Career Resources for Student Veterans

Coming to Oregon State as a veteran, you are starting your second career. You have diverse life experiences, you’ve often traveled the world, accomplished great things and had tremendous past responsibilities. As a result, your opportunities and challenges in the career sphere are different from those of traditional undergraduate students. Use the resources on this page and those available from the Military-Connected Community at OSU to help you build on your past and move toward what’s next.

  

Introducing VETS-UP: A Paid Training Opportunity for Oregon Veteran Students

Oregon veterans can now gain hands-on training in the rapidly growing semiconductor industry through the VETS-UP program, a partnership between Oregon State University and Analog Devices, Inc. This eight-week paid training program in Beaverton, Oregon offers experience in manufacturing processes, electronics, and robotics—plus the opportunity to earn micro-credentials and career-ready skills.

Apply by May 1, 2025 for the July 2025 training session!

Resume writing for veterans

 

Marketing your military experience to a civilian employer is not always easy. Anyone who has served knows the military has a language of its own, thus it is important to translate this language to effectively communicate your skillset. Here are some tips:

Type of resume

The most common type of resume is chronological, listing and describing experience from the most to least recent. But for veterans, especially if you are entering a new career field, you may also consider a functional resume. Rather than emphasizing previous job positions and focusing on date order, a functional resume focuses on skills (e.g., headers may include “Leadership Skills,” “Communication & Public Speaking,” “Supervision & Training Experience.”) This allows you to emphasize entire groups of skills versus focusing on your job titles as much. Meet with your college-specific career advisor or see our resume types page to learn more about writing a functional resume.

 

Modifying military jargon

Military language is full of acronyms, technical terms and jargon. After being in the military for a long time, you may not realize you are using language civilians do not understand. Unfortunately, when it shows up on your resume or comes up in interviews it could confuse employers. Here are some ways to translate military-speak with words you might need in your resume.

  • Acronyms: Spell them out and consider simplifying them
    •  Use the word “Base” rather than “FOB” or “AFB”
    • Use “Non-Commissioned Officer” or “Supervisor”
  • Occupational Designator: State your job title rather than the MOS/MOC designator
    • Use “Leader of Infantry Squad” rather than “11B”
    • Use “Aircraft Load Manager” or “Cargo Manager” rather than “1A2X1”
  • Technical Terms: Put them into the simplest terms
    • Use “Military Helicopter” rather than “AH-64”
    • Use “Operations Department” rather than “S3”

Tip for Success: Ask someone without military experience to check your resume for terms that may be unfamiliar to civilians.

 

Military education

Service members regularly attend military schools but often feel military education does not belong on a resume. It does! Create a section called “Additional Education and Training” and list the schools you attended, where they were and the length of the course. If the name of the school is not self-explanatory, describe the program. Also, state why that
experience was valuable and any accomplishments you achieved. Similarly, explain awards, honors and promotions whenever possible.

Example:

Warrior Leadership Course, Fort Bliss, Texas, February 2020

  • Two-week course that utilized experiential learning to teach valuable skills in leadership, teamwork, and critical thinking.
  • Recognized as “Soldier Leader of the Class” for outstanding physical and academic performance.

For more tips, visit our resume page.

Marketing your skills

 

Serving in the military gives you many great experiences and skills. Here are some skills common to veterans that would be valuable to any job position and how you can share them on your resume.

Leading, Communicating, Public Speaking, Training, Facilitating, Planning, Improvising, Motivating, Adapting, Organizing, Evaluating, Critical Thinking, Working Under Pressure, Teamwork, Decision Making, Multitasking, Managing or Supervising Others, Problem Solving, Reasoning, Following Detailed Instructions

Provide specific statements on how you used these skills

For example:

  • Trained over 20 soldiers in first aid techniques, facilitating deployment readiness for the unit
  • Used critical thinking and diagnostic skills to ensure communications equipment functioned properly
  • Collaborated with a diverse team of ten people for three years, succeeding through stressful work conditions

Skills for your resume could come from sources such as award citations, NCOERs and counseling statements

For example, statements on your NCOER could be changed into resume statements:

  • NCOER: Responsible for over $50,000 worth of equipment
    • Resume: Managed over $50,000 worth of equipment during a 12 month deployment with no loss of inventory
  • NCOER: Manages, tracks and oversees all administrative actions for 130 soldiers
    • Resume: Tracked, managed, and oversaw day-to-day operations for 130 personnel, ensuring seamless cooperation and tasks were completed according to strict deadlines.

Online military skill translator

O*Net Online will translate your skills. All you have to do is select your branch of services and occupations, and a list of skills and position-related information will be provided.

Federal government resumes

 

Many veterans are drawn to federal government employment after service because of their advantage on government applications. With “veterans’ preference,” your application may be selected over non-veteran applicants in the hiring process. Veterans' preference can be used when applying to permanent and temporary positions in both the competitive and excepted service (of the executive branch). More information is available on USAJobs.gov in the veterans’ section.

Federal resumes vary in significant ways from private sector resumes. For instance, federal resumes are usually longer, about two-to-five pages for college students and early career professionals (longer for more experienced candidates). Check out the links below to learn more about creating these specialized resumes:

It can also be helpful to connect with other student veterans and alumni who served in the military. You can connect with alumni through a variety of online tools. We recommend that you start by exploring the OSU Alumni Association webpage as you will find resources on networking with alumni. You can also find and message alumni, including veterans, on LinkedIn. Look up “Oregon State University” as a school in the search bar. Click on the “Alumni” tab and search by major, keyword, etc.

There are many veterans who are eager to share about their transition from military service to student and into civilian work.

  

Hiring protection

 

The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA) were signed into law on October 13, 1994, to prohibit discrimination against returning service members because of their military service or obligation. The law seeks to ensure that those who serve their country can retain their civilian employment and benefits and can seek employment free from discrimination because of their service. See the Department of Labor’s Protected Veterans’ Rights and the U.S. Equal Opportunities Commission on protections for veterans with disabilities.

  

Veterans associations & resources

 

 

  

Additional Resources

If you are aware of a resource we should consider adding, please email [email protected].

For more information and to connect and be in community with others, check out the opportunities available with the Military Connected Community at OSU.