After leaving the military, do you feel companies truly recognize your worth during their interview process?

2018-01-29T19:40:22-05:00

Response by CWO3 Dennis M. made Jan 29 at 2018 8:06 PM

2018-01-29T20:06:21-05:00

SGT DeMario McIlwain When I retired from the Navy in 1990 after 23 years I was recruited by my County Sheriff's Department. One of the steps was to come before an Oral board of deputies of various ranks. They were trying to see if I could hold up to what they saw as issues I would encounter in the job as a Deputy Sheriff. During the interview it became very clear to me, by their questions, that they had no idea what I went through, the training I had, the duties I had acquired and the sacrifices I had to endure. So in short, I do not feel the civilian companies fully understand or are able to value your experiences and worth to them, unless they are all ex-military. As the old saying goes and is para-phrased, Do not judge me until you have walked in my shoes". By the way I got the job and became their boss in the long run. What I did was try to get in their shoes, and talked to them in terms they understood. A civilian will never understand the responsibilities the military put on you, even as a young man! This is just my experiences going from Military to civilian.

Response by Cpl Justin Sowell made Jan 29 at 2018 8:25 PM

2018-01-29T20:25:57-05:00

Unless it’s a Veteran owned and operated company I would say 9/10 times they don’t have a clue.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2018 8:44 PM

2018-01-29T20:44:16-05:00

I worked for 5 different companies in my civilian career I interviewed with several more.
I was actually told by one of the group that hired me for one that one of the members of the deciding group actually wanted to not hire me because I had served in the military.

From my standpoint I would say that many have no idea what serving in the military involves.

It is up to you to show them what you have done and how your experience can add to their company.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 29 at 2018 8:44 PM

2018-01-29T20:44:59-05:00

SGT DeMario McIlwain When I was discharged in June 1972, I went through an extensive series of tests and three interviews for a high paying job at a chemical plant. One of the interviewers was anti military/veterans. He brought up my service in Vietnam and asked if I was stable. I kept my calm and answered his questions without flying off the handle. The other two interviews went fine, and I was hired along with someone with a degree out of 100 applicants interviewed. When I obtained my degree, I started work on the Space Shuttle Program. No mention of my military service was made during the interview process. I had a good resume, was knowledge about the Space Program, and was confident during the interview. Since I was hired for these jobs, they must have recognized someone that could get the job done.

Response by PO3 Pat Hagan made Jan 30 at 2018 2:35 AM

2018-01-30T02:35:00-05:00

In the particular field I pursued after separating, firefighting and emergency medical services, my previous military experience carried a huge amount of weight when applying for both the schooling and then employment with a number of agencies. When I applied for my first position as a firefighter with a small department in Key Largo, Fl, I was competing with 20 other candidates for one position. We all had practically the same level of certifications but I was the only veteran and that, I was told, was what won me the position. It payed off a couple more times as I applied to larger better paying departments.

Response by SGT David T. made Jan 30 at 2018 8:48 AM

2018-01-30T08:48:36-05:00

We have to remember that we need to show the value we bring to the table for a prospective employer. Service is a great thing, but is generally a poor indicator regarding someone's potential to be a good fit for a job. The military is like any other group. We have our good and bad and everything in between. So the person being interviewed has to show their worth during the interview process.

Response by SGT Joseph Gunderson made Jan 30 at 2018 8:56 AM

2018-01-30T08:56:04-05:00

This really comes down to how you present yourself and if you really have worth to that employer. As veterans, we like to believe that our soft skills can get us into any position and that some of our hard skills will translate and make us great applicants, but the truth is that many people think so highly of themselves that they attempt to go with positions that they have no chance in hell of being employed for. People need to start taking a hard look at what they really have to offer an employer and perhaps begin thinking about going after a few certifications or continuing their formal education before applying for some positions. Just because one holds the title of veteran does not make them superman.

Response by SGT Dave Tracy made Jan 30 at 2018 9:33 AM

2018-01-30T09:33:31-05:00

Some companies, and indeed some industries, are better than others, but by and large, no. That isn't to say many companies interviewing potential candidates might not WANT to recognize the value of the veterans in front of them, but most certainly cannot relate to the vet or their experiences in most cases.

Besides, to be fair it takes a little work--even by the vets themselves--to recognize how veterans' experiences relate to the civilian world. After all, while it's not much of a stretch for an Army wheeled mechanic to apply their military vocational skills to being a mechanic in the civilian world, Infantrymen aren't going to find too many jobs needing their singular skillset. In a case like that, strengths such as leadership and perseverance might come into play, but being unquantifiable by nature, may not be easily recognized.

