What do employers really look for when they see an applicant who was former military?

2014-09-06T23:17:45-04:00

What do employers really look for when they see an applicant who was former military? Besides qualifications like education, type of discharge, character, and experience what other traits and qualities do they look for? ACAP only covers so much and there may be something Soldiers are unaware of during the interview/hiring process for a job.

By asking this I'm able to help pass on valuable information for a few NCOs who retire soon from my unit.

Response by 1LT Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 6 at 2014 11:49 PM

2014-09-06T23:49:24-04:00

CPT Jacob Swartout. Knowledge, skills, abilities, character, integrity, willingness and ability to get along with others, pre-contact / pre-interview interest / research / general knowledge about our organization / leadership / people / clients / role / mission / products, clean and very easily verifiable background for due diligence civilian pre-employment investigation, existing language skills / ability to quickly acquire new language skills, cultural / geographic knowledge / sensitivity, cross training in multiple mission roles, confidence and ability to adapt / innovate / overcome, recent (within past five years) SSBI / full scope background investigation for military or civilian clearance, and demonstrated maturity / diplomacy / discretion / good judgement over time. We carefully consider formal college education / degrees / grades / equivalent practical experience. In addition, US Citizenship, physical and mental health, good credit, NCO / line officer command responsibility, nature / duration of deployment experience, senior management / supervisor refs.

The reality is for most professional appointments . . . a first rate clean resume briefly and clearly describing your formal qualifications (educational degrees) and experiences (employment) . . . and occasionally exceptionally strong reference letters (from senior managers / supervisors) . . . plus a specifically targeted cover letter referencing a specific position or clearly defined need . . . that is obviously a good fit for your qualifications, experiences, and interests . . . gets your foot in the door. Interviews with multiple managers, background check, and clearance verify the match.

Beyond these key employment criteria points . . . for most non-government / non-defense / non-intelligence related organizations . . . one of the most important factors is your personal ability to translate your military experiences into recognizably valuable civilian terms on your resume.

Have your resume read and edited . . . and practice interviewing . . . preferably with a civilian with extensive education and experience in the target business area of interest. Google your social media and website exposure . . . make a serious effort to remove or at least correct . . . anything that might suggest you may be unreliable . . . due to alcohol, drugs, bad or risky behavior, associates, remarks (e.g. excessive bad talking re former significant other, former employer, managers, colleagues, police, and/or government officials). Consider pulling a full public record / social media background report on yourself from one of the available brokers.

Develop answers to questions you may find challenging . . . turn your answers into plusses . . . be able to give specific examples of how your military training has taught you how to be in complete control of yourself and be courteous, restrained, and diplomatic with difficult people.

When you are being interviewed . . . don't interrupt the interviewer . . . after a question is asked give yourself a few seconds to reflect on the question and consider your answer . . . don't just respond right away . . . appear to be as intelligent, thoughtful, and considered as possible . . .

Bottom line . . . are you the best possible fit for the job and our organization . . . do you really want to work for us . . . do we want you representing our organization? Can you be trusted?

Whatever you do . . . don't lie . . . don't stretch the truth . . . be completely and totally honest.

Warmest Regards, Sandy

Response by SGT Richard H. made Sep 6 at 2014 11:52 PM

2014-09-06T23:52:43-04:00

CPT Jacob Swartout For people that I've hired, being a Veteran in many ways works like hiring preference bonus points. All things being equal, the Vet gets the job. Mainly what I look for is experience. Failing that, the next question is "can I train this person". With a Veteran, that is almost always a yes. The applicant does need to find a way to convey that...a non-Vet hiring person won't take it as a given like a Vet will. Poise and confidence means alot too. Can you look me in the eye and convince me that you can do this successfully?

Response by SSG Pete Fleming made Sep 7 at 2014 12:31 AM

2014-09-07T00:31:11-04:00

CPT Jacob Swartout, Sir, when a recruiter views the resume they spend a matter of seconds, if it is full of military jargon and such it won't make it past the paper shredder.

