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| Job-hunting tips for military veterans back in the workforce | Job-hunting tips for military veterans back in the workforce |
| (6 months later) | |
| A job interview, for a military veteran, tends to be a formal affair. He won’t slouch or lean in a chair. Thanks to military training, his back will be straight and his manner deferential. A military man will view the interviewer as his superior and stand at attention. Some veterans won’t sit in a job interview until they’re told. | |
| It’s a sign of how many veterans, fresh out of the army, find the US job market baffling. Used to the structure and efficiency of military life, they find the ambiguous mixed signals of the corporate job hunt to be daunting and frustrating. | It’s a sign of how many veterans, fresh out of the army, find the US job market baffling. Used to the structure and efficiency of military life, they find the ambiguous mixed signals of the corporate job hunt to be daunting and frustrating. |
| “There are a lot of habits that are hard to break,” says Art Peña, a former fleet marine force corpsman and a member of the military veteran recruitment team at JP Morgan Chase. “Some of the habits work to your advantage. For example, being on time is being late in the military.” | |
| Before sending former service members back into the real world, the military attempts to help them identify habits that might or might not come in handy when pursuing other careers. | |
| “Looking for a job is the most challenging for people who haven’t been in the job market before joining the military,” agrees James Schmeling, managing director and co-founder of Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families. “It changes the way they search for jobs.” It also changes the way they interview. | “Looking for a job is the most challenging for people who haven’t been in the job market before joining the military,” agrees James Schmeling, managing director and co-founder of Syracuse University Institute for Veterans and Military Families. “It changes the way they search for jobs.” It also changes the way they interview. |
| Here are few pieces of advice these veterans shared with us regarding searching for jobs after serving in the military. | Here are few pieces of advice these veterans shared with us regarding searching for jobs after serving in the military. |
| Put together a road map. | Put together a road map. |
| The first thing veterans should do, according to Peña, is use their discipline and order to figure out what they want to do. That means deciding what job they’d like to have and outlining the steps they’ll need to take to achieve it. | |
| “Have a plan. Have a clean understanding of how you’ll get there,” he says. “Take an active part in your career and in your transition. Don’t just passively stand by.” | |
| Many veterans don’t always understand the steps it takes to move up the ladder in the corporate setting, says Schmeling. Corporate hierarchies are unlike military ones, and sometimes people have to move backward in order to move forward. | |
| Self-evaluate honestly | Self-evaluate honestly |
| “A lot of veterans don’t understand job descriptions and basic qualifications,” says Peña. “A small thing like that can make a transition difficult. It can be discouraging when you find out the job isn’t what you were hoping for.” | |
| Once they figure out what the job requires, veterans should honestly determine if they can meet the requirements in question. Are we speaking the same language? | Once they figure out what the job requires, veterans should honestly determine if they can meet the requirements in question. Are we speaking the same language? |
| One of the challenges many veterans face is “translating their experience into civilian terminology”, says Peña. Besides getting rid of the acronyms, veterans should also figure out how to explain their military role in plain language. | One of the challenges many veterans face is “translating their experience into civilian terminology”, says Peña. Besides getting rid of the acronyms, veterans should also figure out how to explain their military role in plain language. |
| “Veterans assume that people will understand and value their military experience,” says Schmeling. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case; civilian executives can underestimate the level of responsibility military officers take on during their service. Veterans should learn how to explain that they were responsible for other people on their team, equipment and relationships. | |
| “I can be very candid [during interviews],” says Alan Kipping-Ruane, a former US navy rescue swimmer, adding that he will often clarify the questions asked of him. For example, when asked about teamwork, he would say: “What you really are asking about teamwork is if I can work with people?” | “I can be very candid [during interviews],” says Alan Kipping-Ruane, a former US navy rescue swimmer, adding that he will often clarify the questions asked of him. For example, when asked about teamwork, he would say: “What you really are asking about teamwork is if I can work with people?” |
| “In the army, we have to work with all type of personalities. If someone wasn’t a part of the team, people could die,” he says. | “In the army, we have to work with all type of personalities. If someone wasn’t a part of the team, people could die,” he says. |
| Managing the transition | Managing the transition |
| At the end of their service, all members of the US military are require to participate in the transition assistance program. The program received mixed reviews from the veterans we spoke with. | |
| “We were required in the air force to attend this class prior to getting out of the military to inform us, update our resumes, our cover letters, things of that nature, and make sure that we weren’t walking out using acronyms. If you talk to any veteran, we have a million acronyms for everything,” says Nick Marriott, who served six years in the US air force. | |
| “I’ve found [the program] extremely helpful because I’ve never had any prior work experience. So, I took the class seriously, as some individuals did not, because it was required and they had to be there,” he adds. | “I’ve found [the program] extremely helpful because I’ve never had any prior work experience. So, I took the class seriously, as some individuals did not, because it was required and they had to be there,” he adds. |
