What is your strongest trait that you developed in the military, and how would you explain it to leverage it in a civilian interview?

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 07:53:33 -0400

With the current military personnel actions and the
reduction in force, I'm looking to start a thread to help transitioning Service
Members in thinking about the next step.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 24 at 2014 10:06 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 10:06:09 -0400

Sir,

I believe that my strongest trait that I had developed while I was in the military had to be initiative. For most employers, this is a great trait to have. In past interviews I have explained that I'm proactive, a self-starter, and that I'm ready to hit the ground running when a task comes in.

Response by SPC Michael Hunt made Mar 24 at 2014 12:02 PM

SPC Michael Hunt — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 12:02:34 -0400

Great question Sir. The ability to adapt and overcome in any environment is the best thing I learned in the military and knowing that gives me the confidence to continue to move forward progressively in any business environment as well.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 24 at 2014 2:57 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:57:35 -0400

For me it is leadership. And leadership is not just about being out front. It works on both sides of the equation. Civilian employers like the idea of leadership, but I've noted in my employment history that they tend to get a little nervous when you oversell the concept of leading an organization; as if you are going to come in guns-blazing and try to take over the culture. A reassurance in many cases is to highight how you can help lead from within by applying your keen problem solving capabilities born in an environment where ambiguity is a daily event. It's okay to follow, because then it allows you to ingest that culture, observe and help formulate strategies to improve the operating conditions. Planting that seed as a quiet leader can be an incredible tool. Letting others see you supporting them by following their lead will help to gain that trust and build your own brand equity to go out and start proactively affecting the job. Highlight how you've helped in both roles to let them see the balance, and moreover, your potential!

Response by SFC Vernon McNabb made Mar 24 at 2014 2:57 PM

SFC Vernon McNabb — Mon, 24 Mar 2014 14:57:56 -0400

Patience! As a SNCO, I teach young student pilots in the areas of UH-60 academics, and cockpit procedure training. After having crewed almost 2500 hours with experienced rated aviators, I am now teaching pilots with zero time in the Blackhawk. I constantly have to remind myself that everyone starts somewhere, and I am at the beginning of their career.

Response by SSG (ret) William Martin made Mar 25 at 2014 1:03 PM

SSG (ret) William Martin — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 13:03:25 -0400

Sir, Being an MP and having interacted with many types of people in a law enforcement capacity has allowed me to read people and get to know people really quick. I can have a conversation with anyone and of any age. I also like talking to people and having them believe I really care about what they say, think, and do. This is one way I get soldiers to follow me as a leader. I believe the Army has helped me develop skills on a social level to influence others, change their perception on certain matters in many situations or aspects.

Response by COL Vincent Stoneking made Mar 25 at 2014 1:11 PM

COL Vincent Stoneking — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 13:11:49 -0400

The ability to ACT in ambiguous situations with multiple conflicting priorities and directives. This is the number one thing that military leaders have over most (though by no means all!) civilians. We are used to having 20 important things all going on at the exact same time.

As the manager of a PMO, people routinely wonder how I can juggle everything (and know which balls to just drop). I, on the other hand, consider it just another day.

Response by SPC Charles Brown made Mar 25 at 2014 1:53 PM

SPC Charles Brown — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 13:53:31 -0400

I believe that my best military trait would have to be my ability to adapt and overcome any obstacles that may eventually get in my way. For instance I suffered a back injury while on active duty, I was able to complete my final year despite spending each day in extreme pain. Since my discharge (honorable) I have had jobs that were putting a strain on the same area of my back, yet I continued to do these jobs despite the pain. According to the VA I am now 50% disabled but continue to look for work in whatever I can get. However, due to my age and disability it is difficult to find someone who is willing to hire me. Never give up, never surrender!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 25 at 2014 2:01 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 25 Mar 2014 14:01:17 -0400

I think the best thing I learned was how to stay focused and be productive when stressful situations. I have found that the situations in which I learn the most are the ones where I really had to work hard to get through. I think this is why we try to make training as realistic as possible, because if it is too easy then we don't learn and/or grow from it.

Response by SFC Billy Bason made Mar 26 at 2014 1:25 AM

SFC Billy Bason — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 01:25:38 -0400

Stepping up in the absence of leadership, the ability to make timely decisions with multiple priorities on the table, managing multiple groups of troops with varying tasks to achieve a singular goal.

In the Signal business, I managed 9 teams, each having 3-6 personnel doing different things with the end result of bringing comms online at a specific time....especially when performing RIPs. Likewise, when 1SG was in Qatar sucking down beverages, I'd cover down on his role...meaning that he and I worked semi in tandem. I had to be able to brief the things he had to brief. I had to to my best to make it as seamless as possible.

