What is the "best advice" Civilian Recruiters can provide Service Members & Veterans for Transition & Employment going into 2017?

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 16:46:53 -0500

It's a New Year, nothing remains the same!

Making the transition from the military to a civilian career takes plenty of planning. What is some the "Best Advice" our Civilian Recruiters, Business Leaders, or Veteran Executives on RallyPoint can provide to our RP Members going into 2017?

Here are three routes that a transitioning service member can take:

1. Return to school
2. Work for someone else
3. Work for yourself

Looking for "best practices, resources, and advice" for 2017!

Response by SFC George Smith made Jan 10 at 2017 4:56 PM

SFC George Smith — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 16:56:00 -0500

The Recruiters Need To Stop Sugar Coating the job descriptions and Tell The Troops exactly What The Job Is And What They Are Looking For...
Tell The Troops What They, The Business, Really Need To Get The Job And What They Have That The Businesses Can Use And what they Can Be Used For...
The Businesses Need To Tell the Troops What They Can Do For Them...
They Need To Create A symbiotic Relationship And Provide Loyalty And Support And The Troops Will Be More Inclined To Stay and Provide Support And Loyalty To the Business...

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 10 at 2017 5:44 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 17:44:12 -0500

I honestly don't think there's anything civilian recruiters can tell military transitioners that would help them acclimate properly to the civilian life again. You're taking absolute structured disciplined highly Advanced trained individuals and dropping them back off into a world of chaos! And then they recommend counseling so you go to the VA and the VA just wants to experiment pills down your throat! Before you know it you're an addict homeless and don't know what the hell happened. I'm not saying there's not some successful people out there I'm one of them however I see more failures than I do anything else and it's not because people getting out did not try. There is no real system in place for transitioning soldiers.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Jan 10 at 2017 5:55 PM

MSG Brad Sand — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 17:55:31 -0500

The best advice I can give anyone thinking about civilian careers is what do you love doing and how can you figure out a way to get paid to do that? Continuing your education is great BUT why have you not already done this? IF you do not have at least an AA degree, look at that person in the mirror and ask them why they have been cheating you?
The time to start planning what you are going to do after the military was yesterday...you are already behind on planning but it is never too late. When I was a Guidance Counselor, I would often ask new soldiers what they were looking to do when they got out...this is why.
What is your 'perfect' career? Why? What skills, education and training do you need to get that job? Get them now.

Response by LCpl Cody Collins made Jan 10 at 2017 6:53 PM

LCpl Cody Collins — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 18:53:29 -0500

Have Patience with the process and with your future Co-workers. They will have to get use to your Can- do Attitude and Spirit.

Response by SFC Jim Mergott made Jan 10 at 2017 7:00 PM

SFC Jim Mergott — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 19:00:19 -0500

In the work place no matter what your job is, construction worker , office executive. Be very careful how you talk to your co-workers. Civilians are significantly more sensitive and their feelings get hurt more quickly. You can end up in an HR meeting with a butt hurt civilian really quick.

Response by TSgt Joe C. made Jan 10 at 2017 7:07 PM

TSgt Joe C. — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 19:07:42 -0500

Tell it the way it is, don't beat around the bush. Lay out what you want and are looking for. My two cents in this COL Mikel J. Burroughs

Response by Cpl Mark A. Morris made Jan 10 at 2017 7:09 PM

Cpl Mark A. Morris — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 19:09:34 -0500

If you know you are getting out of the military, save your money. I saved $5000.00 living on ship and base.
If you do not have an education, start working on something you like. Take computer classes as an example.
Your resume should not read how well you can blow stuff up. For example: I performed duties loading munitions onto trucks for transport. This required a strict method and following rules. State time in what group and awards given if any.
What are your goals: I am training to be a Master electrician.
This shows goal orientation and you followed orders form your Supervisor.
There are you tube videos to help you and Rally Point has individuals posting with correct grammer and punctuation.
Resumes might be thrown in the can if they have misspellings.
Be yourself. Be confident and don't tell anyone to get a dam hearing aid.
M. Morris RVT

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jan 10 at 2017 7:53 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 19:53:30 -0500

Actually transition from military life to post-military life has not changed much over the past 20 year at least COL Mikel J. Burroughs IMHO.
In addition to returning to school, working for someone else or working for yourself, other options are volunteering for a worthy cause; relaxing and traveling as a retired service member for a time; and mentoring others in areas you are competent in, etc.

