What are the challenges that you face when seeking career opportunities?
Jobs
Career Advice
Interesting. I had never heard that before. You make sense and I can see how appealing a company can be to advertise their support to hire veterans as an enhancement to their appeal. Unfortunately, there are companies who do just that - public appeasement. However, I would like to argue that there are many other companies who are truly supportive in hiring veterans. You just need to yoke up with the right resources and departments that help aid in the hiring of veterans. One really good resource is: http://www.hiringourheroes.org/.
There will always be the good and the bad. Yet, you must be sober, vigilant and discerning when considering making big changes in your life, including your career and the company you want to work for.
In my position as a retired Senior Noncommissioned officer with three foreign languages, a master's degree, electronic, computer, mechanical, human resources, analytic writing etc, hiring our heroes isn't the place to look.
Needless to say, I transferred.
I will tell you, however, today employers are virtually fighting to hire veterans. The biggest challenge in hiring is still, as with any employment, hiring the right person with the right skills.
Ok I made it here, I didn't want to leave until I first get this done.
resume:
On my profile, I put what is in my resume verbatim.
Well almost all of it but not all.
The resume must talk about you.
If you notice, every thing is IT related only and nothing about when I drove limos, or worked as house keeping in the VA Hospital.
Once you have your resume, next step if to look for work in that field only and nothing else. Your resume must match when your looking for.
Next steps will involve looking for work in the world wide web.
interesting thing about the WWW, is that you will not get called every time you post your resume. So as an alternative finding people close by were you live helps by providing sources that may be more reliable.
You may find some temp agencies that offer you work that will allow you to grow your resume, but even in that or those jobs you will always find someone who knows someone that can allow you to grow or apply in.
Thing is when you have been called, make sure you have a phone that allows you to get calls, if you have someone taking messages for you for an interview make sure you let them know to take the number of that caller.
When you have set for you appointment for an interview, dress professional, be ready to fill out an application that could contain address, phone numbers and address of all your previous employers, be ready to answer questions about you.
Question: Tell me about your self?
Don't say: I enjoy riding in the park, I enjoy fishing nor any thing personal, this question only means to tell me about what have you done in the position your applying for.
When your interview is completed, the next thing you want to hear is when are you going to start.
If you don't hear that time and date, keep searching.
Don't wait for anyone to call you. if they say they will call you.
You are free to ask the employer questions like:
How many positions are open.
Why did the last person leave.
What is will you get paid.
But they are not allowed to ask you if your married or how many kids you have.
When you start working, work like a professional, every you do, do it like a professional.
...
Here I go again writing a book.
Some things I didn't mention here is when you get an email that your hired reply back with a thank you email.
Their is allot more to look for work, but above all, looking for work is a job as well.
This is not final because other vets or SM here will add to this as well, but my final words are. Any one can find a job, what your looking for is a career, what you want to do for the next 20 years or so. A job is easy to find anywhere but a career is what you are good at and what your qualifications based on (What you do best).
Finally when you work out your resume, always be ready to have your resume proof read.
Remember that when your resume is sent via the web, it may be screened for words that are associated with the position your apply for.
Someone applying for a job in the VA as housekeeping will not scan for A+ certified or break fix computer components. If I send my current resume to the VA Hospital for house keeping, I might get called, but the person doing the interview will thing twice about hiring me because to them I will not remain with them for long.
I hope you get what I mean by that.
Things they say they want i.e. Confidence, when exhibited by a former service person will often be translated as Arrogance.
Posturing, as we informally teach as a command function from the day you first see your Drill Instructor doing it is often seen as an aggressive posture and received poorly.
You need to make an immediate and concentrated effort to read your new surroundings and corporate culture and make a determined effort to fit into that new culture. You need to still portray all of your positive Leadership traits but you need to do so in a way that relates to your new audience. Even if you get hired on into a new managerial position, you cannot interact with Civilians like you did your Platoon, or Company.
Your library of Acronyms has to go(unless they are industry standard, non-military acronyms). Dates are MM/DD/YYYY, get used to it.
Translate your military skills and qualifications into Civilian, then ask a Veteran who's already transitioned to fix it for you, then do it again and ask a Civilian what they see there, then do it again.
Also that stuff they teach about Military uniforms and their equivalents in Formal Wear, Business Wear, Business Casual, and Work uniforms is absolutely correct. you need to wear the equivalent civilian dress that you would have worn a Uniform for for the equivalent occasion.
Continue with Facebook 
Continue with Google