How do you think private sector employers with a strong veterans preference take your military rank into consideration?

I’ve been hiring x-military since getting out of the Army
myself in 1996 and my experience is that candidates who were Senior Ranking
enlisted / officers, usually had a difficult time finding positions.   Most
times they feel like they should start off too high in an organization or
expect too much money and while their leadership skills are transferable, they
have no experience in the industry in which they are applying and aren’t
readily willing to accept that fact.  Another
way to illustrate my experience is that unless Senior Enlisted / Officers are
able to accept the fact that they no longer enjoy a certain “instant” respect
their rank provided them in the military and are willing to follow whoever they
are working for, they won’t be long for whatever position they were hired
for.  Most times their managers will be
younger, have never served and candidates have to resist the propensity to try
to “mentor” their new boss no matter how screwed up they are.  They also have to resist the urge to take
over projects where their boss or a co-worker is foundering, for without a
great deal of tact, their manager will see it as disruption in the workplace or
even a challenge to the others authority and will get them terminate. 

I simply don’t see a lot of senior enlisted or senior
offices looking for positions in the civilian workforce but rather my
experience is they tend to gravitate to GS positions or where their rank more
easily transfers into a position.  Junior
officers and junior NCO/enlisted, however, I’ve never experienced any of the
above issue with them.  They’ve always
been eager to learn, jump in, no issues with ego, are comfortable being a
member of a team, etc… and have mentored and developed more than 30 over the
years. 

As far as getting preference or “points” for rank, I haven’t
seen it in the civilian world.  However,
if I’m comparing two equal military candidates, both interview the same, both
want the same salary, etc… I absolutely will give consideration to a candidate
who was a Ranger, SF, Seal, Jumpmaster, etc... over a candidate who had no special
military certifications.   It was a differentiator
in the military and they are differentiators for me if I’m comparing to
completely equal candidates.   You should
always have a copy of your DD214 with you when interviewing and be sure not to
embellish your military experience in the interview or while on the job.  I terminated a COO and a Plant Manager in the
past for falsifying their military record on the job application (stolen valor).  People figure that stuff out, where you really
were and what you did vs. what you say you did. 
Be proud of your accomplishments, don’t embellish and be happy to
provide your DD214 to anyone who wants to see it.