How do you "Pitch" your military experience in the civilian sector?

SSgt Garrett Deese — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 13:24:23 -0500

With the looming cutbacks effecting many service-members who have served our great nation, I am curious how many Rallypoint members have begun to think about their military experience and view it through the lens of a civilian employer. For several of our nations bravest, the biggest challenge they will face won't involve bullets and flak vests, but will include translating the blood, sweat and tears they have shed for their country into a piece of paper aimed at summarizing who they are, what they do, and what they can do for their target company.

My question (and challenge) for the Rallypoint community is this: What is your pitch? Can you answer the questions of Who you are, What you do, and What you can do for your target company in 5 sentences or less while focusing your answer into a specific job or position?

Figuring this out is tough, I know, but this could quite possibly the most important thing you do in your professional (or post-professional) military career. Need some help? Here is a great article written by Forbes Magazine contributor Carmine Gallo that might be able to help: http://onforb.es/1iM5Fow

Would love to hear your pitch, so feel free to share it below.

-GD

Veterans: Recruiters Want To Hire You But They Need Your Help

Military experience can be difficult to translate in a resume. This article gives veterans and others tips on how to best prepare a resume.

Veterans: Recruiters Want To Hire You But They Need Your Help

Military experience can be difficult to translate in a resume. This article gives veterans and others tips on how to best prepare a resume.

Response by LTC Richard Becker made Jan 29 at 2014 2:10 PM

LTC Richard Becker — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:10:48 -0500

I recently received my MBA from the university of Hawaii. While in attendance we had the opportunity to receive mentorship from actual CEOs in Hawaii. The main thing all of them told us about this particular topic, was to tell your story. One person had a box with a picture on each side, and she told her story through each picture. Another person had a small cup of play-do they used to make things that augmented their story as they told it. The bottom line is, you have to research the industry and company you will be interviewing with, and you have to craft a story that highlights why you are the perfect person for the position and how you are a great fit for the organization. Finally, your delivery has to be uniqe and in such a way that the interviewer remembers you.

Response by SGT Ben Keen made Jan 29 at 2014 2:29 PM

SGT Ben Keen — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 14:29:22 -0500

While it is no secret that civilian employers lack the understanding of what we have done in the military, Veterans also lack the information in some cases to clearly identify and express what they have done in the service so with that in mind I would like to say Thank you for posting this thread, this should get interesting.

During my transition back in 2008 I really didn't say much about what I did. I just told the interviewer that I served 8.5 years as a communications expert and it ended there. Now during my last job search as a result of downsizing, I was more vocal about it. Now I guess you can say my pitch is this when discussing my military experience.

I served in the Army for a total of 8.5 years as a communications expert providing the much needed voice and data communications to the front line commanders. Through the time I served, I learned invaluable lessons such as how to make quick decisions and how to over come many difficulties. I learned to work well within small and large teams as well as work with little to no supervision.

This then opens the floor to a lot of questions from the interviewer that through all the interviews I been, have been worked out in my mind and come fairly quick to me allowing the interviewer to see more of what I'm all about.

Response by SSgt Garrett Deese made Jan 29 at 2014 6:06 PM

SSgt Garrett Deese — Wed, 29 Jan 2014 18:06:01 -0500

Maj Becker brings up a great point in his response above ^. What unique, relatable, creative, and memorable techniques has the Rallypoint community used to tell your military story in an interview? Would anyone be willing to share a success story?

I thought I would also open up a question that I proposed to SGT Keen to the floor as well:

What techniques and language did you use to showcase how your military background gave you a distinctive edge on your competition to drive the business directives of your target companies?

Response by Capt Richard Sirois made Jan 30 at 2014 7:42 PM

Capt Richard Sirois — Thu, 30 Jan 2014 19:42:55 -0500

I'd like to make a contribution to this question by starting with the need to lose the preface "Military". Organizational experience is just that regardless of the entity, it's profit or political objective. Civilians do get it...when you communicate to them in their language. But the onus is on us as vets to translate our experiences into a universal business language, sometimes that's a foreign language that vets need to learn - but it is easy. Experiences are the same in the military as they are business. However differences in culture, language and set of outcomes create complexity in how we talk about them.

The first step is to start from outcome - what did you achieve and how did you do it, in simple, real words. "On time completion of deliverable" translates universally. Killing a target, dropping ordinance on target, or landing a sortie do not. The outcome is what is important to a business leader.

Every soldier, sailor, marine and airmen I've ever worked with in uniform and since departing has achieved many outcomes and this is their intrinsic value. They know how to get $#)^ done.

Hiring managers in corporations buy results and specifically people who get them. Demonstrate in simple words the results you've achieved and how you got them Strip away military jargon and focus on simple impactful communications. It works.

