Over 200,000 members of the US Armed Forces are discharged and return to civilian life ever year. Some will have difficulties with this transition.
In 1970 this military ‘brat’ graduated from North Georgia College (a military school) and served four years in the US Army. In 1974, this business ‘clueless’ individual entered the civilian workforce. With little or no support/help, I fumbled my way through my job search and ultimately through a ‘head hunter’ aka recruiter to a career in the oil and gas industry.
This hunt and peck approach to finding a career need not be repeated these many years later. Resources and experience/expertise is available for today’s veterans.
We are happy to talk with any veteran wanting help with the transition to civilian life. Contact us (leave a short message regarding your interests) and we will get back to you shortly.
The Ten
These are some ‘starting’ points that may help you articulate your skill set to potential employers. Answer these before you send your resume and certainly before an interview.
- How does your military experience such as leadership, teamwork, dealing with adversity and deadlines translate to civilian speak? For example, if you were in combat, your success depended on all and more of the above traits and nothing you will do in civilian life is anywhere near as stressful or critical. Don’t minimize this experience but focus on how it can add value to the organization.
- Assume interviewers have no understanding about how the military works. Refrain from using military jargon such as weapon nomenclature, acronyms, etc.
- Many civilian prospects articulate the money made/saved as a series of successes. For example, “Under my leadership we increased revenue by X.” Consider reframing military missions along the lines of, “My team completed our tasks under budget and faster than any before.”
- If your skills are directly relatable such as Police, Medical, IT, aviation, maritime or other speak in the language of those cultures.
- Be yourself and if the situation warrants it, the interviewer may be comfortable with you using first name as opposed to Sir/Ma’am. Let him/her be the lead on the formalities.
- Hide any tattoos, etc. if you can wearing long sleeve shirts/blouses etc. Body art may not be widely accepted by some organizations.
- Do your homework! Research the organization and decide why you want to work for them. Same reason you joined the military, right?
- Your resume (hardcopy/online) is how the hiring managers will perceive you prior to an interview. Learn to present yourself in terms they understand.
- Many civilian organizations are less structured than the military. Prepare for a more laissez-faire attitude at work, even if your the boss.
- Many organizations, their culture and workforce can be very competitive. Much more so than the generally collaborative military.
There are many other differences in lifestyles and veterans need not be intimidated by them.
It is the next and new chapter in your life so embrace it.
For More Information
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See our Economic Value Proposition Matrix® (EVPM) for additional information and a free version to build your own EVPM.
The author’s credentials in this field are available on his LinkedIn page. Moreover, Dr. Shemwell is a coauthor of the just published book, “Smart Manufacturing: Integrating Transformational Technologies for Competitiveness and Sustainability.” His focus is on Operational Technologies.
“People fail to get along because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don’t know each other; they don’t know each other because they have not communicated with each other.” (Martin Luther King speech at Cornell College, 1962). For more information on Cross Cultural Engagement, check out our Cross Cultural Serious Game. You can contact this author as well.
For more details regarding climate change models, check out Bjorn Lomborg ands his latest book, False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet.
Regarding the economics of Climate Change, check out our recent blog, Crippling Green.
For those start-up firms addressing energy (including renewables) challenges, the author can put you in touch with Global Energy Mentors which provide no-cost mentoring services from energy experts. If interested, check it out and give me a shout.