Do you believe your military service in the reserves has helped or hurt your chances of promotion with your civilian employer? Why/why not?

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 19:52:53 -0400

Response by TSgt Alex Benningfield made Jul 2 at 2016 7:57 PM

TSgt Alex Benningfield — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 19:57:51 -0400

For me it helped because of the value my active duty experience brought. On the reserve side the value of experience from prior service members is high. Of course I was also lucky and came into a small shop where I was the only 7lv and by default was able to make E6 at the 5 year mark.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2016 8:16 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 20:16:24 -0400

I don't believe it had any effect for me.

Response by SFC Everett Oliver made Jul 2 at 2016 8:17 PM

SFC Everett Oliver — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 20:17:15 -0400

I took a job as a part time commissioned estimator for a home improvement company. 6 months later I was the Salaried General manager, a position that previously was non existent... I like to think that either I'm just a dynamic natural leader or my military training told me to take charge....

Response by 1st Lt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2016 9:34 PM

1st Lt Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 21:34:26 -0400

It has actually hurt me. My employer absolutely HATES when I go on orders, and usually holds it against me. He actually tried to convince me out of joining again. Something about crappy quality of life, paid almost nothing, etc etc. then he tried pulling the "your job here is so important" blah blah blah. It's actually to the point where I cannot wait to drop my OCS package, and if that fails, apply for RC to AC. However, I work in a retail sales environment, so every employee is only seen as a cash cow in my opinion.

Response by SSG Brian Lovins made Jul 2 at 2016 11:24 PM

SSG Brian Lovins — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 23:24:17 -0400

I would say in one of my former jobs it hurt me, I was gone for 2 years due to homeland security mission (noble eagle) and then 9 months later was sent to New Orleans after Katrina, I trained 2 new service managers while being passed over for the position myself, I left that company after the 2nd time I was passed over and became a manager at another place, my guard unit was doing MUTA 8's every month, I was "laid off" 8 months later a week after returning from a MUTA 8, I am a construction equipment mechanic and was laid off in November in Colorado, 2 months later I was hired as a temp tech with the Gov. but with no permanent job in sight I moved to TX, all of my employers here have been 100 percent supportive of my obligations. I did retire from the guard 3 years ago, the Guard became too demanding for me, while it was a "weekend" thing with the state missions I was constantly getting called and having to find Soldiers to volunteer for missions, while my company supported it it wasn't fair to the ones that had to pick up my slack and could no longer risk losing my main source of income, I was medically retired and had the option to fight and stay in (but that's a whole other story) I opted to take retirement and focus on my civilian career and family.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 2 at 2016 11:49 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 02 Jul 2016 23:49:56 -0400

Its helped me gain respect and ive been given chances to lead while others have not. However nobody says it but they all hate working ot while i am away at drill and i feel guilty as well.

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2016 1:46 AM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 01:46:40 -0400

I am a DoD Civilian, but I still feel the resentment. While nothing was said directly it was known. An example was that I received a great evaluation for my initial evaluation period in my current organization. A few months into my second evaluation period I deployed. My supervisor did an evaluation, which was not even due. It was marked "Met Standards" in every block and the bullet comments were blank. When I challenged it the first SES in my chain of command reviewed it and determined that the evaluation was simply out of cycle and should be discarded. Before I worked for AAFES and the feeling was much stronger. To there defense I kept getting placed on orders within the local area versus a deployment. Regardless, we are serving our country and should be free to focus on what we must do to serve our country. On a good note, my experienced I have gained on my military assignments has greatly improved my resume. I will be switching to an Air Force Reserve Technician position, which I imagine I will find them a lot more understanding.

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2016 4:10 AM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 04:10:12 -0400

Why yes, considering that my team is all current or veterans, having something in common with them and being able to share non-PC jokes with them definitely keeps us going.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Jul 3 at 2016 4:46 AM

SGM Mikel Dawson — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 04:46:01 -0400

I've had mixed reactions. One job, I was a refer mechanic at a trucking firm with over a hundred refer units to keep serviced, repaired and such. When I had Reserve weekend coming up, I'd work my days off to keep up. After a while the boss came to me and said I could no longer work my days off because I had Reserve duty. I looked at him and told him I wasn't doing it for the extra money I was trying to keep the units up and running. I use to be on call 24hrs and many nights would come out to swap a unit or what ever. So they hired a guy as my "boss" on salary (I worked by the hour). After that I never answered my phone after hours. Many times the shop foreman would ask if I was home the night before, I'd ask why. He'd say there was a unit froze up, I'd ask "Did you call Randy?" He'd say yes. I'd reply, he's on salary. I left that job.
My next place, the ranch foreman worked with me. I was lucky, he'd been in the Air Guard and knew the deal. During hunting season in the fall I couldn't make it out for drill, but my unit let me RST after and worked with me as well. One time Bill radioed in to me and said my unit contacted me, it was an alert notice. I replied if I needed to do anything, he said, yes, get my gear together he was flying in to get me. He then, instead of me driving 4 hours to my unit, flew me to the city my unit was stationed in. He then flew down and picked me up after drill - on his one dime.