The process is an ordeal with the larger companies. You usually don't just walk in and hand out a Resume to a person anymore. It is done on-line, electronically, the system screens it for key words. If it passes that it then gets reviewed by an HR assistant or generalist or other lower level staff member... Simply put, they usually don't care. They need to find someone who can do the job and will fit the requirements set by the hiring manager.

Most civilian recruiters/HR screeners don't understand the military nor see the value we as Veterans can add. If you are lucky enough to pass them and reach and interviewer... then you must press upon them how you can best benefit the company. It doesn't matter that you lead 'X' number of successful missions with limited causalities... Sure you can show leadership, able to handle stress, ability to multi-task... but it needs to be put in simple civilian terms and expressed as such.

A 22 years Veteran leaves the service, usually in mid or upper leadership (be it Officer or Enlisted). This equates on the civilian side as supervisor or management. So the best thing you can do is to tell your personnel to write their resume as if it they were not in the military. Read the job descriptions, research civilian jobs and see how the duties are listed and write it in that way. Civilian terms, civilian mindset. I am not saying don't' be proud of our service, all I am saying is that when they transition to the real world it is a culture shock and they need to be prepared. It isn't a great job market right, I would recommend them to stay in a bit longer if they can... But that's just me.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 7 at 2014 12:43 AM

2014-09-07T00:43:53-04:00

I've posted this before and I believe other's have as well. The civilian employers need to read this:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2013/12/04/hiring-mbas-you-should-be-looking-at-ncos/

Then maybe they will get a clue of what we are offering them.

Hiring MBAs? You Should Be Looking at NCOs

This article is by Col. David Sutherland (Ret.), who commanded a combat brigade in Iraq, has served as special assistant to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and is co-founder and chairman of Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Community Services, an enterprise of Easter Seals. When I speak [...]

Response by Lt Col Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 7 at 2014 2:15 AM

2014-09-07T02:15:33-04:00

I worked in International Relations for 8 yrs prior to the AF across France, Hungary, Slovakia, Morocco and Yemen. The last position I held prior to my direct commission was as the Managing Director at an Investment Firm in cut throat Manhattan, NY. When I was finishing up Grad School at NYU in 2004, I must have sent out about 50 resumes per day through the different job search engines. My writing was effective as I was interviewing once or twice a day...for THREE months. It was exhausting, discouraging, even with a double BA from UCLA, an MPA from NYU, 7 languages, and 8 yrs of professional experience all around the world, I wasn't getting the offers I desired.

3 phrases that stuck with my from the Director at my NYU Career Center which helped me long term was:
**Can he/she do the job?
**Will he/she do the job?
**Will he/she fit in?

Honestly these were the same questions I asked myself when I was on the other side as a hiring authority. When a Director/Manager/Supervisor meets a potential candidate for an in-person interview, we truly want that candidate to succeed! If the person is too confident or arrogant, it is a bit strange and awkward for the interviewer. If the candidate is humble, patient, asks questions about the organization and has done research, shows definite interest, and best of all, has a strong 2-3 min pitch about how previous experience is applicable to the position, winner winner chicken dinner!

Above all, after swallowing my pride and putting on my Lt bars as a mid-career professional, what stands out the most to me about military experience is the very reason why I wanted to be part of the best Air Force in the world in the first place: developing and building management and leadership skills in our young and future leaders. If you can focus on these attributes that will set you apart from the rest of the pack and not get lost in any technical jargon, military terminology or acronyms, you will do amazing!!

Be sure to take advantage of TA and knock out as much education as possible prior to separation. Your leadership background and military experience may set you apart and get your foot in the door for a position, BUT when it comes to promotions between two employees, the reason why you were hired is in the past and you will be judged against your current peers. Degrees can and will be an advantage as you rise in your second (post-service/post-retirement) career.

Response by CPT Aaron Kletzing made Sep 7 at 2014 7:24 AM

2014-09-07T07:24:35-04:00

1LT Sandy Annala CPT Jacob Swartout MSgt Private RallyPoint Member SGT Richard H. -- in reference to the MBAs article posted by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member, I would note that there are many financial services jobs, for example, where at the outset a really good NCO would still not be bringing better skills to the table than a really good MBA.

