According to job search giant CareerBuilder.com, finding a new job after leaving the military isn’t easy for one out of every five veterans. The website recently conducted a survey and found that 17 percent of those leaving active duty service had to spend more than six months looking for work.

In order to figure out how the job market is for veterans, CareerBuilder asked more than 750 U.S prior military members between August 21st and September 9th of this year. The survey found that the biggest problem that nearly one-fifth of veterans face is the fact that civilian employers have no idea how military skills can transfer into their work setting.

Another problem that military members face when leaving their branch of service is that many of them do not possess a degree. Other issues they struggle with include inexperience with the process of interviewing for a civilian job and a lack of positions in their area.

Despite these problems, almost 20 percent of the employers polled said that they will be actively recruiting veterans at some point during the next 12 months. Organizations that participated reported that there are many important skills that prior service members bring to the civilian work place. The most enticing of these included the ability to be part of a team (74 percent), disciplined approach to work (73 percent), leadership skills (66 percent), respect and integrity (64 percent and the ability to preform under pressure (62 percent)

"Employers value the diverse skill set that veterans can bring to their workforce and how these workers can have a positive impact on their bottom lines," said CareerBuilder’s Vice President of Human Resources Rosemary Haefner in a recent statement. "In fact, 20 percent of employers said that they will be actively recruiting veterans over the next 12 months to fill specific roles in fields such as IT, sales, management and engineering."

Haefner went on to give veterans several tips when looking for a new job. For starters, she said that it is important to make employers understand how skills are transferable. Prior Service members should frame their resumes in a way that a civilian employer can understand. Online translators exist to assist with this problem.

She also said that it is important that veterans quantify their experience. This means that it is important to elaborate on their duties while is service so that the employer understands exactly what the individual did. Veterans should never assume that the hiring manager has any understanding of military work.

In addition to this, Haefner said that it is important that prior service members don’t limit their options. Many of these individuals only look for employment in industries such as law enforcement or military contracting, but many skill can be transferred into a variety of other fields. This alone can help to reduce the amount of time it takes to find a job.

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