For those who are in the infantry and are looking to start a career in corporate America, what kind of advice would you give a grunt who may not have the background necessary to be competitive in the selection/interview process?
Answers
Its all about skills. If you obtain the right skills, you could be a Lead Application Developer and make $150k per year.
https://www.roberthalf.com/workplace-research/salary-guides
If you do not obtain the right skills, you could take orders at fast food and be replaced in a few years by a kiosk.
I will put it simply.
First, find out what you are really good at and enjoy doing.
Second, obtain relevant skill sets and "Certification" for the specific skill set based on your strength and enjoyment.
You can do this by enrolling in a community college vocational courses, "certification" courses or transfer-to-4-year university. You can also further develop your existing skill sets this way. Mention "Certification" in your resume, and this makes your qualification solid and attractive to hiring managers.
Third, not everyone needs/wants a college degree, and not every job requires a college degree. Thus, decide on what you are really good at and enjoy doing and translate it into specific skill sets.
When you have good skill sets, you can always get a good job, so skill sets are much more important and valuable than "liberal arts" college degree, depending on which career field you are aiming for
In general, if you have a college degree, almost all the jobs pay more and you earn much more and advance higher in the long run. So, yes, I recommend you study for a professional career field and get a degree.
Finally, whatever you decide to do, please AVOID for-profit on-line colleges - their diplomas are waste of money, time and efforts and don't get you a job. I strongly recommend a 2-year community college and then transfer to a 4-year university as a junior if you want to save money.
I hope this helps.
Hi, Erik -- You have received a tremendous amount of great advice from my fellow Advisors. I would add that you can be successful during any interview where 1) You have done your best soul searching -- and research -- to determine what civilian job(s) you'd like to hold; 2) You have networked with family, friends, colleagues to see if they know of job openings for the type of position you are searching for; 3) Research the company before interviewing; and 4) Be confident of your capabilities during the interview. Remain positive and learn from your interviews. I know you will do well!
Erik,
In High School every year we would take a "test", that would provide 3 vocations suited for each individual. Every year my 3 recommendations were Forest Ranger Smoke Watcher, Deep Sea Diver, and Lighthouse Keeper. For some reason the test algorithm identified me as anti social and lazy.
So much for tests. I was a enlisted Grunt, 0311/0331 for three years and loved it. I found, screw the test, that I was altruistic, liked solving problems, and like developing people. Youre a USMC Grunt, you know how to alot of things, especialky ones that cant be taught. The Door was never shut for us, we would go around it, over it, or just kick it down. Every military guy can get shit done in a timely tight manner. We are used to working with numerous teams and organizations.
After the Military, I joined a big company in operations to do project management. But, I saw the sales guys being more social, make more money, and solve customers issues. I went into pharmaceutical sales without any experience and did well. Why, I was a grunt. I used the skills I had or learned new ones. I connected with people, solved problems and developed myself then others as a Manager matching my core values or traits as noted above. Sales is a good start since you will learn everything about your new company and divisions in Sales, from HR to Marketing, and Operations. From there I went into Healthcare consultanting retiring at 55.
My kids are both becoming Physician Assistants, one an introvert that is driven to make a difference in the worst areas of the world that have great surfing sites while the extrovert wants to work in juvenile orthopedics, have 4 giant dogs, and take the dogs and her non-privileged patients to Disneyworld every year for free.
The answer, Guys like us were put on this earth not to be Lighthouse Keepers, we are meant to be heroes by making a difference every day.
I sat next to a Special Forces guy while waiting to reenlist at MEPPS. I listened to him for 3 hours tell me the same guidance. I enlisted into the Army instead and spent 14 years in US Army Special Operations. When I got out, I followed my own path set by USMC and SF. I'm not done yet. A Grunt.
Hi Erik,
Thanks for your service!
The first step is really need to identify what you want to do as a career. Ex. Journalist, project management, supply chain????
Once you decided, then you can use the military experience and accomplishments to construct and tailor your resume/talking points specifically to those jobs. Remember, the hiring company wants to know what and how you can add value to their company. Example, leadership and ability to get the job done (which you do every day) is very key for project management....
Po
Erik,
You've received some great advice here. You've got to put some time in and figure out what your skill sets are.
You can also learn coding and other skills online for free. Get these skills together on paper, align them with the work you have previously done and what you are looking for, and you will be able to put together an impressive resume.
I hope this helps.
Jerry
Hi Erik-I'd recommend doing some homework, some self-reflection before you put yourself out there. Review your history of jobs, including your stint in the infantry. Figure out what you liked and didn't like and ask yourself 'why'. Really be honest with yourself.
This 'peel-the-onion' exercise should end up with a couple of conclusions. Eg I like to work be myself...I like working with people...I like persuading people...inspiring people...I'm really good at analyzing situations and quickly making decisions.
Next steps are: learn which careers enable you to use this skills. This can be done by setting up some informational interviews with people in your network to basically learn what they do. These info interviews can be used to find out not only which industries, but which companies, which positions, and what level you could consider.
Don't sell yourself short! Once you go through your resume, you'll see how capable you are and will be in the corporate world. First convince yourself, then it'll be easy to convince future employers.
Erik: I would, first of all, not share the fact that 0331s are likely to burn the place down on any given Friday.
Seriously, a job interview is you matching your skills to your employer's needs. I don't want to be corny, but really: the same mission planning strategies work. METT-T still applies. Look at the employer's needs, study the company, and explain to them how you can be valuable.
In addition, it doesn't hurt to mention your background in most cases. Even to people ignorant of the military totally, words like Marine and Sergeant go a long way. It's impressive. Also, you've learned skills that many employees may not have (such as the ability make a decision based upon the situation, the ability to adapt, the ability to innovate and improvise) and these can differentiate you.
Here's the catch, you may not have the chance to say all that and make your great points if you just submit a résumé via the company's website. Unlike the infantry, being sociable is a requirement in corporate America. Networking is how you begin the conversations that get you hired and fortunately you are a part of one of the most vibrant and loyal networks. I would be glad to talk about some networking strategies if that's interesting.
Good luck!
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