Vets in tech: how did you translate your MOS into a resume a civilian recruiter actually reads?
Ray Alvarez@ruck_n_code
Roger, first real question post. Context: Army, 12 yrs, 25U (signal support systems specialist), SSG. ETS in about 6 months. Doing SkillBridge in the spring if it gets approved. Learning Python and Linux at night. Have Security+ from the Army (they made us).
Problem: my resume reads like an NCOER. "Supervised 9 Soldiers. Maintained 100% accountability of $2.1M in signal equipment. Ensured COMSEC compliance." Brett told me nobody outside DoD knows what half of that means and he's right. A recruiter at a career fair looked at it for 6 seconds and asked if I was "interested in security guard roles."
What I've tried:
- Took out most acronyms (still have some I don't even notice)
- Used an online "military skills translator" but it turned everything into "Logistics Coordinator", which is not what I want
Target: junior sysadmin, help desk tier 2, or junior network/cloud role. Not trying to be a SWE yet.
How did y'all write the bullets? Any before/after examples would help a lot. Also: do I put my TS/SCI on there or is that a bad idea? Thank you in advance, good to go on any feedback even if it's harsh.
Accepted answer
BLUF: Brett's right on all of it. Here's the full fix, I did this exact thing two years ago.
1. Top of the resume, a 3-line summary in civilian: "IT and communications technician with 12 years managing networks, radios and secure systems for the US Army. Security+ certified, active TS/SCI. Transitioning to systems administration."
2. Every bullet = action + what + number + result. "Supervised 9 Soldiers" becomes "Led a 9-person technical team maintaining radio and network equipment across 4 sites; trained 6 new technicians to certification."
3. Kill every acronym except Security+ and TS/SCI. Read it out loud to someone who never served. Every time they say "what's that", rewrite.
4. Add a Projects section with your Python/Linux stuff. That motor pool CSV script you mentioned in the course group? It goes on there. "Wrote a Python tool that flags overdue vehicle sign-outs, used daily by the unit." Real users = real project.
5. Apply to cleared defense contractors first. Your clearance is a cheat code there. Tier 2 help desk at a cleared contractor is a great first landing.
Send it to me when it's done. Never too old, never too early.
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Sign in to commentBrett Hollister@brett_hsv
Told ya brother 😄 Rule of thumb: write every bullet so your mom understands it, then add one number. Before: "Ensured COMSEC compliance." After: "Managed encryption keys and secure radio configurations for a 120-person unit; zero security findings across 3 years of audits." And YES put the clearance on there, plain: "Active TS/SCI clearance." For defense contractors it's worth more than a degree, they'll fight over you. my 2 cents
Accepted answer
JoJo Ramos@jojo_navyvet
BLUF: Brett's right on all of it. Here's the full fix, I did this exact thing two years ago.
1. Top of the resume, a 3-line summary in civilian: "IT and communications technician with 12 years managing networks, radios and secure systems for the US Army. Security+ certified, active TS/SCI. Transitioning to systems administration."
2. Every bullet = action + what + number + result. "Supervised 9 Soldiers" becomes "Led a 9-person technical team maintaining radio and network equipment across 4 sites; trained 6 new technicians to certification."
3. Kill every acronym except Security+ and TS/SCI. Read it out loud to someone who never served. Every time they say "what's that", rewrite.
4. Add a Projects section with your Python/Linux stuff. That motor pool CSV script you mentioned in the course group? It goes on there. "Wrote a Python tool that flags overdue vehicle sign-outs, used daily by the unit." Real users = real project.
5. Apply to cleared defense contractors first. Your clearance is a cheat code there. Tier 2 help desk at a cleared contractor is a great first landing.
Send it to me when it's done. Never too old, never too early.
Ray Alvarez@ruck_n_code
Chief, copy all. Rewriting tonight. Will send it over by Sunday. The "read it to someone who never served" test, my wife is going to love that job.
Jen Hayes@night_owl_jen
Ray!! study buddy cheering from ohio. you got this. also "interested in security guard roles" made me so mad on your behalf 😤🦉
Hodan Abdi@hodan_soc
Security+ plus TS/SCI plus a signal background also screams SOC analyst, if you're open to it. Tier 1 SOC at a cleared contractor is a very common path. Tier 1 pay isn't amazing but you move up fast.
Renee Whitfield@renee_em
Hiring manager view: I read the summary first, then the first bullet of the most recent job, then skills. That's about 20 seconds. JoJo's point 1 is the most important. And please don't apologize anywhere for not having a degree. Lead with what you've done.
Graham Whitfield@greybeard_graham
From the sysadmin side: "maintained 100% accountability of $2.1M in equipment" translates directly to asset management and change control, which is half of a real sysadmin job and the half most juniors cannot do. Say that. Cheers, G.
Ray Alvarez@ruck_n_code
Update: rewrote it with Chief's format. Applied to 6 cleared contractors. 2 callbacks already for tier 2 help desk. Same experience, different words. Thank you all. Good to go.