Total VeteranVeteran Job Interviews: Why They Go Wrong and How to Translate Your Answers
Hiring professionals rate veterans highly on confidence and professionalism. Interviews break down on translation. Here is how to fix that, with examples and where to practise.
- A 2024 Military Psychology study found HR interviewers rated veterans strongly on soft skills, confidence and professionalism.
- The weaknesses named were poor translation of technical skills, military jargon and nervousness.
- In a 2019 YouGov survey for FiMT, 44% of UK HR decision-makers said their main concern was veterans lacking relevant skills or experience.
- STAR (Situation, Task, Action, Result) is the structure recommended by the National Careers Service and the Civil Service.
- Free interview practice is available through CTP and the Forces Employment Charity (UK) and DOL TAP and Hire Heroes USA (US).
Veteran job interviews usually go wrong at one specific point: translating technical military skills into terms a civilian interviewer understands. A 2024 study in Military Psychology asked civilian HR professionals who had interviewed veterans what they saw. They rated veterans strongly on soft skills, confidence and professionalism, and named three weaknesses: ineffective translation of technical skills, military jargon, and nervousness. The fix is specific and practical: prepare translated examples in advance, structure them with STAR, and rehearse them out loud with someone outside the military.
What the research found
The study, by Sakib and colleagues (summarised by the Centre for Evidence Based Early Intervention), ran five focus groups with 14 civilian hiring professionals in the US, then built a 10-item survey from their themes and gave it to 93 veterans. The interviewers' view, in summary:
| Rated as strengths | Rated as weaknesses |
|---|---|
| Communication of soft skills | Ineffective translation and communication of technical skills acquired in the military |
| Confidence | Use of military jargon |
| Professionalism | Nervousness |
UK employer data points the same way from the other side of the table. A YouGov survey of 1,282 senior UK HR decision-makers, run for the Forces in Mind Trust in September 2019, found:
| Finding (UK, 2019) | Share of HR decision-makers |
|---|---|
| Main concern: veterans lack relevant skills or experience | 44% |
| Concern about fit with workplace culture | 19% |
| Believe active-duty skills do not translate to business | 18% |
| Have never hired a veteran | 27% |
| Unlikely to consider hiring a veteran | 18% |
| Believe hiring veterans supports workplace diversity | 63% |
Read together, the two studies say the same thing. Employers doubt the relevance of military skills, and the interview is where you either confirm that doubt with jargon or remove it with plain, specific examples.
What interviewers are actually assessing
Most structured interviews in both countries ask for evidence from past behaviour. The UK Civil Service publishes its framework in full. Its Success Profiles behaviours are:
- Seeing the big picture
- Changing and improving
- Making effective decisions
- Leadership
- Communicating and influencing
- Working together
- Developing self and others
- Managing a quality service
- Delivering at pace
Recruiters choose only the behaviours relevant to the role, and the guidance suggests the STAR method for examples. Many private employers use similar competency lists. If a job advert names behaviours or competencies, build one example for each.
The STAR method, with a translated example
The National Careers Service defines STAR as: Situation (the situation you had to deal with), Task (the task you were given), Action (the action you took) and Result (what happened and what you learned). It advises keeping examples brief, conversational and ready for follow-up questions.
The example below is written for this guide to show the difference translation makes. The question is "Tell me about a time you improved a process."
| Untranslated answer | Translated STAR answer |
|---|---|
| "As the LPO in the RS division I took over 3-M and we were failing ISIC spot checks, so I rebuilt the PMS schedule and we passed our INSURV." | Situation: I took over a maintenance team of 9 whose equipment checks were failing internal audits. Task: I had to get us compliant before a formal external inspection four months later. Action: I mapped every scheduled task, found that a third were assigned to people who had left, reassigned them, and set up a weekly review. Result: we passed the external inspection, and I learned to audit the plan before blaming the people. |
The right-hand version keeps every fact and drops every acronym. The interviewer can now judge the skill.
Turn this into a plan
Work through your CV, interviews and network with a Total Veteran coach and a small cohort making the same move.
Common questions and how to translate them
| Question | What they want to hear | Translation tip |
|---|---|---|
| Tell me about yourself. | A 60 to 90 second summary linking your background to this role | Lead with the civilian equivalent of your job ("I ran logistics for a 600-person organisation") and finish with why this role |
| Give an example of leading a team. | How you set direction and handled people | Use team size, the goal and the outcome. Replace rank with role ("team leader of 8") |
| Tell me about a conflict at work. | How you resolve disagreement without authority | Choose an example where rank did not settle it, such as working with another unit, a contractor or a civilian agency |
| Why are you leaving the forces? | Motivation and commitment to this career | State the positive pull towards this field in one or two sentences |
| What is your biggest weakness? | Self-awareness and progress | Name a genuine civilian gap, such as a software tool, and the step you are taking to close it |
A jargon list to strip out before the interview
Write your examples, then search them for the terms below and replace each one.