Response by Capt Whitney Davis made Mar 26 at 2014 2:46 AM

Capt Whitney Davis — Wed, 26 Mar 2014 02:46:14 -0400

Initiative, leadership, cultural understanding, and the never say "I can't" attitude are the hallmarks of what veterans offer businesses in the civilian world. As Dave pointed out, the key is being able to provide specific examples of how these hard earned skills have helped the organizations you support.

During my transition I struggled to find ways to sell the skills I learned in the Marine Corps to civilian businesses. So I worked at it. I wrote my resume and asked successful civilians I knew to look at it. I took their recommendations and wrote it again. And again. And again. I conducted mock interviews with individuals I knew who had hiring authority and perfected honest, but practiced answers to likely questions. I worked at it as if I were preparing to deploy.

In the end, in my opinion, the greatest trait we all have learned in the military is that the mission comes first. The best way to show an employer that you have internalized that ethos is to be prepared for the job search and to do it in a detail oriented manner. If you go into the transition period with the same level of preparation that you went to Iraq or Afghanistan with you will succeed.

On a more specific and practical note, and I realize this has been noted above, have specific examples of where you have succeeded. Remember STAR: Situation, Task, Action, and Result. Use it in your resume to detail your successes, and use it in your interviews to do the same. This format will give allow you to answer even surprise questions with solid examples of how you have improved organizations in the past.

Response by LTC Chad Storlie made Jun 26 at 2014 9:49 AM

LTC Chad Storlie — Thu, 26 Jun 2014 09:49:26 -0400

The biggest point for military veterans when poised with an awkward question is to not answer it directly. A military veteran has to constantly promote and demonstrate with examples how they can create greater value for the organization, the organization's customers, and help improve fellow employees. For example:

INTERVIEWER: Well, I heard that the roads were dangerous! What's it like to shoot machine guns when you probably hit innocent people? Did that bother you?

MILITARY VETERAN RESPONSE: The situations were almost always dangerous, but we developed several standard procedures to help minimize the danger. One of my responsibilities was to make sure each resupply convoy was fully utilized. One of the ways we did this was to make sure we developed a standard process for military organizations we were supplying to order and forecast supplies in this way were were able to ensure each vehicle on the convoy carried a maximum load of essential supplies. In this way, even if a unit had not already asked for an item, we anticipated their needs so we could help reduce the need for a follow up resupply convoy. The results of this ordering and forecasting process were a reduction in the total number of convoy's by 15% but an increase in the tons shipped by 10%. Even in a dangerous environment, we hauled more tons to our "customers" and exposed fewer military personnel to danger. My experience in inventory management, forecasting, and on-line ordering systems will be invaluable to this position. The danger that I was exposed to will provide a great leadership base as I develop and train new employees so they can be the best they can be in front of customers.

The key response for veterans is to: (1) use the STAR format: Situation, Task, Actions, and Results; (2) create a story that demonstrates the value you will bring to the company, (3) show how your military skills translate and apply to the company and industry that you will work, and (4) how military leadership creates a foundation for successful corporate leadership.

Veterans will lose any discussion where they directly answer a "dumb" question: For example,

Interviwer Question1: How Many people did you kill?

Vet Response 1: I did not kill anyone.

Interviewer Question 2: Didn't kill anyone? Were you a failure? Why were you there then?

The proper veteran response is to ALWAYS sell your value with easy to understand, simple, and solid examples that demonstrate how you will create value for the firm

Response by Capt Christian Olson made Aug 2 at 2014 11:39 AM

Capt Christian Olson — Sat, 02 Aug 2014 11:39:39 -0400

A trait that alot of people do not mention, but got me far in intereiws was how to navigate the different worlds of the Officer Staff (translate corporate ledership, directors and executive C-suit staff) and the enlisted ranks (translate labor force and mid level managers).

In many interiews for sales and operations positions they were very interested in my ability to "sell to the labor force" who would be the users of the product and my ability to translate that to a buy from those who control the money and the organization (think corproate leadership). Same could be said for an Ops job where you lead labor and drive decisions for support from the executive leadsership.

Corporate America if most often a game of building a concensus for an intitiative. Your ability to influence people without being perceived as manipulative is a great skill to develop and exercise while you are in in the military.

Response by SPC John Lebiecki made Jul 6 at 2016 5:39 PM

SPC John Lebiecki — Wed, 06 Jul 2016 17:39:55 -0400

I would say that mine is the ability to be flexible. I can adapt to almost any situation presented to me with limited issues.