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Transitioning Out of the Military – 5

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Step 5 – Prepare for Culture Shock

military transition - 5Written by Lori Norris
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

The military culture is unique and very different than civilian culture. No matter how long you have served in the military, you are bound to experience a period of adjustment when leaving the military to join the civilian workforce. Keep in mind, leaving the military is much more than just changing jobs; it is a lifestyle change. Add in relocation to a new state, and you may soon find yourself overwhelmed. Here are a few areas where you may struggle:

The move from a regimented environment to one that is unstructured. In the military, you are conditioned to put military first, the team second, and yourself last. However, in the civilian workplace there is a focus on individuality. You may be surprised by the lack of teamwork and camaraderie. You may find it difficult to connect with coworkers whose work ethic differs from  your standards. Be friendly, enthusiastic, and positive with your new co-workers.

Lack of a sense of community. The military is a close-knit community. A military base is often a self-contained city, much like small-town America. In the military, you are involved with and aware of the personal lives of your team. This will not be the case in the civilian world, where many people tend to keep their personal and work lives separate. Without your community or support system to rely on, you may find your sense of identity shaken. Keep in contact with friends to keep yourself grounded.

Increased personal freedom. For the duration of your military career, you have been told what to wear, how to behave, and where and when to report. The lack of direction and standard operating procedure in the civilian world can be disconcerting to a veteran. You must learn to think about yourself and focus on what you want and need to be satisfied in your career.

As a veteran transitioning into working in the civilian world, there are a whole new set of rules you must learn. Remember, a very small percentage of the population has served in the military. Chances are, your new coworkers and supervisor have no idea what military life is like. Demonstrate your willingness to adapt and be flexible to new ideas. Perhaps the most important thing for a successful military transition is something veterans do very well: keep a positive, can-do attitude, be persistent, and don’t give up.

Step 6 – Retirement is a Four-Letter Word

Transitioning Out of the Military – 4

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Step 4 – Prepare for Your Job Interviews

Transitioning Out of the MilitaryWritten by Lori Norris
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

In the earlier posts, we discussed translating your military skills into a resume and preparing your job search strategy. Now it is time to prepare for the job interview phase. You may be facing your first ever job interview, or at least the first in many years. Regardless, going into an interview unprepared is a recipe for failure. Here are some critical steps for preparation:

Prepare your talking points. The job search process is an exercise in marketing yourself. Before you go into an interview, research the company, read the job posting, and determine how you can benefit the organization. The benefits you will offer become your talking points in the interview. No matter what question is asked, you always want to talk about how you, and your skills, can enhance the company. Determine how you can benefit the organization (i.e., improved productivity, enhanced quality) and offer solid examples of your military accomplishments that demonstrate these skills.

Give yourself credit. In the military, you are taught to act as part of a team. Often, ex-military members have trouble talking about themselves because they are hesitant to “brag” or they feel as though they “just did their job.” You must define the benefits you brought to the team. It is not bragging if you are simply stating the facts of how you can help an organization. Most civilians do not know what military life is like. Your goal in the interview is to ensure they understand your skills by talking about how you added value.

Practice, practice, practice. Practice the wording, tone, and general responses to the most commonly asked questions, such as “Tell me about yourself?”, “What are your strengths/weaknesses?”, and “Why should I hire you?” Your responses should be brief – not more than 2 minutes – while providing as much relevant detail as possible. Write down and memorize Situation/Task/Action/Result stories that demonstrate five to ten of your most valuable skills.

Show your personality. Remember that the interview is an opportunity for the company to determine whether or not you are a good “fit” for the position. Don’t forget to smile, don’t take yourself too seriously, ease up on the formality of “sir” and “ma’am”, and do not wear military attire to the interview.

Step 5 – Prepare for Culture Shock  –>

Transitioning Out of the Military – 3

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Step 3 – Create Your Job Search Strategy

transitioning-military-3/Written by Lori Norris
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

An effective job search is a time consuming process that uses multiple approaches toward the target. You have already learned that an effective job search must be targeted. However, it must also be organized and strategic. Prepare your search strategy by avoiding these common mistakes:

Mistake #1 – Your job search is one dimensional

As a military service member, chances are you have not conducted the type of search that will be necessary in today’s market. A multi-pronged attack is necessary for success. Sending resumes and cover letters in response to job postings is only one option. You must also start networking. Talk with fellow service members who are employed with your target companies to gain referrals. Inform vendors and military contractors about your transition. Participate in social networking such as LinkedIn to expand your job search network.