Response by SSgt Boyd Welch made Jan 30 at 2018 9:35 AM

2018-01-30T09:35:18-05:00

I believe that they do see your worth but it depends upon who you interact with or initially reviews your qualifications. If the person reviewing your resume/application has a military background or affiliation, they already know what the veteran brings to the table. Newer reviewers/ interviewers may have trouble making the association between the individual and the organization. All organizations try to see how you can help the Company reach its goals.

The greatest issue for separating members that I see are that military members resume's look more like MOS or AFSC specific job duties or multiple tasks and duty assignments rather than accomplishments. For the non-military reviewer, it means trying to translate multiple skills into job relativity from usually 3-4 pages of terminology that the hiring manager has no clue about. My recommendation is to seek out someone to help you rewrite that resume so that you "shine". As an employer, I want the person who served their country(no matter what job) to have the best opportunity to be hired.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 30 at 2018 9:55 AM

2018-01-30T09:55:53-05:00

hell no !!!

Response by SGT DeMario McIlwain made Jan 30 at 2018 10:28 AM

2018-01-30T10:28:36-05:00

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Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 30 at 2018 2:40 PM

2018-01-30T14:40:14-05:00

Depends on the company, the position applied for and how you "sell" it.

If you're seeking employment with a company that has veterans hiring initiatives, focuses on veteran hires, or expresses such as part of their "core" ethos...it can be very, very valuable. Conversely, if you're applying for a company which promotes largely from within, or has a dedicated "pipeline" for which your military experience is not equivalent, it may be of little real value to the process. Naturally, any company whose culture/values don't trend towards the military is going to be a hard sell.

Interestingly, there's a lot of positions; mostly governmental, where the sheer volume of qualified veteran applicants make it difficult to "stand out". Think federal law enforcement, fire fighting, etc.

Ultimately, you have to master translating what the military taught you into civilian terms they can easily compare and contrast. "Leadership" can be a double -edged sword, as most civilians perceive the authority of an NCO or officer to be "automatic" as opposed to merit based (weird, I know...but there it is). If you've managed programs, have metricized your unit leadership goals, can point to key instances of meeting challenging goals through established protocols...these can all be helpful.

Be prepared to hear some strange questions...there's a perception "we" are all "square pegs" needing help fitting into "round holes".

Response by MAJ Grant Gutkowski made Jul 30 at 2018 3:13 PM

2018-07-30T15:13:36-04:00

Not a chance. This is not because companies don't value the military...it's because they can't correctly understand a military resume. To me...my military resume was gold. Command time, successful staff time, PL time, and grand successes in each that would be an OERs dream. But my first interview looked at it like I had three heads and never called me back.

I looked around and settled on something called the ACP Mentorship Program. ACP is the American Corporate Partners Mentorship Program, in which I was put through a meticulous interview process simply to pair me up with an appropriate mentor in my area. I was eventually paired with a company exec, and I was his third protegee through the program. The first thing he did was ask to look at my resume. I proudly presented my little slip of gold leaf, and he agreed that it sounded amazing...but that he had no idea how to translate it. Even with the mandatory DOL Resume Building class through ACAP, in which my resume had passed with flying colors...it couldn't translate to civspeak.

So we went over it, bit by bit. Instead of focusing on impressive sounding jobs and accomplishments, he had me focus on the skills that I used to succeed in those positions, and he taught me how to feel comfortable verbally articulating the responses so I wouldn't lock up while translating it in my head first.

The next couple of interviews went much better. Ultimately, everyone brings accomplishments to interviews. Work through your military accomplishments to pick out the skills you used, and figure out how civilian employers will benefit from your skills, not your accomplishments (which mean less than nothing to civilians except for an interesting story or two).

Response by SPC Anitra Bailey-Bearfield made Feb 16 at 2020 3:45 PM

2020-02-16T15:45:23-05:00

I don't think that civilians really understand or care when that hire you, most companies feel like if you served less than four years then you don't really have any experience, they don't understand that unlike civilian companies the military is all day everyday training, I have received more training in my 3 1/2 years than people who have been on a job for 10 years. I worked at a construction company as a heavy equipment operator (my job in the military) for awhile after I got out and my supervisor said I did a better job than some of his operators that had 10 plus years of operating experience. Usually after I have been at a job a supervisor can tell that I was in the military just by my demeanor and the way I work but since of that came from my parents. Certain employers look at military experience as a plus, many companies just hire because they need employees and they don't care about your military service.