Add your major if it’s relevant to your target job, if not then just your degree and school are great. Yes, ageism exists whether we want to accept it or not so let recruiters and hiring managers focus more on the depth and breadth of your experience and less on that fact that perhaps you finished your degree in the 80s if you’re older. I’d leave off the year if you’re over 45 or 50 to avoid possibly being seen as too old. Include your degree and the school where you obtained it. That’s your cue to explain it more simply.

Ask a civilian friend to read over your profile and have them flag anything that most people won’t understand.

For military experience, try to translate military terms into civilian terms whenever possible. For non-military experience, don’t just include the company and job title be sure to write out key responsibilities and try to incorporate skills you’ll need for the job you want whenever possible. Mention any special training including tools, techniques, or software that you are skilled at that would be desirable for the position you’re seeking. In the ‘Experience’ section, include all past positions that allowed you to develop transferable skills – be sure to include your military experience. When you write your summary, be sure to include any key information that employers would like such as language skills, years of experience, and main areas of professional expertise. Experienced in workload planning, daily assignments, employee training and development, budgeting, and logistics. Demonstrated successes in planning, operations, and team leadership. Leadership and managerial professional with 8 years of military experience. Here’s an example of summary from a vet I worked with: The summary should be just that – a short summary of your background in a few sentences plus one sentence explaining what you’re looking for. When you’re editing your intro, be sure to scroll or tab down to this section when completing your profile as this is an important part of your profile that many people neglect to do. LinkedIn allows you to write an overview about your experience. I suggest using a specific city and state. Many recruiters advance search on LinkedIn based on location so if you use ‘U.S.A’ it’ll be tough to be found. yet and are getting organized to transition back by setting up your LinkedIn profile. If you aren’t sure what direction you want to go with your post-military career, a great book to help you figure it out is What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles. For example, as I did above, instead of saying ‘platoon leader’ you could say ‘responsible for 30+ people.’ And for your headline, don’t say ‘I’m open to all opportunities’ or something vague like that because just like in combat, you need to have a clear target or you won’t accomplish anything. Obviously update it to reflect your own background and the sort of opportunity you’re seeking but realize that most civilians don’t understand military terms so translate them when possible to civilian terms. Seeking opportunities in team management’. If you’re looking for work, I suggest making your headline something such as ‘Ex-marine lieutenant responsible for 30+ people. Your headline is what shows up directly under your name in your profile. When you build your profile one of the first things you’ll do is complete the ‘Intro’ section. Be sure your profile picture and background picture are a high enough quality image so they don’t appear blurry (over 100KB should be fine). Chose this picture carefully to convey a passion of yours that aligns with your professional goals. You can change the default background to be something that matters to you and helps tell your story. Most people don’t realize that LinkedIn profiles default to a blue and white pattern behind your headshot. if you’re interested in more serious work such as security or law enforcement then a sterner expression makes sense. If the sort of work you want to do involves needing to be outgoing and interacting with lots of people then smile in your picture. Think about your expression in the picture. It should only include you from the chest up – no family or anything else in the picture. This should be a civilian photograph not one in military uniform. Make sure your profile includes a headshot that looks professional. I have 10 tips to ensure you make a strong first impression when someone looks at your LinkedIn. Recruiters and hiring managers use this as one of their main resources to pre-screen job applicants so it’s time to make a profile or update your current one. It’s also an excellent resource for networking and job searching. You definitely didn’t need a LinkedIn profile when you decided to serve, but it’s an important tool for you in the civilian world. Does LinkedIn seem confusing or overwhelming? I get it.

Good linkedin summary