Response by CAPT Kevin B. made Jul 3 at 2016 9:20 AM

CAPT Kevin B. — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 09:20:29 -0400

Got tossed from promotion consideration because the senior civilian told me he'd never promote me because I was a Reservist... twice. Interesting things happened to create a course correction on his part which meant promotion was delayed about 3 years. Also remember people get fired over it. USERRA only works if DoJ wants to go to bat for you. I had several in my last command who were fired while deployed. DoJ wouldn't help out because the level of "damages" wouldn't meet their minimum threshold which was $2-3M at the time. People would get a job sooner. Laws are only as good as the enforcement and that track record is pretty poor.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 3 at 2016 2:33 PM

1LT Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 03 Jul 2016 14:33:14 -0400

Definitely hurt. Nobody joins the military in my area and every single employer seems to have a problem with it even when I notify them way ahead of time.

Response by SMSgt Thor Merich made Jul 4 at 2016 2:22 PM

SMSgt Thor Merich — Mon, 04 Jul 2016 14:22:49 -0400

I know for a fact that I lost a promotion when I was activated and deployed after 9/11. The worst part was that I was screwed by a retired AF reservist (who happened to my boss). I could have fought it as it was clearly in violation of USERRA. But my priorities had changed after being gone from my family for a year and in the big scheme of things it wasn't that important. I eventually got the promotion a few years later anyway.

With so few folks having military experience, many bosses and organizations don't really appreciate the Reserve or National Guard folks. All they see is an employee that is gone a lot. They are unable to see how that military experience enhances their employees. I can tell you despite the whole "thank you for your service" stuff, for many organizations its just lip service.

Response by TSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 5 at 2016 8:07 AM

TSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 08:07:23 -0400

Hurt. I was fired from one position because of my multiple deployments, even had emails from the district mgr to make it look like it was a disciplinary issue (which it wasn't) she stated that my deployments were a detriment to the company and they had to find a way to get rid of me. I am currently in a position where I've been told they will not hold my current position. I've been told they will hold a job, just not the current position I am in.

Response by SGT Tracy Keener made Jul 5 at 2016 8:32 AM

SGT Tracy Keener — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 08:32:03 -0400

It helps and hurts, in 95 a new company came to our area and I applied. During my interview I was told that the better positions had wanted to hire me but because I was NG they passed me over but that I could come in on the lowest end of the company, and they hoped that my NG would not interfere with my job. 6 months later I was deployed, LOL, anyhow while I was away the company went under due to Clinton's NAFTA and everyone got laid off, but me because they couldn't do it to me since I was overseas, but as soon as my feet hit the US they sent me notice that I was laid off. But in the end it turned out good for me because it paid for 2 years of college and I got my BS thanks to NAFTA.

Response by SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 5 at 2016 9:45 AM

SPC(P) Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 09:45:56 -0400

It's really going to vary employer to employer, but I have always told everyone that from my experiences everyone wants to hire former military, no one wants current military. The same goes for promotions. I don't entirely blame them either. What employer wants to have to deal with the constant shuffling of employees and interim workers that come with deployments, being short-handed because of two-week AT's, or lack of availability because of drill weekends. It really is putting quite a burden on employers to have to deal with all that comes with hiring a current NG or Reserve Soldier. All these things make it more difficult for higher level positions. It's easy to replace (or do without) a bottom-tier employee who's gone on orders, but it is much more difficult to replace management. It's much more paramount that management personnel are available 24/7 and devoted entirely to their work at the company, rather than having their attention divided.

Most employers I've come across view it this way, and understand that it's a lot easier to not hire a current military member. However, former military tend to have great leadership skills, communication, a strong work ethic, etc. etc. My guess is, it will benefit you a lot more when the military is your past, not your present...

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 5 at 2016 12:08 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 12:08:23 -0400

Depends on the employer. I have lost jobs before for having to go to AT. It didn't bother me because I never had a problem finding a job and my army always came first anyway. As far as being a reservist compared to active they are completely different worlds. As a reservist, I have to find time to do PT on my own. No one pays me for it. After working a 12 hr day thats not an easy task. No one pays for my insurance either. I have to pay for it. If I get sick? Yeah let me go clock in and tell my boss im going to sick call and go ahead and pay for it. Oh yeah and the doc will probably give me bed rest so you can go ahead and pay for that too. Thirty days paid vacation? Must be nice.