This is in reference to the article's question: "But why do consulting firms, financial service corporations, and energy giants look to hire more than 100,000 newly-minted MBAs when more than 1,000 soldiers leave the military every day and bring as good, if not better, skills to the table?"

Having said that, we can all come up with job examples that would support either side of that argument.

Response by LTC Hillary Luton made Sep 7 at 2014 10:18 AM

2014-09-07T10:18:29-04:00

As someone who is retiring in a few months, I really appreciate your question.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Sep 7 at 2014 10:25 AM

2014-09-07T10:25:59-04:00

CPT Jacob Swartout I read a thread yesterday that might be worth your time on this subject by LCDR Ryan Haag about resume writing. It's been mentioned many times on RP about the importance of making a resume understandable to a civilian, and couldn't agree more. We speak a language all our own sometimes.

Resume advice from my wife | RallyPoint

So you might be wondering, why the heck would I take some random dude's wife's advice on resumes? Well, my wife works part time from home building resumes for Bradley Morris, which owns militaryresumes.com. She knows more about Army OERs than I do, and she's almost as good as I am at Navy acronyms. I've seen her work now for over five years, and its amazing how she can get people job interviews by crafting an excellent one-page document. But,...

Response by LTC Yinon Weiss made Sep 7 at 2014 10:31 AM

2014-09-07T10:31:03-04:00

It varies on the type of job, but often it is relevant experience. It's up to the veteran to translate his or her experience in a way that makes it as easy as possible to see that some of the veteran's past experience is relevant to the job they are applying for. For example, combat patrols and bad guys captured is not very relevant. However, project management experience, technical expertise, and management (leadership) experience is highly valued.

A great resume for a transitioning military person would probably look completely foreign to his/her military peers. Furthermore, it's not just about the text in the resume... the veteran has to be able to talk the talk as well, and convincingly sell his/her experience in a way that is compelling to the employer. In other words, the veteran has to begin to think like a civilian.

The example I always use is this... say a top professional from a well known company wants to join your military unit and come in with some significant responsibility (equivalent to an E-7 or O-3). The military tells you that you can "hire" anybody you want for the role. Would you bring in a civilian to help run your military unit, even though they have never worn the uniform for a day? What if they had really impressive record in their previous industry? Of course you would not. Military folks tend to think this is a one way street, but it's not. Uninformed civilians often see military potential hires the same way you would see a civilian joining your unit... "Is this person really qualified for the position?"

Character and discipline are great military traits and highly valued. However, if the candidate can't convey relevant experience for the role they actually want, they will often be seen as unqualified. It's why so many military folks end up taking near entry level positions when they transition... they don't always give a convincing case as to why they are qualified for the position, even though they held positions of much greater responsibility in the military.

Relevant education is probably one of the most important things a veteran can add to his tool box to help sell himself as well. Lastly, you absolutely have to sell yourself. You can't just go to an employer and say "I just want to help. Put me in where I can best help the organization." In the military that is honorable, in the private sector that tells the employer that you don't know what you want and don't have a direction.

As you can see from above, there are many things to learn as part of a transition. Too much just by reading a few articles. The best thing to do is to find a veteran mentor who has already transitioned who can coach and guide you. Almost everybody I know who has successfully transitioned has had that. RallyPoint, in part, was created to facilitated those relationships. Connect NOW with veterans and build relationships now... don't wait until you need something.

Response by MSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 7 at 2014 1:19 PM

