Military to Civilian Career Transition

15,000 people leave the British military every year. Every single one gets handed the same transition playbook. None of them are the same person. The resettlement process assumes everyone needs: 1️⃣ CV writing workshops (because that's the silver bullet 👀) 2️⃣ Generic networking advice (as if a 22-year-old Junior Rank and a 45-year-old officer have the same professional network) 3️⃣ "Translate your military skills" webinars (that produce identical LinkedIn profiles saying "leadership" and "teamwork"). But here's what's actually true: A logistics officer leaving after 4 years needs completely different support than a 15-year infantryman. The 22-year-old who joined straight from school needs a different pathway than the 30-year-old who had a career before service. Someone entering engineering needs different preparation than someone going into finance, sales, or project management. Yet we give them all the same two-day workshop and an insignificant amount of credits for education and courses. The Real Damage: This cookie-cutter approach is why we see the same patterns repeatedly: 1️⃣ Veterans defaulting to "project management" because it's safe and recommended to everyone 2️⃣ Identical CVs that hiring managers bin immediately because they can't tell anyone apart 3️⃣ Talented people ending up in roles below their capability because the system didn't help them understand what they're actually capable of 4️⃣ The first civilian job becoming a placeholder rather than a launchpad. What should happen instead👇 Personalised transition based on: 1️⃣ Actual skills and competencies (not just job titles) 2️⃣ Career aspirations that go beyond "I want to help people" 3️⃣ Individual circumstances (age, location, financial pressure, family situation, future aspirations) 4️⃣ Demonstrated capabilities through assessment, not assumptions based on rank The military spends years training people for specific roles, understanding their strengths, pushing them into positions that match their abilities. Then dumps them all into the same transition conveyor belt on the way out. We need to stop treating transition like an administrative process and start treating it like what it is - 15,000 different people starting 15,000 different careers. Your transition support should be as unique as your service was.

Working at Redeployable, I'm lucky to be able to regularly chat with service leavers about their career aspirations and concerns as they get ready to exit the military. These conversations have given me some great insights into the challenges and opportunities facing service leavers. Here are some of my key takeaways: Skills Translation is a Common Hurdle: A lot of people struggle to articulate how their military skills apply to civvy roles. There's definitely a need for guidance on "translating" military experience into terms that resonate with civilian employers. Industry Knowledge Gaps: While service members possess incredible skills and work ethic, many express uncertainty about civilian industries and how they operate. This highlights the importance of industry-specific education and networking. Desire for Meaningful Work: Consistently, I hear that service leavers want to find roles where they can continue to make a significant impact. They're looking for careers, not just jobs! Networking Challenges: Building a professional network from scratch is daunting for many. There's a strong interest in connecting with veterans who have successfully made the transition already. Undervaluing Military Experience: Surprisingly, a significant number of service leavers underestimate the value of their military skills and experiences. Many don't realise how exceptional their leadership, problem-solving, and teamwork abilities are in the civilian context. If you're leaving and would like a chat, 1:1s can be booked through the Redeployable community.

Military leadership is 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘪𝘦𝘳 than corporate leadership. Not because it’s less important. Not because it’s less complex. But because the 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 does most of heavy lifting. Look-- In the military... Leadership is reinforced by structure: rank, roles, doctrine, and clear authority. When you give direction, you usually have 𝘭𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘭 and 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 backing to execute it. There are 𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙇 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨 for not following orders. In corporate... The authority is different. You might “own” the outcome, but you don’t automatically “own” the people, priorities, or resources. Influence often matters as much as competence-and alignment matters as much as execution. Last week... I was on a call with a buddy who started his first corporate leadership role after retiring. He said, “𝘐’𝘮 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘐 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘱𝘶𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘦.” (That made me chuckle 😂--pushing a rope 🤣) Anyway... As we talked through it and the gap wasn’t his leadership ability but the environment: • multiple stakeholders • unclear decision rights • competing incentives • a culture where “yes” doesn’t always mean “yes" So... Here are 𝟯 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 for anyone transitioning from military leadership to corporate leadership: 1. 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀. In corporate, credibility is earned repeatedly--and across peers you don’t “outrank.” Invest early in trust, cross-functional relationships, and understanding what each stakeholder 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 cares about.     2. 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗴𝘂𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. Orders become proposals. Direction becomes collaboration. If you can clearly connect your request to business outcomes (cost, risk, customer impact, revenue, & time), your leadership will land faster.     3. 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀--𝗤𝗨𝗜𝗖𝗞𝗟𝗬! Before you drive execution, ask: 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴? 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘧𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘴? 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴? 𝘞𝘩𝘰 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘥?     Many frustrations in corporate aren’t leadership failures--they’re governance failures. Does this sound fair? For those who’ve made the transition: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗶𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲? #QuickNote #Leadership #MilitaryTransition

