Newsletter: Translating Your Military Value in the Civilian World - Part 1
Your MOS code is costing you interviews—here's the fix
Welcome back, Proactive Job Seekers!
This week's focus has been crystal clear: Your military experience is your competitive advantage, but only if civilian employers can understand its value.
If you caught Tuesday's article "The Civilian Resume: Translating Military MOS Codes into Corporate Value," you saw exactly why that "11B Infantry" or "25B Information Technology Specialist" on your resume might be creating a barrier instead of opening doors.
The problem isn't your military experience—it's the translation.
The Week's Key Breakthrough
If you missed Tuesday's article, here's the game-changing insight: Every MOS code needs to go through a three-layer translation process.
Layer 1: Job Title Translation (Replace MOS code with civilian equivalent) Layer 2: Core Function Description (Explain what you did in business language)
Layer 3: Quantified Impact (Add metrics that prove your value)
Here's what this looks like in action:
Instead of: "25B - Information Technology Specialist" Write: "Network Systems Administrator - Maintained 99.8% uptime for critical IT infrastructure supporting 500+ users"
Instead of: "92A - Automated Logistical Specialist"
Write: "Supply Chain Coordinator - Managed comprehensive inventory operations, maintaining 98% accuracy rate while supporting 300+ personnel"
The difference? Immediate value recognition.
Your Pro Resource This Week
Thursday's free download—the Military-to-Civilian Skills Translation Cheat Sheet—gives you the exact civilian job titles and corporate language for 20+ common MOS codes. But here's a resource that can be a game-changer:
O*NET Interest Profiler (onetonline.org)
This Department of Labor database shows you exactly how employers categorize jobs and what skills they value most. It's the authoritative tool career counselors use to match military experience with civilian roles. And it's completely free.
Why does this matter? Because when you use the same language that appears in O*NET, your resume speaks the language hiring managers expect to see.
This Week's Action Step
Take your current resume and run it through the three-layer translation process:
Replace every MOS code with the closest civilian job title (use O*NET for accuracy)
Convert military language to corporate terms ("mission" becomes "project," "unit" becomes "team")
Add quantified impact to every responsibility (How many? What percentage? What dollar value?)
Don't just describe what you did—prove the value you created.
What's Coming Next Week
We'll tackle the even bigger challenge: translating military leadership experience into terms that make civilian hiring managers want to meet you. (Hint: It's not about how many people you supervised.)
Your proactive move: Complete this week's action step and reply with your best before/after translation. I'll provide feedback to help you sharpen your impact statements.
Remember: Right action + Proaction = Job Search Success
Until next week, Lee Gamelin, The Proactive Job Seeker
P.S. If you haven't read Tuesday's full article, "The Civilian Resume: Translating Military MOS Codes into Corporate Value," it includes real translation examples for combat arms, technical, and support positions. Plus, the complete framework for identifying corporate value in any military role. https://www.proactivejobseeker.com/p/monday-military-skills-translation?r=4thyn
Your feedback shapes next week's content—hit reply and tell me: What's your biggest MOS translation challenge?