Visit the following external resources for additional assistance.

Resume and Cover Letter

UC Berkeley's Resume and Cover Letter Guide

This resource provides step-by-step guidance on crafting a perfect resume and cover letter. It also includes a variety of samples, examples of how to effectively translate your experience into action-oriented statements that highlight your accomplishments, quick-reference checklists, and power word suggestions. And even though the guide assumes a student audience, rest assured that its advice and tools can be of great benefit to any job seeker, at any stage of their life or career.

Military Skills Translators

Unsure how the talents and skills you honed during your military career apply to civilian opportunities? Then try using one of these skills translators.

Resume Engine

Resume Engine helps you translate your military experience to language better understood by civilian employers. The site can also help you create a resume and will even host it, so it can be seen by the hundreds of employers who search Resume Engine for job candidates.

Military.com Skills Translator

The Skills Translator on Military.com will help you identify civilian skills associated with your military job and provides postings for current job openings that utilize those skills. Simply enter your service branch and job title to start. You'll then see a list of equivalent civilian jobs as well as advanced search functions that allow you to refine this list. Further down in the left-hand pane you'll find the list of civilian skills associated with your military job, which you can use to identify the most applicable and desirable skills to include in your resume.

CareerOneStop Military to Civilian Occupation Translator

This tool can also help you find civilian skills commonly associated with your military job. You'll start by searching for your military job using your MOC, keywords or by exploring provided menus of military occupations. After you've found your job, you'll typically have two options:

  1. If there are civilian careers equivalent to your military job, you can select one, then click a link to View more information about the job. Next, select the state in which you'd like to work, then scroll down the subsequent information page to find knowledge, skills and abilities associated with that career. Find those most relevant to your experience and desired civilian career and add them to your resume as applicable.
  2. If there are no civilian careers equivalent to your military job, you'll be provided with a link to the Skills Profiler, an interactive tool you can use to identify your skills and strengths. Choose the Start your skills profile option, and follow the instructions from there.

Commonly Applicable Skills

If you're having trouble finding skills to match your military job, or need a few more to include on your resume, remember that there are more general skills that nearly all veterans develop over the course of their service, regardless of their specific military job, and that are highly desired by employers. Skills like the ability to work as part of a team or to perform at the highest level under pressure.

This list of 21 Strengths Arising From Military Experience, provided courtesy of the National Veterans' Training Institue (NVTI) and the University of Colorado Denver, details some of the most common skills all veterans possess and civilian employers seek.

Marine for Life Network

The Marine For Life Network provides career and education resources for Marines transitioning into civilian life, as well as numerous additional services that help promote career advancement and overall wellness.

Career Exploration

CareerOneStop.org

Sponsored by the Department of Labor, CareerOneStop.org provides a wealth of career resources, ranging in nature from career exploration, to job training, job searching, local help and more.

For vet-specific resources, visit their Veteran and Military Transition Center, a comprehensive hub offering information for transitioning servicemembers on employment, training, financial assistance, and much, much more.

LinkedIn

Enhance your online presence with a LinkedIn profile. LinkedIn is a business and employment oriented social networking service used mainly for professional networking, connecting more than 300 million users. You can post your resume for potential employers to see, build online connections with your military contacts, who can give you recommendations or information on opportunities they know about in your field, and develop your brand.

Visit the LinkedIn Veterans page to view an introductory video, explore career resources and sign up for a free 1-year Premium Subscription. You can also explore the LinkedIn Veterans Blog for articles pertaining to vets and their career journeys.

This Lynda.com e-Course can help you get started on building your profile.

Veteran Benefits

Explore the veterans benefits provided by the state of California and Federal Government:

Veteran Center Programs

Vet Center Programs are community-based counseling centers that provide a wide range of social and psychological services, including professional readjustment counseling to eligible Veterans, active duty service members, including National Guard and Reserve components, and their families. Find a Vet Center Near You.

Project Uniform

Undoing Nicotine Influence From Our Respected Military creates military-civilian partnerships to address tobacco use in military communities by providing culturally appropriate tobacco control information and trainings to existing military cessation programs on installations; collaborating with military support networks to promote cessation services; and educating tobacco control professionals on the culture and existing services within the Armed Forces of the United States.