Why You Should Consider Being a Contractor

SGT Ben Keen — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 11:14:02 -0400

Following my time in the military, I found myself working in the private sector as an IT Contractor for several companies. Now that I find myself crossing over to a permanent role with American Eagle Outfitters, I find myself reflecting on the things I learned from working within the staffing industry.

Lesson 1: Relationships are everything!

When I first found myself transitioning from Soldier to Civilian, two issues came to the forefront almost immediately. The first was I was awful at crafting a resume, and the second was I had no relationships in the IT field in Pittsburgh. This is where my first interactions with the staffing industry came into play.

Shortly after Christmas of 2007, I got a call from a recruiter who was excited to meet me - not because he had a great opportunity for me, but because he saw the chance to help out a fellow Veteran craft a better resume. We met at his office and, like my high school English teacher, he marked up my resume and sat with me for several hours until finally, I had a well-crafted resume. I then took that resume and posted in all the popular job boards.

A few days later, the next important relationship began when I got a call from a recruiter who saw my resume and actually had an opportunity for me. We met for lunch, discussed the job, and a few days later I found myself working on a help desk.

And these little victories are what I mean by, "relationships are everything". The staffing industry offers a unique chance for employers and candidates to meet and learn about each other in ways you can't find by just applying to jobs on job boards. The staffing recruiter who works as the go-between should have the skills to look at the candidate and pair him/her with a company that will not only be a good fit for their professional skill set, but for their soft skills as well. I sometimes come off as blunt which, in some work environments can be a good thing, while in others can be a bad thing. I thrive on seeing a problem and fixing it - or as I say, “watching red lights go to green.” I'm not afraid to push for better answers to find a fix that will last rather than revisited 3, 6, 12 months down the road. I work much better in a team environment where I can leverage collective knowledge to find these ideas. As a recruiter, they can see this and do their best to find opportunities that match that. They know the company, the hiring manager and sometimes even the team members. They can look and sometimes know how successful the partnership will be even before the interview.

Lesson 2: Test Drive

Working as a contractor has allowed me some amazing opportunities. I have had the chance to grow and improve my skill sets with some amazing companies. I've worked for a small start up and large international companies. I've worked in companies that love new technology as well as companies that like to take things a little slower. All of this was sort of a test drive for me to find where I enjoy working the most. These assignments allowed to me pin my skills against large and small issues. And, I quickly found that I enjoy sort of a middle ground between a slow environment and a high pace one.

Lesson 3: Don't Burn Bridges

We have all heard this before. You never want to burn the bridges you built, you never know when you will need that person again. Working as an IT Contractor showed me this first hand.

The first example comes from when I was assigned to help Alcoa divide into two companies about a year ago. On my first day, I was being introduced to the team when a gentleman walked by and looked awfully familiar. It was my team's boss from my first job after the Army. I found myself excited to learn that, after several years, our paths crossed again and I would have the chance to work with him again. It made the experience on that contract so much better.

The second example was demonstrated two times. While I have worked with several different staffing agencies when I found myself either at the end of a contract like I did with my assignment at Alcoa or without a job following a "personnel realignment" or unhappy with an opportunity, I found that I was much more successful going back to the agencies that had proven themselves as the best. I found that not every agency that may contact you is the best to work with. I decided to go back to those that I knew had my best interests in mind. I was more than a number. I was me, I was Ben.

Final Lesson: Never Forget Where You Come From

The last lesson is something that I was taught by my family, and further ingrained in my head in the military. We often find ourselves excited for new opportunities; this is definitely true with my opportunity to join the American Eagle Outfitters team. However, I cannot and will not forget everyone that helped me get this far. From all the amazing people at the American Staffing Association (http://rly.pt/2wT94zj), to everyone I worked with at my different assignments, to all the recruiters and staffing professionals that put in countless hours to help ensure I was as successful as I could be, to my family who dealt with me moving assignments. I cannot say thank you enough.

Veterans and the Staffing Industry

The is one postscript to all this when it comes to the veteran community. Time and time again, we hear how some veterans struggle to find meaningful employment. These struggles are real and we, as Veterans, find it hard to ask for help. But, I am here to say that asking for help is not a sign of weakness. The staffing industry is in a unique position to help veterans. As I stated earlier, these recruiters are well-trained and have the relationships with these companies that can help veterans like they did for me. They can help you with your resume and targeting it towards the job you want. Working as a contractor can allow you the chance to find your footing in a company, and then demonstrate to them why hiring a veteran like you is probably the best thing that company will ever do.

American Staffing Association

American Staffing Association is the voice of the U.S. staffing, recruiting, and workforce solutions industry.