2014-09-07T13:19:50-04:00

Sorry if this response shows up twice (when I posted it - it vanished. So here goes again)
While I agree education is a must have in our society - the truth is - it is rapidly becoming out of reach due to the outrageously prohibitive costs. Those individuals that are just getting out and/or still in have a slight advantage in that they have the new GI Bill. But, those that don't have that option, or like myself decided to split their benefit our kids (so they aren't encumbered with a massive debt right from the start of their lives) do not have that option. Plus, some of the operations tempo in the past has limited the availability for some to attend ‘brick and mortar’ classrooms let alone on-line courses.
Another issue that comes to mind is the fact that once the degree is achieved – it quickly becomes antiquated information – and unless the individual continuously keeps up on that information the degree becomes pretty much just a piece of paper to mount somewhere.
In the military, we are always keeping up-to-date on our perspective career fields by direction and choice (due to love of our career), this is something that differentiates our military members from a majority of civilian counterparts fresh out of college that are applying for jobs and those currently holding jobs.
I believe the civilian world needs to look into the “MOOC’s” Massive Open On-line Courses. I have personally taken a variety of these courses (which are free) for the sole purpose of increasing my knowledge of various topics and to keep up-to-date on those fields that would help me in the career field(s) I am interested in. You can research MOOC’s on-line (there are numerous) – of course for the most part you do not get any credit for taking them – but you do increase your knowledge tremendously with instructors that are giving their time and energy to provide current information to their students. The MOOC’s enrollments are worldwide – so you get a student base from all walks of life.
Don’t get me wrong, some career fields I believe you do need the degree(s) as a basic stepping stone (such as the medical field, nuclear etc.) but for a lot of careers – I think the information you can get that is current and is monetarily feasible for the masses would be a better option to look at. Here is a brief presentation I found that gives you an oversight of MOOC’s:

http://www.slideshare.net/jbersin/bersin-moo-cs-forslideshare12-29054376#!

As a last comment, I believe the corporate civilian world and normal everyday civilian employers for the most part don’t realize what a ‘jewel in the rough’ they are looking at with prospective military employees. The benefits of hiring someone from the military will become obvious once they are on the job.
Sorry for being a little long winded here, I was luckier than some – it only took me seven long months to finally get my foot in the door and find civilian employment. I have seen a lot of situations where it’s not what you know, but who you know (which is sad – they lose out on a lot of quality talent that way). Plus, the degree issue – if you don’t have a 4-year degree in anything – they won’t even talk to you – doesn’t matter if you have more relevant and recent experience than someone with the actual degree.

Putting MOOCs to Work: How Online Education Impacts Corporate Traini…

How is the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) market impacting corporate training? This presentation reviews Bersin by Deloitte's recent research on the trends…

Response by SFC Dennis Leber made Sep 7 at 2014 1:59 PM

2014-09-07T13:59:58-04:00

A lot of great responses to this question. One main item is the ability to translate what you did in the Military to how it relates to the job you are applying for. Many vets I mentor make the mistake that because they served 20 years leading troops means they automatically can walk into a management position in the civilian world. Education and degrees help too, learning the corporate culture, and using the skills developed in the Military will put you well above your peers. The structure we know and work in in the Military is not always found, or welcome in the civilian sector.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 14 at 2015 2:20 PM

2015-07-14T14:20:14-04:00

I think first and foremost characterization of service (discharge). Unfortunately in the end all they care about is experience. When I applied to all those jobs at USAA they were looking for banking experience, insurance experience ect... but I had none of that coming off of active duty. Certification like Six Sigma and PMP were the only thing that got me in the door. In the end for my current position I think just the fact that I spent 24 years on active duty split between enlisted and officer time is what got me the job. Just your successful service tells a perspective employer that you are reliable and can complete tasks.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Feb 2 at 2021 12:00 AM

2021-02-02T00:00:28-05:00

A promotion board for a Junior Soldier or Junior NCO is much like a job interview with a bit of explosive potential.. In fact, all you Soldiers out there who are going for your promotions board think of it as a job interview and you will do well. The board is an interview for a position of leadership. Stay calm and answer to the best of your ability, and realize it is all meant to find your failure point so you can build from there.
The lack of stress in a civilian job interview is deceptive - they want to know you can handle the things they didn't outline in the job description, just like a CSM does by throwing those zingers.
Sir, my suggestion for attending job interviews is to attend an NCO of the quarter board as a boardee. If you can survive it, and even place well, you will understand the preparation needed for a successful job interview. If you are serious for the job instead of just trying to find a job you will spend time preparing for the interview.
I would actually suggest junior Officers attend an Enlisted promotion or Soldier of the month board to prepare for transition if they are getting out.
With all of that insight,,,,learn to loosen up and be personal
able while attending the board/interview.