Looking to start hustling to set myself for success if I end up doing a full 20 years in the military. I know I can line up a job with a government contract or GS position in the military but at this point I'm feeling burnt out on these scene and think I can thrive in several other non government businesses. I guess my question is...what are companies looking for? Must haves? Nice to haves? What sets a potential employee apart from others?
Answers
Hi Amy - would echo the previous comments about hanging in there for a few more years. If you want spice, there are some special assignments that you can apply for, for example the Air War College or Technical Trainer at someplace like Keesler. This might reignite your passion and get you over the next six years.
In the mean time, to answer your questions directly, what are companies looking for? Must haves? Nice to haves? What sets a potential employee apart from others?
Larger companies like the one I work for are more interested in team fit and score more weight on personal traits than on technical expertise or know-how. Not that technical knowledge is less important, but that fitting well into the organization is very much at the fore. Smaller companies I would say the opposite is more true.
What this means is, study and read as much as you can about your skills that you plan to market. IT field is a great place to transition from military service because the need for good people is very high, especially now that many US companies are reversing the outsourcing trend of the 2000s.
Develop your online profile (you can take a look at mine lancelotlinc dot com). Create a website (or have someone create one for you) that brings out a professional persona that you can print on all your resumes and business cards and emails. It absolutely goes a very long way when you can drop a business card on someones desk as you interview that leads them to outstanding online presence.
Good luck and keep in touch.
Amy,
You've gotten some great advice in the other posts, so I don't need to pile on. However, I'll share with you that I was feeling burned out at 14 years service, too. I even took a 13 week career transition course in preparation for moving into the private sector. As part of that course, they advised me to stay in the service until I could retire "unless each day was a living hell." That was some of the best advice I ever got and I cannot tell you how glad I am that I took it. Your military retirement (and the associated medical benefits) will give you a degree of flexibility and security that your civilian counterparts will not have. Use the time between now and retirement to figure out what you really want to do in your next life, then create a plan to get you where you want to go. There are lots of opportunities out there and you will be bringing a great skill set and track record to the table. Good luck!
Amy Smith ⋅, Any thoughts, feedback or follow up questions?
1) Get the retirement while you can! (That is, unless there is some big reason why you need to get out now.) It is keeping me afloat while I wait on a permanent job, and will help me meet/exceed my pay while on active duty.
2) You never mentioned what you want to do. I am warning everyone that they need to figure out what they want to do, and where they want to live before they get out. You can figure them out after you get out, but it is more painful. "What Color Is Your Parachute?" is a book that takes you the entire process and helped me tremendously.
3) Your questions on this post will depend upon what you want to do, and perhaps to some degree, where you want to live.
I agree with Neil.. He is right on. I do not want to discourage you, but prepare you. Leaving the military with only 5+ years to go for retirement is not a good business decision. These are the kinds of decisions business will look at. As Neil said, business is different than the military or government. Don't leave that revenue on the table, find a way to complete 20. Do not loose that lifetime revenue.
Urgency and durability are keys to success in business.
In business, you will feel burned out many times, find a way to transition yourself to be a positive can do self starter. No job is perfect, it is what you make it.
I think you should complete 20.
Hi Amy,
Lots of good advice. For an information technology career, consider answering these questions for yourself:
1. What is it that makes you passionate about IT?
2. What are your top three geographic areas to work?
3. What is the ideal size of the company for which you want to work?
To answer your questions: "what are companies looking for? Must haves? Nice to haves? What sets a potential employee apart from others?"
In my humble opinion, when it comes to veterans, companies are looking for a veteran who brings the enthusiasm, ethics, dedication to compliance with policies and procedures, and the leadership to: achieve business goals SAFELY; as well as to build/lead teams from which to cultivate next generation leaders.
Regarding "What sets a potential (veteran) employee apart from others?"
The military background is awesome. However, ONLY a military background can be a hindrance. There are two ways to diversify your professional portfolio:
1. Education - begin NOW to transfer your experience to a REPUTABLE institution for a degree that matters.
2. Volunteer - begin NOW to volunteer to the extent that you can. Follow your passion, just DO IT. Volunteerism can take so many forms, but consider something OUTSIDE of IT.
