Transitioning out of military service (or know someone who is)? We’d like to help.
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Tags: Iraq jobs LinkedIn training military transition
As we near the end of formal military action in Iraq, I understand the mix of emotions and challenges that will be faced by tens of thousands of returning vets. They are happy to be coming home, but they also face difficult job prospects when they depart active duty.
I departed from the active duty Army just before the financial collapse of 2008. It was the worst time to be looking for a job. At that time I was very fortunate to have been able to access some remarkably supportive ex-military and civilian mentors who helped me shape my future. Thanks to their advice, support and introductions, I was not only able to create my own job, but to start a company that now employs eleven people (including three veterans). Despite the tremendous amounts of time many of them spent with me, my advisors only told me to pay it forward in reply to my question, “What can I do to thank you?”
LinkedIn helped me get to these mentors and newfound friends. And given that we currently have a large number of veterans returning to the civilian work force after honorable service in harm’s way, I’d like to offer these lessons learned and other bullets (the ones you like to see coming at you) that I hope will benefit those who made great sacrifices for us all. If you’re not a veteran yourself, please pass this to any veterans you believe are in a job search or entrepreneurial mode:
1) Free LinkedIn training. If you are a veteran or active/reserve U.S. military service member, go to our sign up page and enter sign up code military (we’ll check to confirm your military status) and RockTech will provide you 12 months free use of our adoption platform to help you use this professional network to get the job you want, and deserve. No strings attached. Thank you for your service.
2) Eagerly seek and positively react to career criticism. I made it a point during my initial conversations with mentors discussing my military transition plans to ask them to be brutally candid about the viability of my plans. Especially if you’ve deployed multiple times and have endured situations more stressful than most civilians can imagine, you may otherwise present an intimidating image, keeping you from the most truthful (and therefore helpful) thoughts from those who have the experience you are seeking. Then, when you get the advice about your plans, be sure to react open-mindedly and appreciatively. You don’t need to take the advice, but if you grow defensive when someone says you’re not a fit for a job you want, you are less likely to find out why they think so and what you can do to improve.
3) Sell yourself. In the military, it’s common for us to wear our badges on our chest or shoulder and not need to actually pitch ourselves to get the position we desired. A promotion or landing the position you want no longer relies on just attending boards, receiving ‘top block’ evaluations, or earning awards. If you want a position in the civilian world, you need to learn the language that will help you to humbly sell yourself as a perfect fit for that job.
4) Nobody will do it for you. In the military, we have someone who is responsible for making sure that we are promoted (or not) at the right time in our career progression. We generally have a fairly finite universe of jobs we can take after our current military position, with the anomalous outlier coming along once in a while. It’s the opposite on the civilian side. If you don’t do your research, go out and meet ex-military or other supportive civilians and get a feel for the opportunities available to you, you may settle for something you do not want. Don’t make the mistake of thinking a recruiter will take the place of your military chain of command in caring for your future. However, if you are looking for a recruiter, send me an email and I’ll introduce you to some military-specializing headhunters I know. Even if you don’t rely on them, it’s always good to have allies.
5) Be willing to take less pay to get your foot in the door. If you feel you may be under qualified for a position that you believe you can learn quickly and excel at, it is worth considering to offer that you will work in some form of reduced pay trial period. Sometimes those who have no military experience have a hard time understanding exactly how a military veteran will fit in their organization. By lowering the bar for them to see what you can do, your values, work ethic, and ability to unemotionally excel under pressure may quickly make you a key member of the team whom they won’t want to lose.
10 Comments for this Post
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