Deb Yeagle ⋅ Tampa, FL Plan To Win, Inc. ⋅ 39 years experience

Hi Raymond-
Thanks for your service?
Have you used Vets2PM? https://vets2pm.com/
I'd recommend checking out their website for advice on how to sell yourself as a PM while preparing to earn your PMP certification.
Good luck!
Deb

Chris McFarland ⋅ Toms River, NJ Veteran Engineering ⋅ 30 years experience

What you're asking is how the 'weeding out' process within organizations functions. In the nineties it was done by people, various managers, sitting down and going thru the paper applications. The managers would vote on who they wanted to see interviewed. This usually yielded about four or five people per every seventy five applications.
What counted in that physical process was correctness of spelling, fullness and completeness of answers, relevant experience indicated, clear and direct reasons for moving to another position, penmanship, neatness. Really, neatness did count.
And, if you're asking that people mis spelled common words, failed to fill in important information, didn't explain or show relevant experience, then you'd be correct. I saw all of that.
You can call that either a vicious weeding out process or a necessary safeguard to the organization, take your pick, as the process went to both extremes.
BUT, Today the vetting process is being performed by automated database search programs which have no emotion, are soulless, and can rip through stacks of applicants in milliseconds. Great! No need to sit down with a stack of paper and consider information, right?
These database search services are marketed by database designers who are offering their services to human resources departments on an outsourced contracting basis, and, please, take whatever you need to from that relationship. Those database search engines are ruthlessly looking for a sequence of letters like PMP or PM or PE....
What you are asking is "can I get considered for a job I'm totally qualified to do without that sequence of letters PMP or PM in my resume?" and what you're really asking is "Did the HR person at company X decide to insist on their Ghee Whiz HR Services HR 'Dashboard' automated database selection menu to insist on PMP or PM for all applicants?"
That's really your question.
There are a whole bunch of professional societies, some of which have some surprising roots, not all good, popping up all over the landscape with letters you need to have in the right sequence to get thru the database mining process, and worse, some know it.
So, if you need those letters to get thru the database search engines, then you're going to have to have them. Some of these professional societies have ways you can get discounts and exam seats to get the letter sequence without having to fully kneel down, bend you head, and kiss their rings, but they like getting paid for that, so good luck and I hope you get there.
No one taught the Wright brothers how to manager aerospace projects, but gee, look.

Sandy Lawrence ⋅ Saint Petersburg, FL Monster Smarts ⋅ 40 years experience

Hi Raymond - thank you for your service. I agree, a certification is one of the best 'conduits' for transitioning military. CAPM or PMP are both well known wprld wide. And given that you ask this question, you are seeing how important it is to this career field. WOrk on stylizing your military efforts into projects; there are many groups out there that help military in transition. My Transitioning Military PM book helps those work to see their existing military skills and learn to leverage each and every aspect. I would also reach out to organizations within your preferred industry and geographic area that have dedicated teams for hiring military. They can offer some guidance and insight. Ofcourse Linkedin groups have several military support groups specializing in transition.

Jeff Martin ⋅ Ashburn, VA The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ⋅ 25 years experience

If you can show tangible and measurable results from your efforts that usually will get some interest or attention.

Gabriel Hoffman ⋅ Dayton, OH Northrop Grumman ⋅ 40 years experience

1) You REALLY need to get PMP. It is "table stakes" for anyone marketing themselves as a PM.
2) Map your military experience to the PMI areas. Most of it, except actual combat maps well. Look at all the stuff you do in garrison - projects, personnel, etc.