What employment difficulties have you had after leaving the service?

2014-09-06T12:38:45-04:00

Having been a paralegal with the military and having a Bachelors degree in paralegal studies, I found that I was either told that I was over qualified or that my experience was just in the won't field of law. So I decided to continue my education and got a Master's degree in business administration. I thought this would make me more marketable, yet here I am still unemployed. It sends that no matter what I do I am overqualified and have to much education so people are afraid to hire me for fear that I will find something better and they will have to how someone again. Does anyone else have a similar expertise with transitioning to civilian employment? Or any ideas that would help?

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Sep 6 at 2014 2:08 PM

2014-09-06T14:08:34-04:00

You aren't alone my brother. I'm in the same boat except my masers is in psychology. I fear that it may be in part because I am 20 years older than people with the same experience. Just keep an eye on USAjobs if you want those federal/state govt jobs.

Response by SGT Mark Sullivan made Sep 7 at 2014 8:48 PM

2014-09-07T20:48:30-04:00

My initial transition from Military to Civilian was in the Hampton Roads area, Ten Bases within a fifty mile radius. Jobs were fairly easy to find, people understood my service, as they themselves were mostly ex-military or touched by the military in some way. Since moving to the St Louis area, as of last June, I have been in an employment desert. I have picked up a few jobs, that never panned out, I worked with Charter Communications for about two weeks, and was told I wasn't a good fit because I refused to be a scapegoat for their lack of preparedness. I have never worked for a Telecommunications company that really did not care about their employees, or their customer base. And I have worked for two Telecom companies in Hampton Roads. I honestly think, you want a fair deal with employment, go someplace where there is a lot of Military, you'll get the respect you deserve

Response by LTC Hillary Luton made Sep 7 at 2014 9:10 PM

2014-09-07T21:10:41-04:00

I'll answer this question in January. :-) Well, maybe.

Response by SSG Trevor S. made Sep 22 at 2014 11:55 AM

2014-09-22T11:55:56-04:00

I hope your situation improves soon.

Response by CDR Kenneth Kaiser made Sep 22 at 2014 4:47 PM

2014-09-22T16:47:56-04:00

I am retired now but I know certain government agencies used to have what amounts to intern programs. I am not sure of the status of those now. The two that I am familiar with were in contracts and logistics and it seems to me you would fit into the contracts one easily. The logistics one was out of Mechanicsburg PA I am not sure about the contracts one. The way it worked is that you would apply to the source (e.g. Mechanicsburg) and then when you were accepted a command near you would request an itern and they would submit your name. You started at GS 9 or so level wages but within a year you could end up GS 13. I think this was a Navy program. You might check with any government installations near you. I came across this at the Navy Space and Naval Warfare Center (SPAWAR) in San Diego. I don't know what you did in the service but if you had a clearance that helps and if you get in I would suggest getting into the SCI contracts area as the folks with contracts experience and a clearance are hard to find.
I am including some job search tips I learned from my 40+ years in industry and government
Might I suggest a new strategy. I know the job market is tight right now and if you really need the income take the parking lot job. It is not a career you can still look. However this points out several mistakes folks make while looking.

Look for a job when you have a job is of course the best, so when you are close to separating start working on a resume. You mention degrees. I don't mean to insult but what are the fields? Some degrees are not necessarily marketable such as cultural diversity or social sciences (at a BA level)

That aside as you start your search keep these things in mind. First determine who (i.e. which companies hire folks in your field) Are there professional organizations associated with your field (e.g Association of Human Resources , IEEE that sort of thing. Look at joining it is a good source for contacts) Next once you have a feel for the companies rank them in order of priority. Which would you like to work for the most at the top, could care less like the one that offered you the parking job last. Then start at the bottom with your interviews and work your way up. This way you make your interview mistakes with companies you don't particularly care about, have a chance to sharpen your interview skills, gain information on issues and trends in your chosen field etc. As you get closer to the top of your list you are comfortable, confident and in many cases running the interview. Some things to look for when you are interviewing. Does the individual folks popping their heads up) What are the demogragics ( once worked for four years with a large Aerospace firm. Great benefits, terrible management. I found out that they had a lot of young folks and a lot of older folks, no one in the middle. At the time the younger folks were engineers. The company had paid their relocation expense in return for a 1 too 2 year commitment. Once that commitment was up it was such a terrible company folks left. The other end was folks near retirement hanging on for dear life until they could retire. No middle management. Definitely a red flag.
Next during the interview be sure to ask toward the end if there was anything in your qualifications that made them feel that you might not be qualified for the position. This gives you an opportunity to address those issues. If they are insurmountable you can always follow up with a question like "I want to thank you for your time and I hope that you find the person you are looking for. However now that you know me better do you know of anyone who might be interested in someone with my skills?

Other miscellaneous points. Check in to the local reserve center. Sometimes companies or assigned personnel will post opportunities for folks with particular skills (If you are a reservist and happy with your position you might consider doing this for your fellow service members with your companies support.) If you are just separating not retiring consider the reserves it is a good long term insurance program (network opportunities, active duty opportunities, and retirement benefits). I think I have said enough for now. Good luck.

Response by SSgt Michael Hacker made Sep 23 at 2014 12:57 PM

2014-09-23T12:57:05-04:00

I'm right with you, brother. I have a graduate degree and managed to snag a job teaching on campus, but it's for less than I've made in 15 years. Better than nothing.

Response by MAJ Randy Gregory made Sep 23 at 2014 1:10 PM

2014-09-23T13:10:26-04:00

This is fairly common - I think honestly it stems from some kind of phobia civilians seem to have for hiring people with a lot of experience. They find it intimidating. They say over qualified, what they mean is too aggressive. The civilian world doesn't seem to appreciate aggressive leadership. Hang in there. Have you considered looking for work in the insurance investigation or general private investigations field? With a background in legal you could navigate the processes easily and the research ability would be an asset. I have been doing contract PI work (no license required) to supplement my retirement its nothing glamorous or fancy just doing simple interviews/depositions and sometimes surveillance. There was lawyer here locally who was willing to pay 30.00 per hour to do his witness interviews for car accidents. No benefits and its contract only - lot of that type freelance stuff might bridge the gap for you income wise.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Sep 24 at 2014 7:58 PM

2014-09-24T19:58:48-04:00

Employers have all the time in the world to wait for the "perfect" candidate. In my field of software development employers have become so overly specific in the skills requirements that even if you have 9 out of 10 of the desired requirements, many times you can't get past the phone screen. The days of OJT and giving people a shot based on their longevity in the business are long gone. I've found that many of the hiring managers that hire technical people are not technical people themselves and it's tough to get past them if all they're looking at is a hard copy description as opposed to talking to someone who knows more about what being a software developer is all about. Keeping up with technology is a 24/7 job end employers want you to have THE latest and greatest skill set. In my case there are so many "flavors" of Standard Query Language (SQL) that many jobs require you have expertise in one specific one, even though each is based on the same standard core, American National Standards Institute (ANSI) language. I've spent my life in Microsoft SQL Server positions but employers wanting people with Oracle PL/SQL experience are reluctant to hire SQL Server people because the management software and non-ANSI standard elements are quite different. What can you say.

Response by SP5 Thomas Thomas made Sep 25 at 2018 7:59 PM

2018-09-25T19:59:28-04:00

You are the go to person when no one else can or want do a specific job but you receive less or no pay for the extra work