Response by LTC Dan Okamura made Jul 5 at 2016 1:01 PM

LTC Dan Okamura — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 13:01:17 -0400

DA Civilian here, it really will depend on your supervisor. My first supervisor at TACOM looked at my second fiscal year's training dates and said, "if I knew you were going to have such an aggressive Reserve schedule, I never would have hired you." Granted I lived in Michigan but drilled in Hawaii. My Reserve unit let me group my drills into big blocks, but still it was out of the office for two weeks for several times a year. He also said, "I have other Reserve/Guard in the office and their schedule doesn't look like yours." The other three got paid more on the civilian side than the military, and I found out that they weren't drilling during that timeframe! And the supervisor was retired Active Army! It never got more than talk, I still got good evals, and never had to see anyone or get USERRA ombudsman involved. Unexpectedly this supervisor was transferred and my next two supervisors have been very supportive, but there has been a certain amount of education involved, especially as I get ready to go on my next and last deployment. It could have easily been a very acrimonious situation that would have needed IG/EEO/CoC/DOJ/USERRA assistance plus being out of job until I return...

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 5 at 2016 1:19 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 13:19:59 -0400

For me it has done both. The skills I've learned in the National Guard had made me an invaluable player at work. Promotions came easy, in house. At the corporate level, however, I found it hard to move up into a corporate position. The company did so through internships. Sadly, the internships only happen in the summer and I have 2 weeks of annual training to attend. Because I couldn't fulfill the entire 3 month internship uninterrupted, I missed out on the opportunity to move into a corporate position. Thankfully, I was able to get a job as a federal technician with my Guard unit and make more money doing that than I would have in a corporate position with my civilian employer.

To answer the question, it depends on the company. Every situation is going to be different.

Response by SFC Michael Smith made Jul 5 at 2016 6:11 PM

SFC Michael Smith — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 18:11:45 -0400

I was constantly under scrutiny because my drills most always fell on my 12 hr midnight shifts. Some said I planned it that way. My supervisor would not help find someone to work for me so I ended up begging and trading my vacation days to get coverage. I was actually losing 36 hrs of pay from work, guard check didn't come close to covering the loss. Other mechanics got schools for advancement, I did not.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 5 at 2016 9:50 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 21:50:51 -0400

I joined the reserves after being laid off and not being able to find work. My MOS is human resources, so there should be no shortage of opportunities in "the real world". To my dismay, interview opportunities actually decreased after I proudly added the reservist line to the resume. We all know it's illegal for an employer to hold military service against you, but prove it's why a would-be employer doesn't give you a shot. As a result, I'm under-employed in a lousy retail job (which, to be fair, has never complained about my military time). My favorite expression is, "WE SUPPORT THE TROOPS... until it personally inconveniences us."

Response by MSgt Bruce Hutchinson made Jul 5 at 2016 11:12 PM

MSgt Bruce Hutchinson — Tue, 05 Jul 2016 23:12:06 -0400

My current job doesn't seem to recognize the management experience I got while serving in the reserves. Truth be told I have almost 30 years experience vs my managers 4 years

Response by LTC John Mohor made Jul 7 at 2016 12:01 AM

LTC John Mohor — Thu, 07 Jul 2016 00:01:45 -0400

Initially after returning from deployment in 2006 I realized that my former desire to maybe run a drywall yard was no longer something I should strive for as it would be a disservice to my fellow employees if i were mobilized again. I therefore gave up the idea. In this regard it may have effected my chances for promotion. Having seen numerous other fellow Reserve Soldiers change jobs multiple times it seems that we all had to adjust to what was more important in the course of our careers.

Response by TSgt Alexander Lewis made Jul 12 at 2016 9:03 AM

TSgt Alexander Lewis — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 09:03:15 -0400

Hurt there are some that do not like dealing with military obligations i.e. The 15 days of annual and weekend drills because they have to plan around it. Not to mention expeditionary assignments on occasion I had one manager tell me there was more than one way to skin a cat. It really depends on the employer

Response by CAPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 21 at 2016 12:52 AM

CAPT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 Jul 2016 00:52:34 -0400

I work in the Defense Industry, so my experience is probably unique. My company has taken the approach that my military time works to its benefit. It is important to them that they have people who are operational current. Additionally, about 10 years ago I didn't feel that I was going to advance within the company so I opted to concentrate on advancing my military career. As my military responsibilities increased there was a noticeable improvement in how I was viewed within the company. When I came back from my first deployment I was placed in a leadership position (lower level, but still a leadership position). I don't know if I have been looked at for any higher level leadership positions within the company, but I haven't really pursued it as I am still concentrating on my military career. I am regularly asked for my perspective on personnel matters by more senior leaders within the company.

As a general rule, Defense companies that do not take care of their reservists aren't doing themselves and favors. However, I believe my company has gone above and beyond in supporting my reserve career.

Response by Cpl James Beatty made Aug 16 at 2016 9:27 PM

Cpl James Beatty — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 21:27:32 -0400

Lol