Just placed veteran #48 this year. Here's the brutal truth about why most veteran CVs get binned. It's not your experience. It's your translation. 200 CVs reviewed in the last 3 months. Same mistakes: Led 30 soldiers in Afghanistan Managed equipment worth £5M Responsible for logistics operations Dave from HR reads this and thinks "so what?" (I need to stop picking on Dave) Here's what actually happened: That infantry sergeant who led 30 soldiers? Built a team from scratch. Delivered results when failure meant casualties. Made split-second decisions worth lives. Zero margin for error. That engineer who managed equipment? Ran maintenance ops with 99.8% uptime. No vendor support in Helmand. Fixed £5M kit with duct tape and determination. That logistics officer? Coordinated supply chains across 3 countries. No SAP. No consultants. Just results. But your CV says ‘responsible for logistics’. Meanwhile, McKinsey charges £500k to teach ‘operational excellence’ to companies that bin your application. The brutal truth? Your CV isn't the problem. Your vocabulary is. Stop writing military. Start writing money. Not: ‘Led reconnaissance patrols’ But: Gathered market intelligence under extreme pressure with zero data loss" Not: ‘Managed vehicle fleet’ But: Optimised asset utilisation saving £200k annually through preventive maintenance Not: ‘Trained junior soldiers’ But: Developed high-performance teams - 100% passed technical assessments first time Every. Single. Line. Must. Translate. In the last 6 months: ✅ 48 veterans placed ✅ Average salary increase: 35% All because we fixed their dictionary. Your Afghanistan tour is worth more than their MBA. You just need to speak their language. Who else is done watching veterans get rejected for lacking experience? #VeteranEmployment #MilitaryTransition #CVTips

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱𝘀 𝟯𝟬 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗯𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟯𝟱. 𝗩𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿. That's the biggest lie you'll ever tell yourself. I believed this myth when I left the Air Force. I convinced myself that managing classified security programs was "just military work." Leading cross-functional teams across multiple bases? "Just following orders." Overseeing multi-million dollar construction projects? "Not real business experience." Wrong on all counts. You're not starting over. You're continuing what you've been doing your entire military career. → That deployment where you coordinated resources across time zones? Program management. → When you built training programs from scratch? Project lifecycle management. → Managing personnel, equipment, and budgets simultaneously? Portfolio management. → Those base construction projects you oversaw? Capital project management. The problem isn't your experience. It's the translation. Military service teaches project management better than most MBA programs. You delivered results under impossible deadlines. Managed stakeholders who outrank you. Adapted when everything changed overnight. Companies are desperate for these exact skills. The gap isn't in your qualifications. It's in the language you use to describe them. Map your military roles to PM competencies. Learn to speak PMI. Get familiar with frameworks that formalize what you already know. You're not behind the curve. You're exactly what the market needs. Follow Brian Ables, PMP for practical tips and strategies to grow your career. ♻️ If you're a veteran who needs to hear this, share it with others who do too.

Yesterday, I shared a veteran resource graphic focused on education, certifications, mentorship, transition support, and employment resources. The response was far bigger than I expected. Veterans, military spouses, recruiters, nonprofit leaders, and transition professionals jumped into the comments with additional organizations, corrections, and recommendations. After a few hours, I reviewed the feedback, verified programs, removed outdated resources, and tightened up the guide. This updated version is the result. The goal was simple: build something practical and genuinely useful for transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses. A lot of veterans leave service with leadership, operational experience, and adaptability. The hard part is often translating those skills, building the right network, and finding the right opportunities. Hopefully this helps shorten that learning curve for someone else. Please note that some organizations and programs can fall into multiple categories and may only be listed once or twice throughout the graphic. I’m also open to building more targeted follow-on graphics/resources for specific categories, industries, certifications, career fields, or transition paths if people think they’d be helpful. Feel free to share this with anyone who could benefit from it.

For those retiring/transitioning out of the #military, here is the latest version of the Military Retirement Planner. Aside from some new time limitations on DoD Skillbridge Fellowships, not much notable has changed since I last updated it in 2025. As always, this is meant as guide, not for a source for definitive information (all models flawed, but some are useful). Here's what hasn’t changed: You need to figure out what you want to do next and where you want to live. For most, figuring out what you want to do next is a messy process. Building your network, following and connecting with professionals in your fields of interest on #LinkedIn, conducting informational interviews, finding mentors…these are things that will help you determine a vector, figure out any skill gaps, and lift the fog of the unknown.  You are about to swim in open water. Don’t get lulled into thinking your rank, security clearance, or your veteran status is enough to get you a job.  Carve out the time to do a proper ‘mission analysis’ and make a tentative plan so your separation date isn’t the first day of your unemployment. Your first job out of the military won’t be your last. At some point you will move up, move out, or move on. Learn how to network, translate your relevant skills, tailor your resume to a job, interview for a position, and negotiate your salary and benefits. These are all life skills you will need as you enter the civilian workforce. Find a military career transition program or other free resources that can help with these skills (there are many).  I’ve been out of uniform for 8 years so here’s a final thought for those looking to transition from military service and enter the private sector (take this as an observation and a warning): Covid-19 fundamentally reshaped the landscape of work by accelerating the adoption of remote and hybrid work arrangements (not for all, but for many). Looking ahead, the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) is poised to further transform the workplace in profound ways. I’m watching this play out now in real time like most of you.  More than any other advice you might receive about getting degrees and certifications, you need to learn how to use AI tools if your job requires a computer.  If you are using a free version of an AI tool like ChatGPT, its capabilities are years behind the paid subscription versions. It’s like using a bicycle instead of a motorcycle. Get beyond using AI as a search engine and merely asking it simple questions.  Learn to feed it info and task it to conduct analysis, write papers and produce products. AI tools will be commonplace in most every work sector you can think of and this is rapidly accelerating.  AI can make you obsolete, or it can make you more valuable.   Hope this helps. For the veterans that have been out for a bit, feel free to drop a comment below. #militarytransition #veteranshelpingveterans #transitioningmilitary

