When I left the military, I did everything you were supposed to do when creating a resume: spell out acronyms, identify transferable skills, and translate experience into civilian terms. My resume was ready - or so I thought.

"Directly managed work responsibilities for teams of four to ten, oversaw work efforts of up to 200."

Oof. A decade later, the dismal "so-what" factor still stings. What my resume failed to communicate was what many veterans struggle to explain when entering academia: the organizational perspective their military experiences gave them.

A veteran's rank, assignments, and length of service may outline responsibilities but may not adequately reflect what level of system operations the applicant understands, or what they have learned to notice within it. In higher education, that distinction matters because jobs are typically part of a complex organization rarely confined to a single function.

To support both higher education hiring committees and veteran applicants, the following guide offers a general sense of the organizational perspective an applicant may bring based on military pay-grade category. No description can ever capture every experience, but understanding what is expected at each level can help bridge the military-to-civilian gap. Job postings are provided as examples, though potential candidates should read the full job description before applying.

Field-Grade Officers: Integrating the Institution

Field-grade officers (FGOs), typically O-4 through O-6, coordinate multiple teams and functions. Their experience may require them to understand how personnel, budgets, operations, policy, risk, and competing priorities affect one another. They may have made multi-unit decisions, advised senior leaders, or coordinated execution across specialties.

In higher education, the FGO perspective may be well suited to roles that require leaders to navigate institutional interdependencies. Enrollment initiatives, accreditation efforts, strategic plans, and major change programs rarely belong to one office, and someone who can coordinate across units would be a strong fit. Roles like the Senior Director, Concurrent Enrollment at Salt Lake Community College may align to a former FGO's perspective because it oversees a far-reaching program with multiple partners.

Company-Grade Officers: Turning Direction into Action

Company-grade officers (CGOs), generally O-1 through O-3, often work where organizational direction becomes daily execution. Still early in their careers, they may have been responsible for people, training, schedules, resources, or operational outcomes.

They may also have led people with far more subject-matter expertise than they possessed. As a lieutenant, I oversaw an IT systems shop despite having little technical experience, and I was fortunate to have very smart people on my team. A capable CGO learns to appreciate the resources they have by listening to experts, asking informed questions, making thoughtful decisions, and remaining accountable for the outcome.

In higher education, the CGO perspective is useful where "the rubber meets the road": making institutional priorities workable for faculty, staff, and students. Positions in departmental program management, academic affairs, and student-facing operations all require someone who can turn broad direction into practical action. Program Coordinator, Ambassador & Engagement at Syracuse University is one example in which a CGO's organizational awareness may be a fit.

Senior Enlisted Leaders: Making the System Work Through People

Senior enlisted leaders (SELs), usually E-7 through E-9, bring technical credibility, workforce-development experience, institutional knowledge, and influence. Further along in their careers, they know not only how work is supposed to be done but where it regularly breaks down and how to motivate people through it. Many have extensive experience training, coaching, evaluating, and developing others.

In higher education, an SEL perspective may translate well to administration, operations, advising, or roles requiring as much persuasion as direction. A position like the People & Talent Business Partner at Western Governors University may be a good fit, as it requires helping leaders understand workforce impacts while helping employees carry out institutional priorities.

Junior Enlisted Personnel: Seeing the Institution at the Point of Delivery

Junior enlisted veterans, typically E-4 and below, may bring a perspective likely to be underestimated. This group of veteran applicants has experienced large institutions as the people expected to carry out the work. Depending on their specialty, they may have completed intensive technical training and been trusted with sensitive information, expensive systems, medical duties, security functions, or time-critical tasks. Their rank may have been junior, but the consequences of error may not have been.

Their technical expertise, reliability, teamwork, and front-line perspective can be valuable in higher education. They may see where policies create friction and identify practical solutions before small issues become larger problems. Although some may initially pursue technical roles, such as Computer Support Technician at Lincoln Memorial University, those who operate effectively within complex organizations should not be overlooked for more significant opportunities in higher ed.

Understanding the Perspective for Hiring Purposes

Military-to-civilian resume translation tools are useful, but they may not capture what the organizational expectations attached to a rank taught a veteran to see. Military experiences vary by branch, occupation, assignment, and time in service, but understanding organizational perspective remains an important, if sometimes overlooked, factor in what a veteran may bring to higher education.

Veterans looking to enter the higher education workforce should examine job postings from an organizational context, as well as the roles and responsibilities. Being able to explain where they sat in the system, what they were expected to notice, which decisions were theirs, whom they had to influence, and what changed because of their work is important context to a hiring manager. Search committees do not need to give military experience extra credit, but it is smart for them to make an effort to understand the organizational perspective a veteran candidate brings.

Article Topics

Job Search Advice Military Friendly Institutions Working as a Veteran in HigherEd Workplace Inclusion

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