| Military phrase | Plain-language replacement |
|---|---|
| OC, CO, XO, Div O | My manager, the head of the organisation, the deputy head, my department manager |
| Section, platoon, troop, division, flight | A team of [number] |
| Orders, OPORD, tasking | The plan, the brief, the assignment |
| Op [name], tour, deployment | A six-month overseas assignment in [country or region] |
| Exercise | A large-scale training event |
| SOP, standing orders | Standard procedures |
| Kit, stores, equipment account | Equipment, inventory, asset register |
| CPO, SNCO, NCOIC | Senior supervisor, supervisor in charge |
Where to practise, UK and US
| Support | UK | US |
|---|---|---|
| Official transition service | Career Transition Partnership: workshops, one-to-one advice and employment fairs, from up to two years before discharge to two years after | Department of Labor's TAP: one-day Employment Fundamentals of Career Transition; two-day Employment Workshop (DOLEW) covering resumes, networking, interviewing and negotiation |
| One-to-one career help | Forces Employment Charity advisers, life-long, any rank or length of service. Phone 0121 262 3058 | Employment Navigator and Partnership (ENPP), one-to-one at select installations; Hire Heroes USA, free interview preparation and coaching |
| Mentor to rehearse with | Forces Employment Charity mentoring through MyForcesEmployment | American Corporate Partners, mentors from 2,250+ companies |
| Veterans with health conditions | The Poppy Factory, England and Wales: CV writing, interview preparation and in-work support | Hire Heroes USA and the TAP ENPP route above |
| Public sector interview access | Civil Service veterans' guaranteed interview scheme, introduced in 2020: opt in and meet the minimum criteria to progress to the next stage. Check each advert for the option | Veterans' preference in federal hiring; see our separate guide |
For the US federal route, see our guide to veterans' preference in public sector hiring.
Handling nerves
The study named nervousness as a weakness, and preparation addresses most of it. The National Careers Service recommends finding out the format in advance (in person, phone, video or assessment centre), preparing examples from past experience, practising answers with someone you trust, and arriving early. For video interviews, test your connection and know how to reach the interviewer if something fails. Two further habits help veterans in particular:
- Rehearse with a civilian. Ask them to stop you each time you use a term they do not understand.
- Prepare six to eight STAR examples covering leadership, problem solving, teamwork, change, a mistake and delivering under pressure. Most questions can be answered with one of them.
After the interview
If you are unsuccessful, ask for feedback and note the questions you found hardest. If you are offered the role, the National Careers Service advises asking for the offer in writing and confirming the start date, notice period, working arrangements and salary. US leavers can rehearse salary negotiation in the DOLEW workshop, which covers it directly.
What to do this week
- Write six to eight STAR examples covering leadership, problem solving, teamwork, change, a mistake and pressure.
- Search each example for acronyms and ranks and replace them using the jargon table.
- Rehearse your answers aloud with a civilian who will stop you at every unclear term.
- Book interview practice with your CTP adviser, the Forces Employment Charity or Hire Heroes USA.
- Prepare a 60 to 90 second answer to "tell me about yourself" that ends with why this role.
Questions people ask
What are the most common mistakes veterans make in job interviews?
How do I answer "tell me about yourself" as a veteran?
Do veterans get a guaranteed interview for Civil Service jobs?
Where can I practise interviews before leaving the military?
- Centre for Evidence Based Early Intervention, summary of Sakib et al., "Capitalizing on strengths and minimizing weaknesses of Veterans in civilian employment interviews", Military Psychology (2024). https://www.centreforevidence.org/article/20240523-capitalizing-on-strengths-and-minimizing-weaknesses-of-veterans-in-civilian-employment-interviews-perceptions-of-interviewers-and-veteran-interviewees
- Forces in Mind Trust, "Veterans face negative stereotypes when applying for jobs" (8 October 2019). https://www.fim-trust.org/news/veterans-face-negative-stereotypes-when-applying-for-jobs/
- National Careers Service, "The STAR method" (accessed October 2026). https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/interview-advice/the-star-method
- National Careers Service, "Interview advice" (accessed October 2026). https://nationalcareers.service.gov.uk/careers-advice/interview-advice
- GOV.UK, "Success Profiles: Civil Service Behaviours" (accessed October 2026). https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/success-profiles/success-profiles-civil-service-behaviours
- GOV.UK, "Civil Service starts guaranteed interview scheme for veterans" (5 October 2020). https://www.gov.uk/government/news/civil-service-starts-guaranteed-interview-scheme-for-veterans
- US Department of Labor, VETS, "Transition Assistance Program" (accessed October 2026). https://www.dol.gov/agencies/vets/programs/tap
- GOV.UK, "Career Transition Partnership" guidance (accessed October 2026). https://www.gov.uk/guidance/career-transition-partnership
- Forces Employment Charity, homepage and services (accessed October 2026). https://www.forcesemployment.org.uk/
- Hire Heroes USA, homepage and services (accessed October 2026). https://www.hireheroesusa.org/
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