Response by MSgt Richard Randall made Jan 10 at 2017 8:50 PM

MSgt Richard Randall — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 20:50:30 -0500

Don’t expect to jump into a position or job equal to the responsibility you had in the military. Be prepared to start at a lower pay than you expected to make. When I retired, I took a job I was way over qualified for. I felt I had to start somewhere and gain experience in the civilian world. Within three years I had people looking to recruit me rather than having to scrounge around for a higher paying job.

One other thing: Resist the urge to throat punch your first civilian boss even though they might be 20 years younger than you and have little more practical work experience than a being a cashier at Walmart.

Response by GySgt Melissa Gravila made Jan 10 at 2017 8:59 PM

GySgt Melissa Gravila — Tue, 10 Jan 2017 20:59:01 -0500

The one thing I wish someone would've coached or mentored me more on during the transition is how to market myself better, or not to downplay my achievements. I've always put the praise on my troops and taken the hit, and the hardest thing in the world for me to do is brag about myself. (Talking smack is a different category entirely). I still have problems with self Evals and I've been out for 17 years now! Because of that, I've had a lot of frustrating times, been taken advantage of by both supervisors and peers, and ended up being "over worked and underpaid paid"

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Jan 11 at 2017 6:20 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 06:20:48 -0500

Be honest and open with the person that is coming out of the military, and wanting to work in the civilian world.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 11 at 2017 10:15 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 10:15:30 -0500

Honestly the best advice we can give our vets leaving the service is to have realistic expectations about life after the service. A lot of our veteran transitioning are still in their 20s early 30s and they are expecting to make 25-30hr to start off. I constantly preached to my Soldiers on active duty for them to utilize tuition assistance while they are still in the service. But a lot of them end up ETSing with 0 college education thinking that their MOS will be suffice to net them a job. We should start the transition process at least 2 years out. This would give the Soldiers enough time to come up with a plan and implement it. Recruiters and transition personnel just need to not sugar coat job opportunities. Brief our Soldiers on what they can do to increase their chances on landing an actual career after service not just a job to pay the bills. Help show Soldiers how to effectively translate their military experience and education into civilian jargon that anyone can understand.

Response by Jeremy Bonewitz,PRC CIR CDR CSMR CSSR ACIR ECRE made Jan 11 at 2017 11:00 AM

Jeremy Bonewitz,PRC CIR CDR CSMR CSSR ACIR ECRE — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 11:00:32 -0500

Network, network, network!

Response by SGT David T. made Jan 11 at 2017 12:51 PM

SGT David T. — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 12:51:05 -0500

I am not a recruiter or an executive, just a midlevel federal bureaucrat. Some things I ran into:
1. No one cares you were in the military. Employers really only care about what you can do for them in the here and the now. The reason I say this is because I have seen many vets just expect to be handed a position based on the fact that they were in the military and come of as arrogant. This is a turn off to an employer.
2. Translate your resume into civilian terms. I cannot stress this enough. Rank should appear nowhere on a civilian resume. You cannot assume that the person looking at it has military experience. I even run into this working for the Army as a civilian employee. I am in my 4th position and only had 1 boss who was ex military.
3. Deprogram your language. We all know the military has it's own language. Force yourself to use civilian terminology. Remember it's 1pm not 1300. Even working for the Army, I rarely use military time outside of my timesheet.
4. Learn to love being a worker bee. Many of you are NCOs and Officers. I have observed (at least in the Federal government) that most people do not walk into a position that was equal to the responsibility they held in the service. Part of that for us (I cannot speak to the private sector) is that leadership and supervision start at much higher grade levels than in the military. So enjoy being responsible for only yourself.
5. Keep the good traits. For example showing up 10 minutes prior to everything. This is a very good practice that has served me well in my civilian career. Most times everyone is 5 minutes late lol.
6. Don't share more personal things than you have to. Many of us have issues with anxiety, depression and so on. Unless there is a need to, no one else in the workplace needs to know. A good example is boss asked to do something that is a known panic attack trigger, then yes it is probably a good idea to let them know. Also, just because you suffer from anxiety, depression, PTSD and so on, do not become the label. You are a person that brings a lot to the table. Becoming the label takes away from that. I learned this one the hard way lol.
7. No matter how bad things get at work remember this. You aren't being shot at or blown up (usually) so don't stress the deadlines and the workload.
8. Civilians are not in the military so you cannot talk to them that way or expect military type behavior. You have to learn to sell things to your audience. Trying to pull rank or cite a policy wont get you very far. Again, I learned this the hard way lol.

