Have you ever had a really intense job — the kind that demands all of your attention, even after your shift ends? Do you have trouble deciding where to begin when someone asks what kind of work you do?

This is a common occurrence for people leaving the military to transition into civilian jobs. How do you describe in terms that are meaningful to an employer what you did in your military position?

According to Jim Finley, field operations manager for veterans employment programs in Minnesota's Department of Employment and Economic Development, the potential for miscommunication is heightened by the fact that few employers have military experience. He said that veterans account for about 10 percent of the population, which leads him to advise post-military job-seekers to assume they are speaking with nonveterans in job interviews.

This means veterans need to keep three things in mind while job-hunting:

• Which of their skills will be useful in a nonmilitary setting?

• Which skills do particular employers need?

• What is the best way to communicate that they have the skills that are needed?

As a starting point, here is a definition that is useful for any job-seeker: a skill is something you can do. Job-seekers from all backgrounds worry too much about having "permission" to claim something as a skill. In this era of certifications, we're afraid to say we can do something unless somebody else has said it first. With or without a piece of paper, the job-seeker must explain what he or she can do and must apply that information to the tasks an employer needs done.

The following information comes from my book, "Job Search for Transitioning Military Personnel" (Prototype Career Media, 2007):

"Although there are numerous ways of classifying skills, it may help to know that civilian employers are primarily concerned with these two questions: What can you do? How can you prove it? With that in mind, your transferable skills are those things you can do in the employer's workplace.

"For example, like many other service personnel, you may have developed skills in leading or training others, in using technology, in solving problems, in adapting quickly to new circumstances and in compiling accurate documentation. Any or all of these skills could be used in some form in most jobs. That makes them very transferable.

"You may also have developed some highly specialized skills, such as the ability to operate or maintain specific equipment. If so, some parts of this ability will transfer directly to other jobs — reading wiring diagrams, say, or welding — while other parts may be so specialized that they won't transfer to civilian jobs at all.

". . . Since skills and knowledge are what you're selling to employers (as well as your potential to know and do more), you must learn what your target employers need done and compare those needs to your abilities. The matches you find between their needs and your abilities will form the core of your message when you write your résumé and prepare for interviews."

Sounds simple, doesn't it? And yet it takes practice, creativity and discipline to consistently approach the problem this way. It's second nature for all of us to say things in the way we're most comfortable, regardless of whether the other person is likely to understand. For job-seekers who need to translate, as well as transfer, their skills from one employer to the next, the simplest course of communication will be the safest.

Post-military job-seekers, I'll leave you with this advice: Practice explaining your skills and knowledge until you've found the words that make people understand the first time. In this way, you will make it possible to be judged on your limitless abilities, not on the limitations of language.

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecaree rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.