Posted on Oct 22, 2014
What are you doing to prepare yourself for the next round of downsizing that is coming?
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with the recent headlines of a reduction in force of another 18000 for FY 15 what are you planning on doing to prepare yourself?
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 14
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MSG, It's always an unpleasant topic. Looking for a civilian job is a what a lot of Veterans turn to. I will always lend a hand to transitioning Veterans along with a few folks that I know within the profession. There are a ton of resources depending on the field someone wishes to join, the area of the country they want to move to, as well as networking groups etc.
The issue with this mode of preparation for those who know they will have to move to the civilian sector, is that it typically take time to network. If I can ever lend a hand to you or Veterans you know, please send them my way. I don't always have the answer, but I know plenty of people that just might. My LinkedIn profile is below.
Cheers!
Arron
http://www.linkedin.com/in/arrondaniels
The issue with this mode of preparation for those who know they will have to move to the civilian sector, is that it typically take time to network. If I can ever lend a hand to you or Veterans you know, please send them my way. I don't always have the answer, but I know plenty of people that just might. My LinkedIn profile is below.
Cheers!
Arron
http://www.linkedin.com/in/arrondaniels
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CSM (Join to see)
Thank you for the responce to the question. I think the more we can push (information) towards preperation for transition it will be less painful if you get cought in it. Thanks for the link.
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SSG Arron Daniels
No worries. I have sat in on Platoon Meetings virtually through Google+/Skype to field questions and give best practices. I am still in the fight. I do it to pay it forward, not for money. If I can help, MSG< pass my info along to your leaders as well.
Arron
Arron
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It seems that everyone is entirely focused on either two courses of action - 1) accept the inevitable and prepare to get out or 2) increase value to the organization through increased performance.
If you want to make a career of the military in this day and age and you love what you do - honestly, it is probably not going to be your performance that causes your QMP/QSP/Non-Retention, it is going to be your character!
Folks need to get on board the "Army Profession" and understand that it is more about how we do our job (character/ethics/morals) than it is about our level of competence/performance.
We've all seen the editorials and opinion pieces about how one DUI years ago or one act of misconduct seemingly put someone in the high risk zone and they were "forced out"
Want to make a career in the military - learn your job, but more importantly, live the Army Values and abide by the tenants of the Army Profession. We desperately need leaders of character to take us into the next phase.
If you want to make a career of the military in this day and age and you love what you do - honestly, it is probably not going to be your performance that causes your QMP/QSP/Non-Retention, it is going to be your character!
Folks need to get on board the "Army Profession" and understand that it is more about how we do our job (character/ethics/morals) than it is about our level of competence/performance.
We've all seen the editorials and opinion pieces about how one DUI years ago or one act of misconduct seemingly put someone in the high risk zone and they were "forced out"
Want to make a career in the military - learn your job, but more importantly, live the Army Values and abide by the tenants of the Army Profession. We desperately need leaders of character to take us into the next phase.
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I prepared for reduction by doing everything in my power to make myself promotional. Contrary to popular belief, the NG is also subject to down-sizing. I have kept up PT and passed every APFT. I have volunteered for every course available. And last month, I was selected for promotion for E-5.
It hurts doing PT. It was embarrassing to have to bug my COC for deployment and schools all the time and volunteer for training that nobody else wanted. But to get ahead, just as in the civilian sphere, you have to put yourself at risk, learn from your training, and go forward. If I'm cut, at least I can say that I did the very best I could, and be an example for my kids.
It hurts doing PT. It was embarrassing to have to bug my COC for deployment and schools all the time and volunteer for training that nobody else wanted. But to get ahead, just as in the civilian sphere, you have to put yourself at risk, learn from your training, and go forward. If I'm cut, at least I can say that I did the very best I could, and be an example for my kids.
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MSgt (Join to see)
SGT (Join to see) You are very correct the NG is not exempt. When Clinton did the base closures (BRAC) my Air Guard unit was deactivated. I was either going to have to transfer to the other side of the state 300 miles away or find something here. So I transfered to the Navy Reserve. If I remember right they deactivated three units here in the state and took the KC135's away from the 141st ARW of the Guard. I got lucky six months later and transfered back to a new unit created in the Guard. So I wish you all the luck in continuing your career and don't give in. Do what ever you need to do to take care of yourself. MSgt Allan Folsom congratulations on your impending retirement.
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MSG William Frank,
I expect retirement under TERA on DEC 2015. We all know what that means.
