LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform, with over 722 million users worldwide as of April 2022. With its focus on careers and employment, LinkedIn profiles often highlight a user’s work experience, education, skills, and accomplishments.
For many professionals, military service represents a significant part of their career history and development. Veterans and active service members may want to showcase their service on their LinkedIn profiles. However, they may be unsure of the best way to include military experience on LinkedIn.
Should you include military service on LinkedIn?
In most cases, veterans and active military personnel can and should include their service on their LinkedIn profiles. Here are some key reasons why adding military service can benefit your LinkedIn presence:
- Demonstrates leadership, teamwork, and other skills gained through service
- Highlights training, clearances, and specialized abilities
- Allows connections with fellow service members in your industry or location
- Displays accomplishments and awards earned while serving
- Shows career progression and development over time
- Lets recruiters and hiring managers see your unique experience and background
Including military service provides a more complete picture of your professional capabilities and experience. Given LinkedIn’s focus on careers, it makes sense to incorporate your service history and the impact it has had on your work ethic and abilities.
How to add military experience on your LinkedIn profile
LinkedIn provides several options for highlighting your military background on your profile:
List military branch under Experience section
Add each branch, unit, or command you served under as an individual position within your Experience section. Include the following details:
- Branch name and dates of service
- Rank achieved
- Position(s) held
- Key responsibilities and accomplishments
- Locations deployed
- Notable awards/honors earned
Listing your military service like any other job allows you to showcase skills and advancement throughout your career.
Feature service in Background section
Use the Background section to provide an overview of your service. You can include:
- Branch(es) served in
- Enlistment date
- Discharge status and date
- Highest rank achieved
- Positions held
- Locations deployed
- Key responsibilities and accomplishments
This section summarizes service at a high level; more details can be added under Experience.
Mention military credentials
Add licenses, training, and certifications earned in the military under the Licenses & Certifications section. For example:
- Weapons qualifications
- Marksmanship awards
- Technician certifications
- Security clearances obtained
- Completion of specialty schools or courses
This highlights qualifications only attainable through military service.
Showcase service accomplishments
Recognize significant achievements from your service in the Accomplishments section. You can list awards, honors, decorations, promotions, and major projects completed during your military career.
Display military education
Add military schooling and training under the Education section. List details like:
- Name of academy, boot camp, or training program
- Dates attended
- Keyfocus areas
- Skills gained
- Certifications earned
This shows the education and development gained during service.
Join relevant groups
Search LinkedIn groups for veteran networking opportunities to connect with others with military backgrounds. Some examples:
- Veterans Network
- Military Veterans In Technology
- Veterans In Recruiting
- Veteran MBA Project
- Military Relocation Professionals
Groups allow you to share experiences, find job opportunities, and connect with fellow service members in your field.
Tips for describing military service on LinkedIn
Follow these best practices when adding your military history to your LinkedIn profile:
- Tailor for civilian readers – Explain branch-specific terms and acronyms for non-military audiences.
- Quantify achievements – Use numbers, data, and metrics to demonstrate results and impact.
- Focus on transferable skills – Emphasize abilities like leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving.
- Highlight growth – Showcase increased responsibility and competence gained over time.
- Convey professionalism – Maintain a formal tone using active, engaging language.
- Be concise – Keep descriptions brief and impactful while still providing important details.
- Review carefully – Double check for typos, formatting issues, and clarity before publishing your profile.
Properly representing your military service on LinkedIn takes time and strategic thought. But doing so can significantly enhance your profile, connect you with the right people, and demonstrate the value you can bring to civilian employers.
Mistakes to avoid when adding military service on LinkedIn
When incorporating your military history onto your LinkedIn profile, beware of these common pitfalls:
Providing too little detail
Simply listing your branch, rank, and dates of service does not fully convey your experience and qualifications. Expand on your positions, responsibilities, skills gained, and achievements.