Your first job out of the military 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱𝗻’𝘁 be CEO. In the military, no one would hand a brand-new lieutenant the keys to command a battalion. There’s a reason leadership is developed step by step, with mentors, training, and time in the seat. But too often, veterans step out of uniform and feel the pressure to “go big or go home.” They aim for top titles before learning the terrain. And it backfires, not because they lack leadership, but because leadership in the military and leadership in corporate aren’t the same thing. We’re taught to lead. 𝘞𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦. There’s a gap to bridge. That’s why the smartest transition isn’t always the highest role. It’s the one that gives you space to learn the rules of the new game, translate your experience, and grow into influence without the weight of unrealistic expectations. Because here’s the truth: Veterans can and do make phenomenal CEOs. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲𝗱, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗼𝗻𝗲. Veterans in transition: don’t confuse your first step with your final destination. Take the bridge role. Learn the culture. Then lead the company. #VeteranHiring #MilitaryTransition #Leadership #CareerAdvice Veteran Hiring Solutions

One in three veterans will leave their first post-military career within the first year. Not because they can’t do the job. Not because they lack talent or work ethic. Because the fit isn’t there. The transition out of uniform is more than a change of job description — it’s a complete shift in identity, culture, language, and pace. And yet, many veterans are told: “Just get your foot in the door.” That’s bad advice. Here’s the truth: • The wrong “first” job can stall your momentum. • Culture shock is real — and it can be isolating. • Employers often underestimate the value of your experience because you don’t “speak civilian” yet. We can fix this, but it takes a better approach: 1. Match your values and strengths to the right role, not just the first one offered. 2. Build a network before you separate — connections open doors you never knew existed. 3. Seek out mentors who’ve made the leap and stayed. If you’ve already made the jump, share what you wish you’d known. If you’re still in, ask the questions now — before the uniform comes off. The first year out doesn’t have to be a false start. Let’s make it a launch! 🚀 What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to someone leaving the #military this year? #jobsearch #militarytransition

A hard truth for transitioning veterans. Nobody cares what you did in the military. They care how you translate it. That might sting a little, but it is the reality of the civilian world. You could have been the best squad leader in Charlie Company 4-31. You could have led troops, moved mountains, and kept your people alive in situations most civilians cannot even imagine. But employers are not hiring your past. They are hiring your ability to deliver value today. And here is the 800 pound soup sandwich in the room that nobody talks about. That sub standard soldier you had who barely made it through his first enlistment is out here telling the same war stories. Most civilians cannot tell the difference between him and you. To them, you are both just "military." They do not know MOS, units, commendations, or what excellence actually looked like in your world. Which means you cannot rely on your service to speak for itself. What matters is how you connect the dots. Can you explain how your time leading soldiers translates into leading teams in a corporate environment? Can you communicate how planning a mission aligns with managing a project? Can you show how discipline, initiative, and accountability transfer into results for their organization? The uniform earns respect, but it does not automatically earn opportunity. Your job is to take what you did in the military and make it understandable, relevant, and actionable in the civilian world. Not in acronyms. Not in unit stories. In terms that make sense to someone who has never served a day in their life. Once you do that, everything changes. Doors open. Conversations shift. Employers start to see what you bring to the table. Your service matters. Your translation is what gets you hired. #Veterans #TransitioningMilitary #MilitaryToCivilian #MilitaryTransition #VeteranSuccess #VetEmployment #CareerAdvice #CareerGrowth #Leadership #VeteranHiring #HireVeterans #WorkforceDevelopment #PostMilitaryCareer #ProfessionalDevelopment #LeadershipDevelopment #CareerReadiness #VetsInTech #Vets2Industry #HumanResources #Recruiting #TalentAcquisition #MilitaryExperience #SkillsTranslation #JobsForVets #VeteransSupport #LinkedInVeterans #MilitaryCommunity