I just Re-PCSed back to JBER, AK after 18 months in Cairo. I immediately signed up for the Senior Leader Transition Assistance Program class. I am on DAY-3 and the course is well worth it. Bonus, we can take it twice (if time allows it) and is highly recommended. My Sr. Rater completely supports this. Funny, he is in my class too!
Knowing your skills gap is important. I'm working on a Masters Degree through Central Michigan University. I expect to graduate right on DEC 2015. Also, some courses through the Defense Acquisition University offer undergraduate credits. This can be a bullet on the education portion of your resume.
Location is important. Alaska where my family and I wants to retire. This give me time to Network. Also, very good job prospects.
My advise to Soldiers and Officers:
- As soon as possible take the TAP course or Sr. Leader TAP. (((Take it twice if you can)))
- Figure out what experience, education, training and/or certification you need (Tap covers this)
- Network, network, network (this one is on you)
- Have a financial plan for your first 365 days out of the Army (TAP helps with this).
Lastly, I am twitting (@RaulARovira) my transition to share links, tools, experiences, and what I am personal doing. I'll be doing the same on RallyPoint. Just sharing.
I expect retirement under TERA on DEC 2015. We all know what that means.
I just Re-PCSed back to JBER, AK after 18 months in Cairo. I immediately signed up for the Senior Leader Transition Assistance Program class. I am on DAY-3 and the course is well worth it. Bonus, we can take it twice (if time allows it) and is highly recommended. My Sr. Rater completely supports this. Funny, he is in my class too!
Knowing your skills gap is important. I'm working on a Masters Degree through Central Michigan University. I expect to graduate right on DEC 2015. Also, some courses through the Defense Acquisition University offer undergraduate credits. This can be a bullet on the education portion of your resume.
Location is important. Alaska where my family and I wants to retire. This give me time to Network. Also, very good job prospects.
My advise to Soldiers and Officers:
- As soon as possible take the TAP course or Sr. Leader TAP. (((Take it twice if you can)))
- Figure out what experience, education, training and/or certification you need (Tap covers this)
- Network, network, network (this one is on you)
- Have a financial plan for your first 365 days out of the Army (TAP helps with this).
Lastly, I am twitting (@RaulARovira) my transition to share links, tools, experiences, and what I am personal doing. I'll be doing the same on RallyPoint. Just sharing.
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CSM (Join to see)
Sir Thnak you for the feedback. There is alot of information for people to absorb but very much worth the time to do it. Thanks for the twitter link will add it to mine to keep up on the process.
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LTC (Join to see)
Translating military experience into civilian terminology can be difficult. Does Company Commander = Managing Director? Does First Sergeant = Senior Training & Development Advisor? Civilian companies do not understand the relevance of "looking after the health & welfare" :-(
Developing a solid resume is important.
Civilian education is also VERY important. That is something civilian recruiters do understand. Successfully combining experience with education is important. Every Soldier (enlisted and officer) should take advantage of educational benefited (e.g., tuition assistance) and get a civilian education while serving. Sure it is tough and eats up a lot of time, but it will pay off on the end, and it demonstrates fortitude to civilian recruiters.
Sometime there are geographical challenges. There may not be a lot of employment opportunities "where" you "want" to retire to. Be flexible and accept the calculated risks and stress associated with relocating (again) to go to where the good opportunities are. Mitigate each risk and determine what is best for the family (if you have one) and always what is best for "you". Take care if your family, and your family will take care of you.
Developing a solid resume is important.
Civilian education is also VERY important. That is something civilian recruiters do understand. Successfully combining experience with education is important. Every Soldier (enlisted and officer) should take advantage of educational benefited (e.g., tuition assistance) and get a civilian education while serving. Sure it is tough and eats up a lot of time, but it will pay off on the end, and it demonstrates fortitude to civilian recruiters.
Sometime there are geographical challenges. There may not be a lot of employment opportunities "where" you "want" to retire to. Be flexible and accept the calculated risks and stress associated with relocating (again) to go to where the good opportunities are. Mitigate each risk and determine what is best for the family (if you have one) and always what is best for "you". Take care if your family, and your family will take care of you.
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MAJ Raúl Rovira
Kevin, well said on education. From the Sr. Leader TAP program what I got from most of the LOG folks is that they did not get a chance to get a Lean Six Sigma certification. Many of the companies in Alaska want LSS certified folks. Like most things in the Army, sometimes it is about timing and if the boss will let someone go.
In a good note, some are taking Project Management courses through e-learning. Or beefing up credentials by taking Defense Acquisition University (DAU) courses which give undergraduate credits. DAU Courses will reflect on the Joint Service Transcript.
