Your Military experience or acumen gives you a unique advantage over many in business. The question is translating your military experience into viable business lingo, or dumb it down so an eighth grader can understand. This can be one of the hardest things to truly explain and comprehend. The last thing you want when you’re after new business is to have a perspective client look at you with a “deer in the headlights” moment. It’s also much simpler than at first thought.

First, realize as a Veteran your mission has just changed. That same tenacity we develop, some would say we were born with, allows us to see things with more laser focus than most. See yourself as a highly-valuable asset to any situation regardless of education, perceived experience or competition. You truly are a unique and valuable resource that is waiting to shine!

Second, you need to start by writing it all down. This is one of those things that is often overlooked, but is very crucial. This allows you to clear out the cob webs from your own perceived funk, and really see it in black and white. This will prove even more valuable in later steps so make it count. Remember this will be an exercise to come back to and continue to expand on.

The next thing is to refine all these things written to the point that they are clearly understood by yourself that you can easily remember it at a moment’s notice. Yet, your work is not done. Make final refinements so that even an eighth grader can understand what you’re saying, but ensure that how we speak as Veterans is completely removed because most will never understand it.

Here’s an example:

• I was a platoon leader, and oversaw the needs of my troops… versus...
• Managing a team of 10+ to ensure objectives are met on time and within requirements of the needs of the organization.

Remember as Veterans we shorten things straight to the point, but in the civilian world they do not. They fill everything with fluff, and many times it is because they are unsure of what they do. The business world is a little easier because things become a little more simplified. From the example above we took a straight to the point sentence to something that not only has the balance of fluff yet to the point. This simple statement is also what a business person will be attracted to, and eager to know more about who you are. We also have an ability that not many others have… we are completely “full of ourselves”, and for good reason, . What’s more is we can be because we have done so much more than anyone else in the civilian world.