A qualified veteran lands on your job posting. Twenty seconds later, they close the tab. Not because they cannot do the work. Because your job description told them they do not belong.

This happens more than most hiring teams know. The veteran reads "Bachelor's degree required." They read a wall of corporate buzzwords. They see five years in a tool they have never touched. So they self-select out. Your req never even gets the application.

The job description is a filter. It works before a single human reads a resume. And for veteran candidates, a poorly written one drives off the exact people you want. The fix is not lowering your bar. It is writing the posting so a veteran can see that they clear it.

This guide shows you how to rewrite a job description so veterans apply. We work with veteran candidates every day, so we see which postings they skip and which ones they act on. Let me walk you through what changes.

Why Does Your Job Description Scare Off Good Veterans?

Most job descriptions are written by people who already work at the company. They use the company's own words. They list every nice-to-have as a hard requirement. They assume the reader speaks fluent corporate.

A veteran does not. Not yet. Someone two months out of the Army ran a maintenance shop for 40 people. But they have never seen the phrase "cross-functional stakeholder alignment." They read it and think the job is not for them.

Three things on a typical posting push veterans away:

• Hard degree requirements: Many veterans have deep experience and no four-year degree. A flat "degree required" line ends the visit.
• Civilian jargon they cannot map: Words like "synergize," "ideate," or vague titles like "Ninja" or "Rockstar" read as a different planet.
• Inflated requirements: Listing 10 years and 6 tools for a mid-level role tells everyone, veterans included, to not bother.

None of these mean the veteran cannot do the job. They mean your posting failed to say so. The unemployment rate for veterans was 3.5 percent in 2025 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These are not people who lack work ethic. They are people deciding fast where to spend their time. Your posting is the first thing they judge.

What Words Make a Veteran Skip Your Posting?

Plain words win. Veterans came from a world of clear orders and direct language. Corporate filler reads as noise. Worse, it reads as a place that talks a lot and says little.

Look at your current posting. Count the words that mean nothing. "Dynamic self-starter." "Passionate about excellence." "Wears many hats." A veteran cannot tell what the job actually is from that. So they move on to a posting that tells them.

Here is the same role written two ways. One pushes veterans out. One pulls them in.

The good version names real things. Team size. Who you report to. How fast it moves. A veteran reads that and thinks, "I led a section that size. I can do this." The bad version gives them nothing to grab.

Cut these words from your postings:

• Empty hype: rockstar, ninja, guru, wizard, unicorn
• Filler verbs: synergize, ideate, leverage, evangelize
• Vague praise: dynamic, passionate, world-class, best-in-class

Replace them with the actual work. Plain words are not boring. To a veteran sorting through 20 tabs, plain words read as honest.

How Do You Translate a Civilian Requirement Into Terms a Veteran Recognizes?

This is the core move. Your requirements are written for civilians. A veteran does the same work under a different name. Your job is to build the bridge inside the posting so they recognize themselves.

Start by figuring out what military roles already do your civilian job. The O*NET Military Crosswalk is a free government tool for exactly this. You pick a branch, type a military code or title, and it shows the matching civilian occupations. You can also run it backward in your head. Ask, "What does the military call my open role?"

A few common examples:

• A logistics coordinator role is what an Army 92A or a Navy logistics specialist did in uniform, often at larger scale.
• A network administrator role maps to a 25B or an Air Force cyber transport specialist.
• A project manager role is what many senior NCOs ran, even without the title, when they owned an operation end to end.

Once you know the military version, add one line to your posting that names it. Something like: "Military logistics, supply, or transportation experience translates directly to this role." That single sentence tells a veteran the door is open. They stop guessing.

If your company runs deep in one field, lean into it. We see strong veteran supply in project and program management, IT and cyber, and logistics and supply chain. If you hire in those areas, a translation line will pull real applicants.

Should You Require a Degree in the Job Description?

For most roles, no. A hard degree line is the single biggest veteran filter on the page. Many veterans built real skill through years of hands-on work and military schools. A degree box tells them none of that counts.

You do not have to drop your standards. You have to describe them better. Swap "Bachelor's degree required" for one of these:

• "Bachelor's degree or equivalent work experience"
• "4 years of relevant experience, with or without a degree"
• "Military training and experience accepted in place of a degree"

That last line does heavy work. Military schools are rigorous and often carry college credit through the American Council on Education. The Department of Labor's employer guidance on hiring veterans makes the same point. Veterans arrive with tested, job-ready skills and proven leadership. A degree line hides all of it.

Ask one question about every requirement: "Does this person actually need this to do the job on day one?" If the honest answer is no, soften it or cut it. Every hard line you can turn into "or equivalent experience" opens the door wider.

For a deeper look at judging skill without a diploma, see our guide on how to evaluate a veteran candidate with no civilian degree.