Check out http://www.launchcg.com/expertise/veteran if you're inclined to technology. They do some really great work for transitioning vets.

Veterans

Big Data. Mobile. Design. Customer Engagement. Launch is the Consulting Group that keeps your company flying further and faster.

Microsoft.com - Careers

Response by SPC(P) Nathan Stewart made Mar 13 at 2014 7:12 PM

SPC(P) Nathan Stewart — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 19:12:59 -0400

It's extremely difficult to pitch your Military experience to a civilian employer if they know nothing about the Military. I have been in interviews and been asked what I did while I was deployed. I leave out certain things and explain the types of missions/operations I participated in and all I get is a blank look from the interviewer.

Response by SPC Scott Morey made Mar 13 at 2014 8:03 PM

SPC Scott Morey — Thu, 13 Mar 2014 20:03:58 -0400

This is a very difficult question to answer because it depends on your military MOS versus the job description you are applying for.  I was in the communications field and ended up staying with computer/IT jobs, and still had a really tough time explaining what I did in the Army.  The military is so much different than the civilian world, and 99% of the time employers wouldn't even understand what I was talking about when I used terms like SIPRNet and NIPRNet.  My best advice SSGT Deese, would be to relate your military experience to your civilian position and use as much English translation as possible.  You could even pitch leadership skills and such as that.  Leading a squad through a city full of gunfire, makes a great story.  But when it comes down to it, they look at how much that has to do with the job.

Response by CW2 Jonathan Kantor made Apr 9 at 2014 3:00 PM

CW2 Jonathan Kantor — Wed, 09 Apr 2014 15:00:33 -0400

Nice resource, thanks! I am much closer to retirement than enlistment... These sorts of resources are very helpful.

Response by LTC Chad Storlie made Apr 11 at 2014 3:28 PM

LTC Chad Storlie — Fri, 11 Apr 2014 15:28:19 -0400

Two Books on Amazon :

(1) Combat Leader to Corporate Leader - http://www.amazon.com/Combat-Leader-Corporate-Lessons-Civilian/dp/ [login to see] /ref=tmm_hrd_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid= [login to see] &sr=1-4

(2) Battlefield to Business Success - http://www.amazon.com/Battlefield-Business-Success-Chad-Storlie-ebook/dp/B00598JLJO/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid= [login to see] &sr=1-7&keywords=storlie

Authored Articles:

(1) Article about me in Georgetown Alumni Magazine - http://alumni.georgetown.edu/career/career_81.html

(2) Harvard Business Review Blog - http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/11/dont-play-golf-in-a-football-g/

(3) Harvard Business Review Blog - http://blogs.hbr.org/2010/10/the-value-of-military-skill-se/

(4) Patriot News Op - Ed on Veteran's Day - http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2013/11/five_things_to_do_to_make_this_veterans_day_different_chad_storlie.html

(5) Podcast on Translating Special Operations Skills to Business - https://soundcloud.com/#ournorthwestern/01-14-careertracks-chadstorlie

(6) Podcast on Book Combat Leader to Corporate Leader - https://soundcloud.com/#ournorthwestern/career-tracks-chad-storlie

(7) Federal Computer Weekly - Hiring Veterans - http://fcw.com/articles/2011/11/07/comment-chad-storlie-hiring-veterans.aspx

(8) Oxford Leadership Journal - Managing & Leading in the Midst of Uncertainty - http://www.oxfordleadership.com/journal/vol2_issue1/storlie.pdf

(9) American Legion Magazine - Business Lessons of the Tuskegee Airmen - http://www.legion.org/careers/215804/tuskegee-airmen%E2%80%99s-business-lessons

(10) Fox News Detroit - http://www.myfoxdetroit.com/story/20072030/best-practices-and-success-trends-for-military-veterans-in-career-transition-and-2nd-career-advancement

(11) Omaha World Herald - Memorial Day - http://m.hutchinsonleader.com/news/opinion/commentary-mission-for-veterans-talk-about-friends-you-lost/article_b7ff4076-aa72-11e1-9f06-001a4bcf6878.html?mode=jqm

(12) Big Think - Recruiting Veterans - http://bigthink.com/experts-corner/recruiting-veterans-makes-a-huge-human-capital-difference

(13) Denver Post - What Military Leaders Can Learn from Business Leaders - http://www.americanhomecomings.com/news/2014/02/06/military-leaders-learn-thing-two-business-leaders-column/

Response by LTC Chad Storlie made Apr 16 at 2014 9:29 AM

LTC Chad Storlie — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 09:29:07 -0400

A new post by me on the value of military skills for business:

http://www.everyveteranhired.com/2014/04/16/3-military-leadership-skills-will-make-invaluable-civilian-boss/

These 3 Military Leadership Skills Will Make You Invaluable to Your Civilian Boss

As you move out of the military and into civilian work, bring your leadership skills with you. Your new boss will thank you.

