assessment for free, or other paid assessment, and receive personalized feedback on interest areas, potential majors, and career paths.
Additional External Resources
- Use career assessment tools to help you when choosing a major or career. Check out MyNextMove for quick and free tools to explore options.
Research How Your Experience Translates to Civilian Roles
- Match your military skills and experiences to civilian occupations using the Military-to-Civilian Occupation Translator from CareerOneStop
- MyNextMove, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor, has a tool to help you translate your military assignments into civilian occupations.
- Obtain your Verification of Military Experience and Training Document from the DoD Transition Assistance Program. This document lists your military job experience and training history, recommended college credit information, and civilian equivalent job titles.
Job and Internship Search Resources for Veterans
Below are links to veteran-specific job boards. During your job and internship search process, it’s not a good idea to rely only on job boards, but they can be a good resource when used effectively. Use them to understand: who is hiring? For what position? Where? While you can still apply to those positions through the job boards, keep in mind that it would still be a good idea to contact the company directly regarding the position and keep networking as an important part of your strategy.
Georgia Southern Resources
- Handshake: A pathway to career connections. Through this tool you can: Explore job and internship openings, engage in recruiting activities with employers, and develop and track your goals and next steps. You can also identify career-related events, workshops, and fairs and schedule an appointment with a Career & Internship Advisor to discuss your ideas, and develop plans, and strategies related to graduate/professional schools, and employment.
- Career Shift: an additional job search tool Georgia Southern students and alumni can use for free to help identify potential opportunities worldwide
Additional External Resources
- Student Veterans of America’s Job Portal
- FedsHireVets.gov
- National Labor Exchange
- Veteran Job Mission Coalition
- Recruit Military
- Hire A Hero
- Hire Heroes USA
- USAJobs.gov
- Job Opportunities for Veterans with Disabilities
Interested in starting your own business? The Small Business Administration has a page devoted to entrepreneurial vets interested in starting their own businesses.
Professional Associations and Networking Groups
Joining groups can be beneficial for many reasons including support, networking, resource sharing, learning, and potential job opportunities. Below are a few groups and networking pages to consider joining. Also, consider looking for groups associated with your branch.
- Student Veterans of America
- US Military Veterans Network
- U.S. Veterans
- Military Network
- The Value Of a Veteran
Graduate or Professional School
Graduate School is an opportunity to prepare for a new profession, advance in your current field, or explore advanced learning for self-enhancement. Graduate study requires real commitment and is different in many ways from your undergraduate work. It is focused, shorter, and more intense.