As a global spokesperson for LinkedIn, I had the honor this week of writing a blog post to support LinkedIn’s Veterans Initiative, a new microsite tailored with tips, tools and information to help veterans find new opportunities (including a free one-year LinkedIn Job Seeker subscription for all current and former service men and women).
Please share this article and LinkedIn’s offer. And thank you to all those who serve our country.
Veterans Helping Veterans: LinkedIn Tips for Job Seekers Who Have Served
I often advise job seekers to reach out to people in their desired industries for advice and guidance. So, when I sat down to write a blog post to help job seekers with military backgrounds, I decided to follow my own advice.
I posted a query on LinkedIn asking veterans if they’d be willing to share some tips for other former servicemen and servicewomen. Not surprisingly, several veterans stepped up immediately to help, as did a few non-veterans who wanted to lend a hand.
Here are the top recommendations they shared:
Emphasize transferable skills.
Everyone’s first tip was to make sure your LinkedIn profile emphasizes your transferable skills.
“Being a marksman with an M-16 has little applicability to supply-chain management,” said Erick S. Van Savage, a former corporal in the USMC, “but attributes such as self-discipline, dedication, leadership, courage, esprit de corps and a strong work ethic have great application to virtually all facets of business.” Veterans looking for work need to emphasize such attributes in their LinkedIn Summary statements and profile Skills sections.
“You need to remove all the typical military language from your write-up,” added Robert Martin, MBA, LSSGB, who served in the US Navy and is now an E-6 US Navy and Supply Chain Professional. “Remember, very few of the people you come in contact with on LinkedIn will understand your background. Remember to write [your profile] from the perspective of a civilian because this what you now are.”