I can keep going, but I will stop here since I wrote a wall of text lol.

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 11 at 2017 4:57 PM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 11 Jan 2017 16:57:59 -0500

Be yourself. But, remember that you are leaving the military and entering the civilian world. Be sure to learn and speak the civilian language and ditch the military language.

Response by SGT Robert George made Jan 12 at 2017 3:48 AM

SGT Robert George — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 03:48:20 -0500

I think all this advice is good to an extent , but I feel the service member needs to excel as a asset to that employer so in their off days they are less likely to face termination and it takes some determination on the transitionees part on their long term goals as to how to accomplish that ....IMO...

Response by CPL David Sassaman made Jan 12 at 2017 4:45 PM

CPL David Sassaman — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 16:45:08 -0500

Expect civilian employers and fellow-employees to not have a clue what you've been through and to downplay everything you say. Also, try not to get ticked when civilians don't have the same self-discipline you do.

Response by A1C Cathy Valentine made Jan 12 at 2017 4:47 PM

A1C Cathy Valentine — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 16:47:55 -0500

Before you get out, make sure that the education you have is going to be enough to move into a career that will support your current lifestyle.

Response by SP5 Robert Ruck made Jan 12 at 2017 5:05 PM

SP5 Robert Ruck — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 17:05:28 -0500

Number 1. Education, either college or a trade school. Pick a career path you enjoy and are excited about. 2. Research the company you are interested in joining. Know about the job you are interested in applying for. Outline your qualifications for the job and practice for the interview so you can speak naturally. Express enthusiasm for the company and the job but don't gush over it. 3. Expect rejection and don't let it get you down. 4. Use the areas of your service that relate to civilian life and the job. Don't fall into military jargon during an interview. 5. Make sure your resume is: up to date; grammatically correct; spelling correct; concise; well organized ; relevant to the job you are interested in. 6. Always present a positive image of yourself to everyone you meet, including receptionists, secretaries even the guard at the building entrance. You never know when a prospective employer might ask one of those other employees what they thought of you. These are just a few points I made to job seekers at various job fairs in which I represented my agency.

Response by PO1 Ron Clark made Jan 12 at 2017 5:35 PM

PO1 Ron Clark — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 17:35:05 -0500

My first recruiter back in 1976 told me that if I wasnt going to college right away and joined the military service, to make sure that the career field that I chose was one that would transition into a civilian career once I served my enlistment or retired. The best advice he could give a high school graduate, because the field I chose clearly led to the career that I have today and will soon retire from. I have enjoyed every moment of it! My career field is something in which I learn something new every day and will never know it all. Therefore each day is exciting and new!

Response by PO1 Francis Coarr made Jan 12 at 2017 7:54 PM

PO1 Francis Coarr — Thu, 12 Jan 2017 19:54:22 -0500

I think everyone touched on the key points...First, if you don't have a Bachelors Degree all you can hope for is a Job. If you want a Career you will need a degree. Secondly, the Degree will usually just get you in the door. You will need to prove yourself capable and competent to move up the pay scale. Third, people mentioned Networking because most positions are only filled by Friends or Relatives of current employees.

The Best advice I can give any service member is to have an offer letter before your EAOS. Use at least 2 weeks of leave for Interviews. The best time to look for work is while you have a job...So always keep looking for better opportunities. Don't limit your job search to just one geographic area, the service will pay to move you back to your home of record or anywhere else so use that benefit to move you where your next job will be.