There is so much stuff that I don't think 24 months is enough. My advice to anyone is to start planing for transition the day you join the Army (Education, Credentials, Financial, Networking...)
Raul
In a good note, some are taking Project Management courses through e-learning. Or beefing up credentials by taking Defense Acquisition University (DAU) courses which give undergraduate credits. DAU Courses will reflect on the Joint Service Transcript.
There is so much stuff that I don't think 24 months is enough. My advice to anyone is to start planing for transition the day you join the Army (Education, Credentials, Financial, Networking...)
Raul
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CSM (Join to see)
Very good advice Sir about planning the day you join hadnt thought of it that way (it was a long time ago). Also thanks for the insight on LSS it is importiant to try and take advantage of education benifits like you said as long as the boss says you can attend.
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Although I'm now retired, I still work for Army as a DA civilian, CSM (Join to see), and my answer to your question is to pay off bills and not go (further) into debt. Save, prepare for things just like this. Oh, and if I were still on active duty, I'd be soldiering on, doing my best - doing everything I could to avoid being one of the 18,000 statistic.
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MAJ (Join to see)
Great question Chief!
I believe this is simply about probability (you will be retained MORE likely or LESS likely… often you can influence this!).
In my opinion, based off of experience, Primary Military Education (WLC, ALC, C3, ILE…) is going to be looked at harder than just about everything else. Those that have the required education will be a cut above the rest of the group, be retained, or promoted. Just because you have civilian education doesn’t mean it’s going to translate into the Army retaining you.
The next thing... civilian education: the more you have… the more marketable you are… however, not at the expense of PME. In some cases higher levels of civilian education IS required and must be balanced between PME and CIV.
The obvious:
1. Air tight evaluations… no gaps and great comments. Usually not a problem on the AC side of the house but a huge problem in the National Guard and Reserves.
2. ORB/ ERB/ ARB/ 2-1. I can’t stress this enough. If you don’t have a “snapshot” of “who” you are and “what” you did… NO ONE is going to dig to find out.
3. Updated DA (Military Service) Photo. Your official photo should be a mirror image of your ORB/ERB (snapshot of service record). This can mean the difference of you getting the job, staying in the military, or getting selected for promotion!!!! Don’t kid yourself… your presentation DOES matter.
4. Pass your physical fitness test!
5. Pass height and weight!
Strategies:
1. Look into additional duties. They are called additional because most people will avoid these extra “hardships” and sit back for someone else to pick it up. Their inaction is where you can shine.
2. Pick an additional duty that rolls up into your Commander’s strategy. If it’s something that impacts your Commander and you do a good job… expect good comments on your evaluation.
3. DON’T put additional duties above your PME. You have to have your PME. I have know lot’s of great Soldiers that have been vital assets to the Command but lacked their PME (on the Officer side of the house) and were gone due to a two time pass-over.
Network, network, network.
Care about people like you care about your self. Care about the product you produce like the product you expect someone you have paid to produce for you.
Lastly Chief,
Someone in the office the other day said it best, “It’s not the smartest people who survive… and it’s not the dumbest people who die… it’s the people who adapt easily that will outlive us all!”
I believe this is simply about probability (you will be retained MORE likely or LESS likely… often you can influence this!).
In my opinion, based off of experience, Primary Military Education (WLC, ALC, C3, ILE…) is going to be looked at harder than just about everything else. Those that have the required education will be a cut above the rest of the group, be retained, or promoted. Just because you have civilian education doesn’t mean it’s going to translate into the Army retaining you.
The next thing... civilian education: the more you have… the more marketable you are… however, not at the expense of PME. In some cases higher levels of civilian education IS required and must be balanced between PME and CIV.
The obvious:
1. Air tight evaluations… no gaps and great comments. Usually not a problem on the AC side of the house but a huge problem in the National Guard and Reserves.
2. ORB/ ERB/ ARB/ 2-1. I can’t stress this enough. If you don’t have a “snapshot” of “who” you are and “what” you did… NO ONE is going to dig to find out.
3. Updated DA (Military Service) Photo. Your official photo should be a mirror image of your ORB/ERB (snapshot of service record). This can mean the difference of you getting the job, staying in the military, or getting selected for promotion!!!! Don’t kid yourself… your presentation DOES matter.
4. Pass your physical fitness test!
5. Pass height and weight!
Strategies:
1. Look into additional duties. They are called additional because most people will avoid these extra “hardships” and sit back for someone else to pick it up. Their inaction is where you can shine.
2. Pick an additional duty that rolls up into your Commander’s strategy. If it’s something that impacts your Commander and you do a good job… expect good comments on your evaluation.
