Business Leaders and Corporate Partners,
First and foremost, thank you for giving back to the Veteran community.
Background: I have 14 years of "sales" recruiting for the Army "selling" the Army way of life even when we were in heightened global conflict. I then moved on to recruiting Chaplains with graduate degrees and assist with medical (physician, dental, and nurse) recruiting as well. I have just completed a Masters Degree in Business Intelligence and Analytics (basically an IT-Management degree) from a regionally high-ranked Jesuit University in Omaha, NE.
My question is- do you think I would be better off "starting over" in civilian life pursuing a recruiting role or sales? Keep in mind I will be just turning 40 when I retire from 20 active years of service in the Army (22 total years). I plan on relocating in the next 19 months to Atlanta (Roswell) area where my wife's family resides. Sales and recruiting both seem to be what I am accustomed to as Army Recruiting is similar to both. But starting from scratch is a frightening proposition against those in the civilian sector for so long.
Again, thanks for fielding questions for us who are transitioning.
Nathan J. Kerr
SFC, USA
Answers
Sales is a great platform for running a business. Have you ever considered exploring business ownership. Franchisors covet veterans with these skills and there are some excellent recruiting & staffing franchises available.
Do you like recuiting and sales? Are you competitive? What type of life style do you want when you leave the service? What type of income do you want or need?
Thank You
Kit
Nathan,
Recruiting and sales are closely related - you use your people skills when you sell and your power of persuasion when you recruit. Go with your passion and what feels right. Agency recruiting is a great way to break into the industry and can be a lot of fun. Good luck and thank you for your service,
Nicole
Nathan, you have great experience, Recruiting in civilian sector is a great field to be in, I to was a military recruiter (U.S. Navy) 8 years and now a Senior Corporate Recruiter and military recruiting lead for my company.
I believe you have many opportunities in recruiting with your background, however, don't be afraid to start from a lower level position if you have to, because I believe it wouldn't take you long at all to rise. Try indeed.com and search for recruiting positions, keep in mind most companies will be looking to fill those openings right away.
Nathan,
You mention recruiting for the medical branches of the Army. Don't forget that many hospitals and healthcare systems have the same types of positions within there HR departments. Also, pharmaceutical sales or medical device sales would be a natural transition for you.
Nathan, thanks for your question. Recruiting services is a very active part of Human Resources in the private sector and much of this work is done on an outsourced basis with companies engaging services specialists to manage their talent pipeline. My company, IBM, through our acquisition, Kenexa, is among the leaders in this sector and your background is good preparation for success in this area. Please visit our website at ibm.org and follow the links to where you can post your resume. You may also contact me directly at stephen.j.sheahan@us.ibm.com.
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