Response by Cpl Zach Wellborn made Jan 17 at 2017 11:09 PM

Cpl Zach Wellborn — Tue, 17 Jan 2017 23:09:03 -0500

Avoid jobs that require people skills for a couple years. Trade jobs or back to college first. Unless you weren't in the Marines lol

Response by CPL Crystal Pettway, MBA made Jan 18 at 2017 8:10 AM

CPL Crystal Pettway, MBA — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 08:10:33 -0500

Keep your resume up-to-date. The civilian workforce is ever changing and you need to be able to keep up with the times.

Response by SGT Stephen Tucker made Jan 28 at 2017 8:41 PM

SGT Stephen Tucker — Sat, 28 Jan 2017 20:41:38 -0500

Do what makes you feel whole. You have to identify what you need to move forward in life. The most important thing about your day is how to make yourself feel fulfilled and happy. The old saying if you do what you love you will never work a day in your life. Whatever it takes to accomplish that is where you should go!

Response by A1C Clay Slater made Feb 8 at 2017 12:04 PM

A1C Clay Slater — Wed, 08 Feb 2017 12:04:06 -0500

You're going to have to start picking out clothes everyday again. Honestly, the ease of wearing the Uniform everyday was something I may have taken for granted.

Response by Donna Engler made Feb 9 at 2017 11:58 AM

Donna Engler — Thu, 09 Feb 2017 11:58:52 -0500

It sucks

Response by PO1 Francis Coarr made Feb 16 at 2017 9:12 PM

PO1 Francis Coarr — Thu, 16 Feb 2017 21:12:20 -0500

Know that many Companies will do a Phone interview for screening qualifications, If you get a direct interview at the company this is when you are being screened out based on personality (people Skills). Remember that Civilians don't curse on the job, and they don't take kindly to people invading Their personal space. So be respectful but not stuffy, pleasant not a joker. and wear a suit.

Response by SSG Donald "Don" Lloyd made Apr 14 at 2017 10:33 AM

SSG Donald "Don" Lloyd — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 10:33:25 -0400

LEAVE YOUR RANK IN THE MILITARY.

Response by SPC Paul C. made Apr 14 at 2017 11:05 AM

SPC Paul C. — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 11:05:40 -0400

I am not a recruiter but I can say from experience that going to school after your military career is a great step. Not only does school provide a new skill, but it also helps the soldier adapt to the civilian world again.

Response by Cpl Gabriel F. made Apr 15 at 2017 12:54 AM

Cpl Gabriel F. — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 00:54:06 -0400

The job market has moved on during service and will continue rapid change. Resume up to date by a professional resume writer with the knowledge to adapt MOS, leadership and military skills to the current corporate world.

Response by SSgt Boyd Herrst made Apr 15 at 2017 10:45 AM

SSgt Boyd Herrst — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 10:45:00 -0400

There were 3 ideas.. I think s 4th is good also; Work with S'one else. Sometimes working with another with some same ideals can help one to reach their goal of owning their own business sooner and the financing will be easier because more than one person's money is involved. In time as the business matures and profits are realized , one can set aside $ to buy the other partner out when the right time approaches.. maybe the other partner will come forward first..

Response by SSgt Jim Gilmore made Apr 16 at 2017 9:03 AM

SSgt Jim Gilmore — Sun, 16 Apr 2017 09:03:52 -0400

Simply ~ Remember, You are not in the military anymore. DO NOT expect any civilian to follow your work ethic. That's not to say there are no civilians with good work ethics but if you adhere to this proviso, you will find yourself in a better place for the job.

Response by SFC Ken Heise made Oct 2 at 2017 2:51 AM

SFC Ken Heise — Mon, 02 Oct 2017 02:51:50 -0400

Here's a huge piece of advice, RESEARCH the company you are applying to. Know what their products are and their goals in the business world. What programs do they offer. Things like that.

When I went went to a job fair with our corporate recruiter, there were countless people who got our name wrong!!! Even though there was a HUGE sign behind us.

There is a BIG difference between Cisco and Sysco. Same pronunciation, different companies. Also another big difference is Level 3 and L3. Two VASTLY different companies.