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made Sep 14 at 2017 11:53 AM

SPC Margaret Higgins — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 11:53:20 -0400

SGT Ben Keen: Sergeant, I would like to share your post with my Facebook groups. Thank You For Your Post, Sergeant Keen! -Margaret

Response by SPC Margaret Higgins made Sep 14 at 2017 11:58 AM

SPC Margaret Higgins — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 11:58:24 -0400

SGT Ben Keen: Sergeant Keen: consider your post shared with my Facebook groups! -Most Sincerely, Margaret

Response by Sgt Wayne Wood made Sep 14 at 2017 12:38 PM

Sgt Wayne Wood — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 12:38:25 -0400

From experience... upside, a ton of higher pay for doing the same job. You MIGHT get full benefits if you work as the employee if a gov't contracting firm. Downside, if you're an independent contractor you get the pay, but you have to pay your own SocSec (self-employment tax) and when the project us over they'll give you a hearty handshake & show you the door.

Response by LCDR Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 14 at 2017 2:27 PM

LCDR Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 14:27:25 -0400

BTDT. Hired right out of the Navy on a two year contract. The contract ended and so did the job. The contractor went under, so to speak, because of other contracted managers. Several months later, I became involved with contracting positions which kept me traveling, but paid very well. Received a couple of job offers later from different companies for whom I had contracted, but it came a bit late for me as I had purchased a franchise & tried to make a go of it in business. The franchise went belly up & I wished I had taken one of those job offers. Live & Learn.

Response by SSG Edward Tilton made Sep 14 at 2017 6:20 PM

SSG Edward Tilton — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 18:20:21 -0400

Twice I adjusted my life to head over there, I was qualified. After I was accepted, in both cases the person who was supposed to be leaving changed his mind. In one case I started getting mail from PFLP, afterward. For those who don't recall, PFLP was the parent organization of Black September. That earned me Anal Probes in airports around the country

Response by LT John Chang made Sep 16 at 2017 4:22 AM

LT John Chang — Sat, 16 Sep 2017 04:22:22 -0400

Solid advice for any veteran looking to enter the workforce! Well done!

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 19 at 2017 1:41 PM

SSgt Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 13:41:24 -0400

There are a lot of enticing jobs in the private sector for an EOD technician and when things get real shitty with work I'm sometimes tempted. I know I will do EOD work in the private sector after retirement from the military though.

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Sep 26 at 2017 8:53 AM

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 26 Sep 2017 08:53:30 -0400

Many government contractors give preference to prior service as well. Especially if you already have a TS clearance. I have been a federal contractor for the better part of the last 18 years since I got out in 99. We have a better understanding than most civilians for the overall mission especially in the intelligence and operations community. Lesson #3 is especially important as the IC community is a small one and you will undoubtedly run into both government and contract personnel again in your career.

Response by Umar Hussain made Sep 27 at 2017 2:18 AM

Umar Hussain — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 02:18:55 -0400

Marvellous post ! Great information

Response by SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM made Sep 29 at 2017 8:56 AM

SFC William Stephens A. Jr., 3 MSM, JSCM — Fri, 29 Sep 2017 08:56:57 -0400

I work for DOD and have had a lot of friends who have been contractors and yes they do make a lot of money but they not guaranteed a job the next day. Your living high on life one moment and the next your not. That why I never tried to be a contractor and look at the loop holes too, they are not going to buy your insurance for you or guarantee you insurance for you. I'm set working on my 2 retirement. Be contractor if you want someone out bits your contact your out of a job.

SAM007

Response by SPC Thanh Nguyen made Oct 1 at 2017 1:19 PM

SPC Thanh Nguyen — Sun, 01 Oct 2017 13:19:07 -0400

Great post!

In addition to cultuvatin relationships, both personal and professional. Making thr time to attend various events such as meetup.com, eventbrite.com, trade shows within your industry, professional societies/associations/group, and etc. to get your name out there.

Another interesting tidbit I found to be challenging during my transition was learning a new set of vocabulary. There's a proverb I'd like to share "The man who masters language will have the power to influence".

Response by SP5 Lori Pong made Oct 11 at 2017 9:25 AM

SP5 Lori Pong — Wed, 11 Oct 2017 09:25:35 -0400

Many of the people I knew while serving, especially those in Technical fields, had job offers from civilian companies as soon as they finished AIT. You have special skills that very few have. I have always recommended to young friends planning on joining to look into the civilian world and see where the need for jobs are. Make sure your MOS can translate into a real world job. Of course only one of the many listened to me and he became a cook! Well, at least they ended up with a GI Bill to use.