Joe Paschall ⋅ Madison, AL nLogic, LLC ⋅ 26 years experience

George, I beleive the only way to make a leap away from the experience on your resume is through networking. Getting away from your experience base means you are asking a company to hire you to an area in which you have no direct experience - you are essentially asking them to take risk. The hiring process is designed to identify and minimize exactly such risk, so you can only hope to get hired by working outside the process and interfacing directly through people you know. I would advise you to find professional groups (real, online or both) associated with your desired industry and grow your network in the desired area. You will need close personal relationships - the kind who take risk for one another - within the desired new industry.

Another possible option is to pursue positions within the aerospace/defense sector but related more to the management of the business than the execution of the work (indirect vs direct bill). I also had a desire to work in the "private sector" but have found that working at the business/company level within aerospace/defense satisfies my desire for that level of challenge.

Melinda Long ⋅ West Des Moines, IA Wells Fargo ⋅ 19 years experience

Good Morning George,

I work for Wells Fargo and we are focused on hiring 20K veterans by year 2020, we have found many veterans could potentially fit our risk and compliance openings.

Please take a look at our job site and in particular the job title "Operational Risk Consultant" and "Compliance Consultant".

You may find you could have transferrable skills to these areas.

https://www.wellsfargo.com/careers/
https://twitter.com/#!/WellsFargo_Jobs
http://www.facebook.com/wellsfargo

You may also send your updated resume to me personally at Wells Fargo as I'm a recruiter dedicated to finding talent for risk and compliance roles. If I can't help we have a dedicated team of recruiters that have military backgrounds themselves that could offer advise on resume as well as other openings you may be qualified for another that comes to mind is our "Business Initiatives Consultant" role this takes Project Management which I am sure you have and would work as a liaison between the business and other groups.

Thank you,
Mindy
Melinda.long@wellsfargo.com

Cari Uland ⋅ Royse City, TX Brookdale Senior Living ⋅ 28 years experience

George,
First, thank you for you many years of service! Second, don't sell yourself short! You have some great qualities you can use in the senior living industry. Personnel management and operations are great qualities to have.

Brookdale Senior Living is always on the look out for people who can combine their business skills with good old fashioned people skills as an Executive Director at their Assisted Living communities. We offer a 12 week Orientation program and have communities all over the US. In fact, one of our very successful Executive Directors is a retired Navy Captain. Check out careers at Brookdale.com.
Cari

John (Casey) Roach ⋅ Greenwich, CT Merrill Lynch ⋅ 45 years experience

First question- what do you want to do; what industry; what level
You are anything but a rookie. However, the transition is complicated in that you have been accustomed to having significant authority and responsibility. That is not to say there are not positions of that nature out there, but it is a big leap of faith to be put in one.
Determine the field you want to be in. Seek out firms in that sector of the world. Find men and women who work for firms who have served and call them to get practical advice.
You have been in one of the toughest jobs in the world where you were being shot at by the bad guys. Now, you are in the second most difficult job and the pay stinks. Give me some of your thoughts and a contact point and I will call. Casey Roach, Merrill Lynch, Greenwich CT: 203-861-5934; 203-273-3629 (Cell)

Rebecca Pavia ⋅ Los Angeles, CA 20th Century Fox ⋅ 12 years experience

Hi George,

I understand the challenge you face with your resume. By focusing on your military and security experience yet your desire to focus your next steps in a different direction, it may be limiting the pitch opportunities to get the meetings you want.

A great way to approach this challenge is to explore different formats and messaging you create with your resume itself. Rather than relying on a linear timeline of jobs and experiences, have you explored new formats that highlight your skills, expertise and "sell points"? Often, I see very informative resumes that just state the facts of experience rather than give me the much more pertinent story of who the person is and what they can offer the business. Researching different popular resume formats and recommendations by HR professions online are easy to find without having to incur the cost of a consultant.

I'm happy to discuss further as well.
Best of luck,
Rebecca

William GIbbons ⋅ Houston, TX Veterans Manufacturing and Sourcing ⋅ 1 years experience

George,

You shouldn't have too much trouble transitioning with your experience and education especially if you stress your core skills, management acumen and unique determination that only a USMC Veteran possesses.

While I don't know what field you're looking into, I would recommend that you do a bit of research and find out which are the top recruiting firms in your industry and reach out to them. I would next research and contact the HR departments (phone and email) of your target companies and directly inquire if they have a veterans hiring program in place and how to qualify as a candidate (not necessarily asking for a job).

Finally, you do want to network as much as possible. Feel free to connect with me on Linkedin.com. I have close to 10k connections and should have a line to at least a few folks in your target companies I can point you to.

S/F,
William
gibbons@vetsenergy.com

Phil C. ⋅ Fort Worth, TX ⋅ 3 years experience

George,

Networking is essential, as mentioned previously. However, have you applied to any management positions? Sometimes all it takes is fine-tuning the resume and applying for the position. I started out as an associate electrical engineer and a year and a half later applied to a senior level position with another company. I got the job. It was my military experience as an Apache technician and NCO that helped make me the most competitive candidate. So, never discount that military experience. It is worth something, especially in the defense/aerospace industry.

Louise Johnson ⋅ San Mateo, CA Nektar Therapeutics ⋅ 36 years experience

Hi George,

Thank you so much for your service. I have always worked in the pharmaceutical industry and see that you have many skills that would be valuable in private industry. I agree with Joe that you will need to network to find someone willing to take a chance on you. If you like, I would be happy to ask some of my colleagues in Accounting, HR, and Program Management to review your resume and give you feedback on how to focus it for the private sector.

Louise