Response by SGT Craig Northacker made Apr 16 at 2014 7:41 PM

SGT Craig Northacker — Wed, 16 Apr 2014 19:41:06 -0400

Anecdotal-you do not want to wear your service time on your sleeve - concentrate on positive experiences and relate your experience to what the job position(s) are that you are applying for.

Response by Sgt Randy Hill made May 29 at 2014 3:48 PM

Sgt Randy Hill — Thu, 29 May 2014 15:48:35 -0400

Get your keywords off the job postings and use a keyword translator like at WWW.va.gov This is one way to take military job analysis and insert civilian keywords in its place.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

The US Department of Veterans Affairs provides patient care and federal benefits to veterans and their dependents. The home page for the Department of Veterans Affairs provides links to veterans benefits and services, as well as information and resources for other Departmental programs and offices.

Response by SSG Mike Angelo made Jun 12 at 2014 12:49 AM

SSG Mike Angelo — Thu, 12 Jun 2014 00:49:53 -0400

If I go for a gendered nonprofit organization, where there are mostly women working there, I leave out the veteran status and just plug in my degrees and general work curriculum vitae; cv.

If I am applying at an Auto Parts store front, my veteran status goes along way because I tell em I lived in the motor pool. So that leaves out 5 pages of questions.

If I am applying for a government agency job, I have been known to throw in every acronym, DD214, transcript that I could think of with a glossary at the end.

Depending on the government agency, I may elect to submit my education only or not. It depends what the agency is looking for.

Obtaining the masters degree kind of promoted me up a bit, trailing behind is my enlisted career which may or may not hold any weight in job selection.

when i pitch for a job, my market strategy is for a buy-in with either direct or indirect services. I research the organization prior to and find out what exactly is their need. I may or may not be able to help them.

Response by SN Jennifer M. made Oct 27 at 2014 6:20 PM

SN Jennifer M. — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 18:20:17 -0400

I have never really pitched my military career per say. It is more like they see it on my resume and they ask about it. Though when I do talk about it and employers have seen what I have done and where I have been they have been interested in hiring. Since I am a military spouse as well it has made it even more difficult to get employment since I move around so much. In five years I have lived in 3 places (Virginia Beach, Fort Hood and now Germany).

Response by Elizabeth Malkin made Jan 19 at 2015 6:24 PM

Elizabeth Malkin — Mon, 19 Jan 2015 18:24:48 -0500

SSgt Garrett Deese , this is a very important question that you have posed and the responses below are powerful. I would also call RP members to read RP's own MAJ George Hamilton's Command Post on the uncommon qualities of military members and how to translate those for a civilian audience. George is a great partner to RallyPoint and as a veteran now working in recruiting in the civilian space he is very valuable insights.

Response by PO1 Bill Adams made Dec 24 at 2015 4:33 PM

PO1 Bill Adams — Thu, 24 Dec 2015 16:33:40 -0500

Instead of pitching I found I got a better responses by translating, and breaking equipment down to basics.
Instead of saying I was Work Center Supervisor supervising 7 FCs, maintaining Fire Control Systems.
I said I supervised a group of 7 radar technicians in maintenance and operations of the radar systems that aimed the ships weapons.

Instead of Saying Fire Control System,
I talked about radars, and analog and digital outputs and inputs and computer interfaces.

I was mostly applying at factories and such that needed techs. I listened to what they said then hit the library and learned what I could about the things they talked about. Then translated some more.

The last company I interviewed with, The Maintenance Manger kept mentioning DCSs. After the interview, I wrote a thank you letter to that Maintenance Supervisor, talking about how surprised I was at how similar a DCS was to a Fire Control System after I had gone to a library and figured out what the hell a DCS was. I got offers from him and from Honeywell, Took the Honeywell job.

I'm afraid I may sound like I'm bragging or something here. But what I'm trying to do is illustrate what I meant by "translate".

Response by SPC Lyle Montgomery made Nov 25 at 2021 11:25 AM

SPC Lyle Montgomery — Thu, 25 Nov 2021 11:25:49 -0500

I was working as a millwright on a turbine overhaul when the towers fell. A couple of young aprentices on that job said that they were going to enlist in the Marine Corps to go and kill Arabs. I told them this was an honorable thing to do but when the rounds were coming at you or you were putting a comrade in a body bag it gave you a complete different perspective. I did not discourage them from joining. I had volunteered for the draft myself but I just offered a different prospective.