Craft your resume NOW. Be sure to begin translating it from military to civilian. I'll be happy to assist you with this. Message me here, or connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesbonilla
Kind regards,
Charles
P.S. Consider these resources:
http://www.amazon.com/Out-Uniform-Successful-Military-Civilian/dp/1597977152
http://www.amazon.com/Success-Your-New-Mission-Transition/dp/0991561309
http://www.amazon.com/From-Force-Blue-Corporate-Gray/dp/1570230390
Amy, I have only read a few of the advice recommendations and they are all great...for now or future retirement plans. My advice is more conservative in nature with a focus on taking risks vice a gamble. The feelings you are having, my conservative opinion, are to have consider at either the 7-9 year TIS or the 21-》year TIS mark. You only have less than 6 more years before you are vested with a LIFETIME immediate monthly $$$ retirement. I would consider hard before you got out so close to such a hard earned entitlement after you had reached the 75% qualified mark! If there are family, reduction in force or health matters (didn't see in your post) the advice might be different.
I am aware there are GS and other federal jobs that may/can incorporate your Military service into an eventual RET but you probably won't see a dime of it till you can start drawing it in your 60s. Five + years from now is a sure bet that you will be getting immediate MIL Retirement for life.
From what small narrative you provided I recommend you push on to 20 TIS/RET while getting all the free tuition assistance further TRNG and college available to active duty now along with any certifications...etc so you would be postured to be even more marketable than you appear now when you retire 5+years from today and start getting lifetime retiree pay...and still have a GI Bill to use or pass off.
KH
Amy,
re: "Looking to start hustling to set myself for success if I end up doing a full 20 years in the military. I know I can line up a job with a government contract or GS position in the military but at this point I'm feeling burnt out on these scene and think I can thrive in several other non government businesses. I guess my question is...what are companies looking for? Must haves? Nice to haves? What sets a potential employee apart from others?"
I applaud you on proactively seeking advice and assistance, and especially on your desire to help mentor your fellow Servicemembers.
You have already received some great advice. Do you have any feedback or follow up questions?
* Be sure to interact with people who want to help you. Provide feedback and ask fallow up questions.
And let's be clear, others can advise and asset you, and he vast majority of the work is your to complete. For very 15 minutes someone assist you, you should be conducting hours of additional work.
Your question is a good one, and is also a bit "broad".
* Can you tell us a little about your post-military career interests, and how you want to add value for employers?
* What are your best strengths and skills? (also see "Chapter 7" below)
* An easy way to learn what employers want is to search for job postings similar to jobs that interest you, and to then study these live real-world job postings and take good notes.
Search the web using a few words that describe your career interests and the word jobs:
https://www.google.com/search?q=outdoor+photography+jobs
https://www.google.com/search?q=project+management+jobs
* Also, use LinkedIn's Advanced People Search Tool and find people who currently work in jobs similar to jobs that interest you. Study their profiles, and make note of what they say in their LinkedIn headline and LinkedIn summary. Note the professional credentials and certifications they have earned, and they educational backgrounds.
https://www.google.com/search?q=linkedin+advanced+people+search#!
finds
https://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/p?adv=true&trk=advsrch
* Then, teach yourself about informational interviewing, and conduct well-planned, purposeful and structured informational interviews with people who work in jibs similar to jobs you want.
https://www.google.com/search?q=informational+interviewing#!
* Chapter 8, "You Need to Do Some Informational Interviewing", p. 190-209
http://chrisrglass.net/hied668/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Bolles_2014_You-Need-To-Do-Some-Informational-Interviewing.pdf#!
* Along the way, craft a solid LinkedIn profile and use it as a "master resume". But don't spend "too much" time on your resume and profile until you have ides on what you want to do next. You absolutely want to craft your profile and resume with your end-goals in mind.
* You can use your LinkedIn profile as your "master resume" and then use the LinkedIn resume builder tool to create custom, job-specific resumes. when building a job specific resume, use terms and words from within live real0-world job-postings, and from within the profiles and resumes of people who currently work in and are thriving in similar careers and jobs.
http://resume.linkedinlabs.com/#!
* I feel that many folks (career coaches, career counselors, career-consigners, mentors, etc.) focus "too much" time on their résumé far too early in the process. Focus first on your self, your want sand needs, your strengths an dinettes, an what you want for your next career and your life.
I feel you should use the first few drafts of writing your resume as a self-exploration and self-assessment exercise. Once you have ideas on what you want and have identified a few live job-postings summarily to jobs that especially inertest you, start customizing your profile and résumé for your specific, personal career goals and job-search goals. It all start with self-assessment, self0-inventory and goal setting, and how you want to added value for employers.
