You spent years writing operational orders, situation reports, and service records with precision and clarity. Now you face a different document one that many veterans find more challenging than any field exercise: the civilian CV. The problem is not that you lack experience. You have more real-world leadership, logistics, crisis management, and operational experience than most civilian candidates will accumulate in an entire career. The problem is that your experience is written in a language civilian employers were never trained to read. This resource will teach you how to translate your service into a document that stops a recruiter from scrolling, passes automated screening systems, and earns you an interview. UNDERSTANDING HOW CIVILIAN CVS ARE ACTUALLY SCREENED Before you write a single line, you need to understand what happens to your CV after you submit it. Most medium and large Nigerian employers banks, oil companies, logistics firms, telecoms, and multinationals now use Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS): software that scans CVs for specific keywords before a human ever reads them. If your CV does not contain the keywords the employer is looking for, it is filtered out automatically. No human reviews it. You are eliminated before the race begins. This is why a CV full of military terminology, even impressive terminology, often fails in the civilian system. "S4 Officer," "Theatre Commander," "OPORD preparation," and "force multiplication" mean nothing to an ATS or to a civilian HR officer who has never worn a uniform. Your experience must be translated, not just listed. THE STRUCTURE OF A STRONG CIVILIAN CV A professional Nigerian civilian CV follows a clear structure. Deviation from this structure signals unfamiliarity with civilian norms, which creates doubt in the recruiter's mind. SECTION 1 CONTACT INFORMATION Full name, professional email address (firstname.lastname@gmail.com, not a personal nickname), phone number, city and state, and your LinkedIn profile URL if you have one. No photograph is required in most cases for Nigerian professional roles check the specific employer's guidance. SECTION 2 PROFESSIONAL SUMMARY (4-6 lines) This is your most important section. It is the first thing a recruiter reads and the last thing most veterans write — or they skip it entirely. Do not skip it. Your summary should answer three questions in four to six lines: Who are you professionally? What is your area of expertise? What are you looking for? Example for a veteran targeting security management: "Retired Nigerian Army Lieutenant Colonel with 26 years of leadership experience in security operations, intelligence management, and high-risk environment coordination. Proven track record leading teams of 200+ personnel in complex operational environments across multiple states. Seeking a senior security management or operations leadership role in the private sector where military-grade discipline and strategic thinking drive organisational excellence." Notice: no military jargon. Clear civilian language. Specific numbers. Clear career objective. SECTION 3 CORE COMPETENCIES (skill keywords) List 10-16 skills in two or three columns. This section is critical for ATS systems. Include both hard skills and leadership skills translated into civilian terms. Examples of translation: 1. "Commanding Officer" becomes "Executive Leadership / Team Management" 2. "S4 Logistics Officer" becomes "Supply Chain Management / Procurement" 3. "Intelligence Officer" becomes "Risk Assessment / Security Intelligence" 4. "Medical Officer" becomes "Healthcare Administration / Emergency Response" 5. "Signals Officer" becomes "Telecommunications / Network Operations" 6. "Training Officer" becomes "Learning and Development / Workforce Training" SECTION 4 PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE List each posting or role in reverse chronological order (most recent first). This is where most veterans make the most damaging mistakes. THE GOLDEN RULE: Every bullet point under each role must answer the question "What was the result?" Weak (military style): "Responsible for the logistics support of the 3rd Brigade." Strong (civilian style): "Coordinated logistics operations supporting 1,800 personnel across four field bases, managing a monthly supply chain valued at ₦45 million with zero critical shortfalls recorded over 18 months." The civilian employer is looking for three things in every bullet point: what you did, at what scale, and what measurable outcome it produced. Quantify everything you can. Number of people led. Budget managed. Percentage improvement in performance. Duration of mission. Area of responsibility. If you managed a barracks, that is facilities management. If you coordinated inter-agency operations, that is stakeholder management. If you ran training programmes, that is human capital development. Translate every role. SECTION 5 EDUCATION AND PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT List your formal qualifications first (degree, OND, HND, military college), then professional training. The Nigerian Defence Academy, Command and Staff College, the Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Jaji these are prestigious institutions that civilian employers respect once you explain what they are. Do not assume the recruiter knows. Add a brief parenthetical: "Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji equivalent to a postgraduate programme in military science, leadership, and strategic studies." Also list any certifications acquired during or after service: first aid, project management, health and safety, computer literacy, anything relevant. FIVE CV MISTAKES NIGERIAN VETERANS COMMONLY MAKE MISTAKE 1 Using rank as a job title "Major (Rtd)" tells a civilian recruiter almost nothing useful. Use your functional role instead: "Operations Manager 3rd Brigade, Nigerian Army" is far more readable. MISTAKE 2 Writing a CV that is too long Civilians expect one to two pages for most roles, three pages maximum for senior positions. Veterans often submit six to ten page service records. Edit ruthlessly. A recruiter spends an average of seven seconds on an initial CV review. Give them the essential information clearly and fast. MISTAKE 3 Not customising the CV for each application One CV does not fit all roles. Adjust your professional summary and core competencies for each application to mirror the keywords in that specific job description. This is the single highest-impact improvement you can make. MISTAKE 4 Omitting your accomplishments Humility is a military virtue. On a CV, it works against you. If you led an operation that secured a region, managed a crisis that protected lives, or built a programme that improved unit readiness say so, specifically. This is not boasting. It is evidence. MISTAKE 5 Using military email addresses or outdated contact details Create a professional Gmail account with your name if you do not already have one. Recruiters notice these details. YOUR NEXT STEP VetJobPortal offers a professional CV Optimisation Service specifically designed for Nigerian veterans. Our team translates your military service record into a powerful, ATS-optimised civilian CV. If you are not confident that your current CV is working as hard as it should, consider getting it professionally optimised before your next application. Your service was exceptional. Your CV should say so in a language every civilian employer can understand.