This reflective essay explores how a Command Sergeant Major with over 33 years of active military service identifies and articulates two core skill sets valuable in civilian employment: transferable skills and adaptive skills. The paper examines how mentorship, leadership, communication, empathy, and team-building developed through military service translate directly into workplace competencies. It also considers how adaptive skills — including discipline, punctuality, and adherence to protocols — complement these transferable abilities. The author concludes by connecting military experience to the pursuit of a degree in Human Resource Management as a means of further professional development.
Every soldier brings two fundamental skill sets to the workforce when transitioning from the military to a civilian job: transferable skills and adaptive skills. As a Command Sergeant Major with over 33 years of active military service, I have gained both types of skills throughout my career. Understanding how these competencies translate into civilian employment is essential for any veteran entering the civilian workforce.
The most useful transferable skills — those I have directly and actively used while serving in my position and that can be readily deployed in the workforce — involve my capacity for mentorship and teaching. As part of my duties as senior enlisted advisor to my commanding officer, I have served as both an advocate and a representative for soldiers and their families. My job fundamentally involves working with people.
Empathy and affirming the self-worth of fellow soldiers are critical components of my work as a counselor and trainer. I am a guide as well as an advocate when I assist the population I serve. My position is one of leadership, and communication is a critical component of leadership, as a leader must understand the needs of his or her followers.
Another key function of my position involves training troops to ensure they are ready for combat. This demands that I am able to teach in a caring and responsive fashion while also exercising firmness when necessary. I do enforce discipline, but I do so not to affirm my own ego — rather, I do so to ensure that the organization I am working for functions effectively. Serving in the Army as a trainer has helped me understand the difference between disciplining others for self-gratification versus disciplining to help the person I am leading perform to his or her highest capacity.
I also visit units to conduct inspections. This requires that I listen with empathy in order to problem-solve and address the needs of various units. There is a fair amount of psychological insight required in this task, as I must praise what the unit is doing well while still providing constructive criticism where needed. This balance between affirmation and correction is a skill that translates directly to supervisory and managerial roles in any organization.
"Military teamwork mapped to employer expectations"
"Army-instilled punctuality and regimented structure"
"HRM degree as next step after military service"
Always verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.