Using too much military jargon
Explain acronyms, branch-specific terminology, and system names. This makes your background more understandable.
Not quantifying accomplishments
Rather than just listing awards or projects, describe their impact through statistics, dollars saved/earned, percentages increased, etc.
Listing responsibilities instead of contributions
Anyone serving in a role performs expected duties. Highlight special projects, innovations, improvements, and other contributions you personally made.
Failing to customize sections
Don’t rely only on the Experience section. Leverage other profile areas to showcase education, skills, accomplishments, and certifications.
Not highlighting transferable abilities
Emphasize talents like leadership, work ethic, problem-solving, teamwork, etc. gained through service that translate to civilian jobs.
Using informal language
Maintain a professional tone. Avoid military slang, sarcasm, or language inappropriate for business settings.
Listing classified information
Do not disclose anything still considered confidential or top secret per military guidelines and regulations.
Being mindful of these mistakes will lead to a stronger LinkedIn profile that effectively communicates your military background to civilian audiences.
Recommended sections for adding military service on LinkedIn
Based on LinkedIn’s profile structure and capabilities, here are the sections optimal for highlighting military service:
Background section
Provide an introductory overview of your military career here, like branches/units served, basic timeframes, roles held, and locations.
Experience section
Add each major military position held as its own experience entry. Include details like responsibilities, projects, and accomplishments.
Education section
List military training, academies attended, and schooling. Add related skills, certifications, or credentials earned.
Skills section
Include abilities gained in service that translate to business roles. Teamwork, Leadership, Operations Management, Training, etc.
Accomplishments section
Recognize awards, decorations, promotions, and major achievements earned during your service.
Licenses & Certifications section
Add qualifications like Security Clearances, Marksmanship Badges, Technology Certifications, and Branch-specific Credentials.
Focusing on these sections allows you to expand on the most relevant aspects of your military background for civilian audiences.
Key takeaways
- Adding military service highlights valuable experience and skills gained.
- List positions under Experience and provide context tailored for business readers.
- Leverage all profile sections to present qualifications, training, education, and accomplishments.
- Emphasize transferable abilities in areas like leadership, teamwork, and problem-solving.
- Join military-focused LinkedIn groups to connect with fellow service members in your field.
- Maintain a professional tone and focus on quantifiable achievements.
- Avoid common pitfalls like using jargon or listing classified information.
Properly representing your military service history on your LinkedIn profile can significantly benefit your networking and job search. Be thoughtful and strategic when showcasing this experience to maximize your profile’s impact. Employers want to understand the skills you gained and value you can bring to their business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it okay to list my military rank on LinkedIn?
Yes, including your military rank demonstrates your position and seniority level attained. It also helps identify your role and experience within your branch and units served.
Should I write about my military awards on LinkedIn?
Yes, major awards, decorations, ribbons, badges, and other honors help highlight your achievements and merits recognized while in service. Mentioning these on your profile is appropriate.
Can I say I worked at NORAD or other classified facilities?
No, you should not disclose any details still considered confidential by the military on public sites like LinkedIn. Avoid naming specifics of classified locations or operations you took part in.
How can I quantify my military accomplishments for LinkedIn?
Include metrics like number of subordinates led, percentage improvements in efficiency/costs, dollars saved through your efforts, mission success rates, targets destroyed, readiness levels achieved, etc. Numbers help demonstrate concrete impact.
What kinds of skills from the military translate well to business roles?
Emphasize leadership, teamwork, punctuality, working under pressure, meeting deadlines, strategic planning, project management, interpersonal communication, and decision making. These abilities gained through service apply directly to corporate jobs.
Conclusion
Adding military service to your LinkedIn profile provides valuable visibility into your background, competencies, and accomplishments for civilian employers. By following best practices and avoiding common mistakes, veterans and active duty personnel can effectively highlight their unique qualifications. Strategically incorporating military experience on LinkedIn can significantly benefit your networking, job search, and career advancement.