Bill Pugh ⋅ San Antonio, TX USAA ⋅ 15 years experience

I believe you are on the right path to transition to the civilian sector. For many veterans, "re-inventing" yourself is required to better align to the current job market. Whether that is going back to school, obtaining valuable credentials (PMP, CFP, etc.) or accurately translating your military experience into civilian-related marketable skills.

Many retirees seek employment in the government contract arena, typically doing the same job they previously held on active duty. However, there is a slight risk in being part of a contract at the "service level." When the contract is terminated, so are you.

Being a veteran, and for that matter a retiree, speaks volumes about your ability, work ethic and trust. Capitilizing on those facts and defining yourself in terms hiring managers can understand is the real challenge. Having a strong résumé tailored to the business world should get you an interview . . . your interview should get you the job.

James Conaway ⋅ Asheboro, NC U.S. Army Reserve, Colonel ⋅ 30 years served

Two items that I share as a concern in transition for Veterans.

A civilian work force that does not fully understand you as a Veteran and cannot relate in any way to your depth of experience compared to what they do in the civilian world. They will tell you how proud they are that you served and in the next breath say, sorry we don't have a position that fits your skill set.

You will quickly recognize that the civilian work force is driven by immediate results. Specifically, you will hear the them tell you that they are driven by a set of business values and principles. We can immediately connect to this as members of the military. However, they are driven by sales, profits, productivity, waste reduction and highly competitive management individuals. Beware, they promote team work and then quickly applaud individual effort.

Corporate actions will quickly show you volumes about your civilian employer - compared to the HR department's recruiting and corporate front facade.

John Kalusa ⋅ Alpharetta, GA Scientific Games ⋅ 10 years experience

Marlow, first of congratulations on reaching the shore! I'll tell you there is not a lot of moments in life that compare to the last piping ashore and the send off from your shipmates. I retired from the Navy reserves in 2010 after 24 years (9 active) of service. Fins Up!

There have been some good suggestions to your question. As an HR professional and someone who has been on both sides of the hiring equation, I'd offer this. It can be difficut to translate your experience, and it is equally difficult to understand how to leverage your commitment, experience and desire to move a company forward.

Focus on where you want to go next. Reach out to people in that industry and/or company and ask for information. Don't feel like you are bothering those folks, just trying to understand better how to "sell" the services you can bring to an organization.

If the types of positions/companies/industries needs a postgraduate degree, go get it. You might also find that they don't and that it doesn't offer any advantage. When I got out of the Navy in 1992, I met a guy at my best friends wedding and 4 months later I went to work for AT&T selling fiber optic cable. No degree, no experience. Lucky? Perhaps.

I speak to groups and individuals all year long on career transitions. The # 1 thing I've learned from what might be viewed as a successful career is that I could have gotten a lot further faster if I'd focused first on where I wanted to go.

Happy to talk further if it's of interest. Feel free to connect to me on Linked In and we can figure it out from there.

Fair Winds,

John Kalusa
AW1 USN (Retired)
"So Others May Live"