Mistake #2 – Your job search is too general or too specific

There is no such thing as an effective general job search. If you have no target in mind, you will never achieve your goal. One of the biggest mistakes is to try to cover an entire military career’s job responsibilities in one resume. This will overwhelm an employer with information and underwhelm them in terms of your relevance to their company. Before beginning your job search, research your targeted industry to discover the required qualifications and education. Focus your efforts, highlight relevant skills, and leave out extraneous information.

Mistake #3 – You started your job search too soon or too late

Military personnel often begin to make preparations up to two years prior to retirement. However, two years – or even one year – is too soon to start applying to job openings. For federal positions, you can start applying six months prior to your separation date. For civilian positions, you can start applying three to four months prior to separation. Start too soon and you may knock yourself out of the running with some companies when they find out your availability.

However, don’t wait until the last minute to begin your career transition. As soon as you decide to make the transition, decide on a career target and prepare a focused resume and cover letter. These can be used for networking with friends, neighbors, colleagues, and contractors. It is never too soon to begin networking.

Step 4 – Prepare for Your Job Interviews  –>

Transitioning Out of the Military – 2

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Step 2 –“Demilitarize” Your Resume

Written by Lori Norris
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

No matter how qualified you may be, if a potential employer cannot decipher your resume, comprehend your military skills and experience, and understand the value you offer, you will not get calls for interviews. In teaching thousands of military service members from all branches of the military, most of them tell me that translating their skills to civilian terms is often the most challenging step.

To begin, you must strip away the military language and acronyms in order to highlight your skills in your resume. Many of the people who will screen or read your resume have no concept of military life. It is your job to provide a clear understanding of the relevant skills and experience you gained in the military. Most military experience transfers easily to the corporate world with the right language.

Instead of: Acted as the battalion secretary to create schedules for the unit.
Translate to: Created calendars and organized training schedules for 150+ personnel.

Instead of: Achieved FMC rate of 88% and 98% scheduling effectiveness rate.
Translate to: Maintained critical equipment availability 6% above USAF standards. Managed time effectively to ensure 98% of all scheduled maintenance was completed on time.

Additionally, many military job titles are meaningless in the civilian world. Do your research to determine what potential employers are calling the positions for which you are qualified. When you translate your job title, you can also include your official title.

For example, a First Sergeant in the United States Air Force may write their job title like this:

Employee Relations Manager (First Sergeant), United States Air Force, (dates to and from)

There are some very useful resources available on the Internet. Here are a few:

O*NET  – Offers the Crosswalk Search by entering your Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), Navy Rating, or Air Force Military Occupation Code (MOC).

Army COOL and Navy COOL  – Works in connection with the Occupational Outlook Handbook to provide detailed career information.

Verification of Military Education and Training (VMET) – Provides detailed information about your current position and related civilian career fields.

America’s CareerInfoNet  – Serves as a military-to-civilian occupational translator and provides labor market information by state.

Step 3 – Create Your Job Search Strategy –>

Transitioning Out of the Military – 1

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Step 1 – Find a Focus


transitioning-military-5-steps-success-1Written by Lori Norris
Professionally edited by Kitty Carlisle

 

Whether you have served four years or dedicated your entire career towards service in the military, you may face some obstacles in your transition. In this five-part blog series, I will tackle some of the issues you will face and provide you with a total of five steps you should take in order to expedite the transition process.

This first step is very important; it will determine the effectiveness of your military transition. In order to get results, a job search and a resume must have a target or focus. One of the biggest errors made on military transition resumes is a lack of focus. There is no such thing as an effective generic resume. A resume that tries to appeal to everyone ends up appealing to no one.

Military personnel learn a wide variety of skills and often have countless additional duties on top of their duty title. It would be nearly impossible and certainly ineffective to fit all your previous military experience into one resume. Studies show that the reader affords your resume 10 to 15 seconds of attention. The reader will not sift through all the irrelevant information to get to the most compelling information. Your relevant, transferable skills must be easy to find, not buried among the unimportant information.

For example, a jet engine craftsman whose focus is contract and finance management will never be effective in their search with a resume that focuses on jet engine maintenance. In addition to mechanical knowledge, this candidate has project management, customer service, budget planning and allocation, documentation management, and supervisory experience. Their mechanical knowledge has no place on their resume, as it is irrelevant to the target employer.

Before beginning your transition, determine the career field you will pursue and research job postings in that industry. This process in an important step in discovering what qualifications and education you need and defining your transferable skills. Some research resources are the Bureau of Labor Statistics’Occupational Outlook Handbook and the Department of Labor’s O*NET site.

Making the decision to target your job search will enable you to eliminate irrelevant information from your resume and accelerate your job search. This may mean leaving out some skills and experience or possibly having multiple resumes targeted to different careers.

Step 2 –“Demilitarize” Your Resume  –>