How Do You Write the Responsibilities So Veterans See Themselves?

Veterans think in scope. How many people did I lead? What gear did I own? What was the cost of getting it wrong? Write your responsibilities in those same terms and a veteran will instantly know if the job fits.

Vague duties do not connect. "Manage projects and collaborate with teams" could mean anything. Specific scope connects every time. "Lead a team of 6, own a $2 million equipment budget, keep the line running on a 24-hour schedule." A veteran reads that and maps it to their own service in seconds.

So for each main duty, name the real scope:

• People: How many will they lead or work with?
• Money or assets: What budget, gear, or inventory will they own?
• Pace and stakes: How fast does it move, and what happens if it breaks?

This helps every applicant, not just veterans. But it helps veterans most, because scope is the language they already speak. When you describe the job by what it controls, a veteran who controlled the same things knows to apply.

What Signals Tell a Veteran You Actually Want to Hire Them?

Veterans can smell a hollow gesture from across the room. A flag emoji and the phrase "veterans encouraged to apply" mean nothing on their own. They have seen those words on companies that never call back. You have to show the intent, not just claim it.

Here is what reads as real:

• A skills-translation line: Naming the military roles that fit the job, as covered above. This proves you did the work to understand them.
• Flexible requirements: "Or equivalent experience" tells a veteran their service counts. That is a stronger signal than any banner.
• A named point of contact: If you have a veteran hiring lead or recruiter, say so. A real person beats a generic inbox.
• Clear next steps: Tell them what happens after they apply. Veterans value a known process. Silence reads as a dead end.

One honest sentence does more than a wall of slogans. Something like: "We hire veterans because the leadership and reliability you built in service is exactly what this team needs." That works because it ties their service to the actual job. It is not charity. It is a sourcing decision, and you are saying so out loud.

Skip the performative stuff. No stock photo of a soldier saluting. No vague "we support our troops." Veterans want a fair shot at a real job, described in plain terms. Give them that and the banner becomes unnecessary.

What Does a Rewritten Job Description Look Like?

Let me show you the whole thing. Here is a mid-level operations role, before and after. Same job. Same standards. Different posting.

Before reads like this:

"Seeking a dynamic Operations Rockstar to join our fast-paced team. The ideal candidate is a passionate self-starter who can wear many hats and synergize cross-functional initiatives. Bachelor's degree required. 7+ years of experience. Must thrive in ambiguity and drive world-class outcomes."

A veteran reads that and learns almost nothing about the actual job. They see a degree wall and a buzzword wall. They close the tab.

After reads like this:

"We need an Operations Manager to run our day shift. You will lead a team of 10. You will own the daily schedule, track output, and report results to the plant manager each week. The role moves fast and priorities shift often. We want 5 years of experience leading people and operations. A degree helps but is not required. Military experience in operations, logistics, or maintenance translates directly to this role. We hire veterans because the leadership you built in service fits this work."

The after version is longer, and that is fine. Every extra word names a real thing. Team size. Reporting line. Pace. A flexible requirement. A translation line. An honest reason. A veteran reads it and knows in 20 seconds whether to apply.

For the step that comes after a veteran applies, see our recruiter's checklist for screening veteran applicants and our guide on how to interview a veteran candidate.

How Do You Tie This Into Your Whole Recruiting Plan?

A good posting is one piece. It only works if it reaches veterans and fits a wider plan. The best job description in the world does nothing if no veteran ever sees it.

So pair the rewrite with the rest:

• Match the role to military fields first. Before you write, know which military backgrounds fit. Our guide on how to map a military career field to your open reqs walks through it.
• Post where veterans look. A rewritten JD on the wrong board still misses them. See where to post jobs to reach qualified veteran candidates.
• Build a repeatable motion. One good hire is luck. A system is strategy. Our veteran recruiting strategy playbook ties it together.
• Make the whole company ready. Hiring is step one. Keeping them is the rest. See our veteran-inclusive workplace checklist.

Most midsize companies do not run a veteran sourcing program. They do not need a huge one. They need clear postings, the right boards, and a pool to draw from. The rewrite you just learned is the cheapest, fastest part of that. You can do it today on every open req.

Where Do You Find the Veterans Once Your Job Description Is Ready?

A strong posting earns more applications. But you can also go straight to the candidates instead of waiting for them to find you.

That is what Best Military Resume offers on the employer side. We have a growing pool of veteran candidates who have already translated their military experience into civilian terms. Over 1,000 new veteran profiles join every month. More than 60,000 resumes have been built on the platform. These are veterans who did the translation work, so you do not have to guess what their service maps to.

Rewrite your postings using the steps above. Then reach into a pool of veterans who are ready now. Partner with us to access BMR's veteran talent pool and put your rewritten job descriptions in front of the right people.