Please also read: * Chapter 7, "You Need To Understand More Fully Who You Are",
p. 110-189.
http://chrisrglass.net/hied668/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/Bolles_2014_You-Need-To-Understand-More-Fully-Who-You-Are.pdf#!
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-mPDf5dHAk4Q/UnEaJ4cdHYI/AAAAAAAAAIg/O0MfQRSOLCs/s1600/FlowerPic.png#!
https://jowritesblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/joannas-flower-diagram.jpg#!
* If you'd like further advice, please feel free to message me, and show me the work you've done on the exercises I suggest above.
Mentors, advisors, etc, can advise and assist. The vast majority of the work is yours!
Amy
I would like to offer you and approach and specific steps that you may want to consider. This is not something that anyone can answer quickly, this will take some cycles and I would be happy to partner with you if this sounds like something you would like to work on. What does it mean to take an inventory of your skills? You may not realize that specific military and life skills which you have acquired translate into valuable business skills that can be applied to business, but you need to redefine these in business terms, so that you are more marketable.
So lets take this in stages.
1. Identify your skills and explain each in one sentence what the value of that skill is. What we are doing with this exercise is establish a Skills/Competency matrix that we can transition these to general business skills.
2. Think about expertise you have that can be transferred to business that is not specific to the military. Have you organized charitable events (this is considered event planning), have you raised money for your church or another non-profit org or cause, as this showcases sales, marketing, fundraising skill, etc.. Add these to the above list.
3. Never underestimate skills that you think "everybody knows". Social networking is one of them. Maybe you are an active user of Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Snap Chat, Twitter, etc... You may think that "everybody" uses these, but business is filled with people over 45+ and these people are not necessarily adopting these technologies and companies are very interested in the business opportunities that social networking offers to reach, understand, and sell more to customers. If you use these tools regularly, be very careful because these tools are your brand and recruiters today look at you and your brand, so keep that in mind as you try to redefine yourself in business terms. Add these skills to the above list.
That should get your started.... Once you have this list, you can share with me at dorothy.handy-eovine@oracle.com and I would be happy to work with you on this, or we can use this forum if you would rather. It will take some work, but I would be happy to stay engaged in order to help you define and market your skills. Once we have the redefined your skills we can start to develop a resume that will get noticed. Good luck.
First, get your resume done and make a list of the skills you've learned in the military and what types of duties you excelled in. Are you better in math, or management?....working alone or with others? Think about the likes and don't likes you have learned about yourself. Scan job opps to see which ones you think you'll fit into. You may want to set up an interview (with your resume in hand) at some of the open jobs you see just to get the experience of interviewing in today's business sector. Once there, you can ask the HR professional who interviews you what they are looking for and what tips they can provide to you personally. Everyone wants someone who is sharp, focused, positive, has some good answers about their goals and future. I agree. Brag. You must sell yourself. I wouldn't throw out the idea of working for a local or municipal government -- I spent 20 years in City Hall in a major city -- I didn't want to take the job and thought, "Oh...I don't want to work for the government....they sit around and gab all day." Guess what....best job I EVER had -- and we worked our buns off. Great retirement benefits also. You'll do fine. Good luck.
The private sector wants you to be able to make a profit. The military is not profit motivated...that is not their mission. The private sector wants an employee that is not needy and can take the ball and run with it, with your eye on the prize. Go into interviews stressing your bottom line responsiblity, passion and drive. Explaining what you did in the military will just glaze over the eyes of those who will hire you. The disconnect between business owners and their managers and the military is so large now, I would call it a chasm. If you have interest in getting into Telecom, contact me direct. While I am now retired from that industry, I retain many contacts that can help you.
There isn't really a limit to your future plans due to your past experience. Focus instead of what values and skills you have at your disposal. The longevity of your military service is to be commended and you get to brag about that to potential employers. Yes, brag!!! I imagine your military experience and training has taught you about leadership, responsibility, leadership, working under pressure, meeting deadlines, striving for excellence. The list goes on. And you get to sell these qualities to your future employees. These qualities are desired in corporate settings, service organizations and non-profits.
A book I recommend for some perspective and reflection is called "Not Your Average Joe" by Dennis Davis. Check it out!
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