3. DON’T put additional duties above your PME. You have to have your PME. I have know lot’s of great Soldiers that have been vital assets to the Command but lacked their PME (on the Officer side of the house) and were gone due to a two time pass-over.
Network, network, network.
Care about people like you care about your self. Care about the product you produce like the product you expect someone you have paid to produce for you.
Lastly Chief,
Someone in the office the other day said it best, “It’s not the smartest people who survive… and it’s not the dumbest people who die… it’s the people who adapt easily that will outlive us all!”
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CW5 (Join to see)
That's some great advice, MAJ (Join to see)! Thanks for sharing it with the RP community.
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That is a great question CSM (Join to see) . RallyPoint works closely with top civilian employers and recruiters to try and make the transition to a civilian career (and within civilian roles down the road) as intuitive and painless as possible. We have great relationship with the recruiters from these companies and work hard to help members who are trying to figure out their next steps.
RP is very focused on empowering our members who are looking for civilian careers as the downsizing becomes more of a reality and in the next few weeks we will be rolling out a VERY robust update to the career corner with amazing searching ability and that is very user-friendly, it will really help us to showcase the 12,000+ jobs that RallyPoint has on the career corner. Any suggestions that RP members have for what to include in the update please let us know!
Make sure to check out the current career corner, all the jobs are listed and our partner companies are poised, hoping and waiting to get RP applicants that they can hire right into their prime civilian positions. https://www.rallypoint.com/careers/civilian
RP is very focused on empowering our members who are looking for civilian careers as the downsizing becomes more of a reality and in the next few weeks we will be rolling out a VERY robust update to the career corner with amazing searching ability and that is very user-friendly, it will really help us to showcase the 12,000+ jobs that RallyPoint has on the career corner. Any suggestions that RP members have for what to include in the update please let us know!
Make sure to check out the current career corner, all the jobs are listed and our partner companies are poised, hoping and waiting to get RP applicants that they can hire right into their prime civilian positions. https://www.rallypoint.com/careers/civilian
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I am doing everything possible to ensure that my position in the Army is needed. Skills, duties, rank, and multiple MOS's. As of the moment, I am able to teach 25L and 25U, I am the Help Desk Support for my Battalion, and I have taken charge of Food Service Duties for my Det with the medical retirement of our Supply SGT, and I plan to take over PRT duties as well, in addition to acquiring another MOS, ALC, and UPL training.
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Now that I've been out for 8 years as of this month and experienced a couple of starts and stops along the way to getting my feet under me. I did the transition class and a few other things but should have been pushing myself harder on a couple of things which weren't covered as well.
Networking-not friend finding but meeting new people to grow the circle of people who know your skills, knowledge, and abilities. I've seen lots of opportunities not advertised but people recommend quality candidates to their bosses/organizations because everyone wants a proven entity that they can show the ropes to instead of blind fishing for a successful candidate. Also establish a good LinkedIn profile, since I got beat up by a few corporate recruiters for not doing that for a long time.
College-I wished I had completed at least an associates before retiring. I finally did it and the bachelors in business administration. When budget cuts are looming people will not hesitate to cut those without a degree, even if you're part of the brain trust.
I am lucky because I was able to tread water while I better developed my network and finished school. I leveraged my military training in team building, finding solutions to everyday problems, and by always willing to learn and grow.
Networking-not friend finding but meeting new people to grow the circle of people who know your skills, knowledge, and abilities. I've seen lots of opportunities not advertised but people recommend quality candidates to their bosses/organizations because everyone wants a proven entity that they can show the ropes to instead of blind fishing for a successful candidate. Also establish a good LinkedIn profile, since I got beat up by a few corporate recruiters for not doing that for a long time.
College-I wished I had completed at least an associates before retiring. I finally did it and the bachelors in business administration. When budget cuts are looming people will not hesitate to cut those without a degree, even if you're part of the brain trust.
I am lucky because I was able to tread water while I better developed my network and finished school. I leveraged my military training in team building, finding solutions to everyday problems, and by always willing to learn and grow.
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CSM (Join to see) Thank God I already have a job, and I'm reservist. I think that Active duty personnel will be the most affected.
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SSG Arron Daniels
@SPC (P) Lasey, True story. One of my buddies in the 25th is struggling right now fearing reduction and what to do when he gets home if the Army says he's done.
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SSG Arron Daniels
SFC Chris Smith Right on. I am the voice of encouragement and he is looking to prepare for either option. Problem solved, problem staying solved. Thanks for the note.
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