| The dress-for-success and the mock job interviews that Kipping-Ruane, a former US navy rescue swimmer, endured during his transition assistance program left him wanting more. “These workshops, they don’t work as well as they could be,” he says. | The dress-for-success and the mock job interviews that Kipping-Ruane, a former US navy rescue swimmer, endured during his transition assistance program left him wanting more. “These workshops, they don’t work as well as they could be,” he says. |
| “It’s hard to say, ‘Well, that’s enough,’” Peña says about the transition assistance program, adding that the program comes “from a good place”. | “It’s hard to say, ‘Well, that’s enough,’” Peña says about the transition assistance program, adding that the program comes “from a good place”. |
| “It’s not that the program is inadequate. It’s that transition is a challenging time and experience and we are trying to learn about a lot of things at the same time. When I made the decision to leave the navy, I tried to do as many things to take care of my transition as possible so that I wouldn’t be caught off guard.” | “It’s not that the program is inadequate. It’s that transition is a challenging time and experience and we are trying to learn about a lot of things at the same time. When I made the decision to leave the navy, I tried to do as many things to take care of my transition as possible so that I wouldn’t be caught off guard.” |
| Don’t go it alone – find a mentor | Don’t go it alone – find a mentor |
| “Finding a mentor is extremely important,” says Peña. “You can bounce ideas off of each other. That’s extremely helpful. Especially when you run into difficult situations. Having someone to talk it through with is really important.” | “Finding a mentor is extremely important,” says Peña. “You can bounce ideas off of each other. That’s extremely helpful. Especially when you run into difficult situations. Having someone to talk it through with is really important.” |
| Be patient | Be patient |
| Veterans like Marriott and Kipping-Ruane have come to find that hiring is a lengthy process. Veterans should be patient, but persistent. | Veterans like Marriott and Kipping-Ruane have come to find that hiring is a lengthy process. Veterans should be patient, but persistent. |
| “Hiring can be frustrating on both sides,” says Schmeling, pointing out that things in the military don’t always move as fast as we think they do. Basic training lasts about 10 months. Then there are exams. Then you wait for weeks to get your results. | “Hiring can be frustrating on both sides,” says Schmeling, pointing out that things in the military don’t always move as fast as we think they do. Basic training lasts about 10 months. Then there are exams. Then you wait for weeks to get your results. |
| “We forget about those kinds of things,” he says, adding that he sympathizes with those who are impatient. | “We forget about those kinds of things,” he says, adding that he sympathizes with those who are impatient. |
| Prepare yourself: there will be unrelated questions | Prepare yourself: there will be unrelated questions |
| “It is frustrating to get questions that are unrelated to the job at hand, ” says Kipping-Ruane, who was once asked by a potential employers if he had ever killed anyone. “I don’t want to let it frustrate me. People are curious. It’s bound to happen.” | “It is frustrating to get questions that are unrelated to the job at hand, ” says Kipping-Ruane, who was once asked by a potential employers if he had ever killed anyone. “I don’t want to let it frustrate me. People are curious. It’s bound to happen.” |
| Similarly, Marriott has been previously asked if he has ever fired a weapon. “What I am going for professionally, as a career, it’s nothing related to physical security. So, it threw me for a loop, to be asked a question regarding a weapon, a gun, when the job I was applying for didn’t necessarily have anything to do with that,” he says. | Similarly, Marriott has been previously asked if he has ever fired a weapon. “What I am going for professionally, as a career, it’s nothing related to physical security. So, it threw me for a loop, to be asked a question regarding a weapon, a gun, when the job I was applying for didn’t necessarily have anything to do with that,” he says. |
| Veterans should, however, pay attention to questions such as these, says Schmeling, as they can be a good indicators as to whether the company is a place where you would enjoy working. | Veterans should, however, pay attention to questions such as these, says Schmeling, as they can be a good indicators as to whether the company is a place where you would enjoy working. |
| “There are certain questions that recruiters shouldn’t be asking – like whether you suffer from PTSD – because it’s illegal,” explains Schmeling. | “There are certain questions that recruiters shouldn’t be asking – like whether you suffer from PTSD – because it’s illegal,” explains Schmeling. |
| Veterans have to read between the lines as well. “Asking if someone has fired a weapon is not illegal, but it does imply bad culture,” says Schmeling. “A question like that is a good warning to a veteran that the company is not a good cultural fit.” | Veterans have to read between the lines as well. “Asking if someone has fired a weapon is not illegal, but it does imply bad culture,” says Schmeling. “A question like that is a good warning to a veteran that the company is not a good cultural fit.” |
| Lastly, Schmeling’s main piece of advice for recruiters: Veterans are more than just their resume. Take time to learn their story. “They don’t know what they don’t know. Keep an open mind. What’s on the paper is not the full story,” he says. | Lastly, Schmeling’s main piece of advice for recruiters: Veterans are more than just their resume. Take time to learn their story. “They don’t know what they don’t know. Keep an open mind. What’s on the paper is not the full story,” he says. |
| Wathc out for affinity marketers | Wathc out for affinity marketers |
| Veterans and current service members should also be careful, when it comes to scams targeting those who have served. Some scams appeal to veterans’ sense of loyalty and patriotism by employing affinity marketing – using military and US related paraphernalia. Sometimes the scammers will even go as far as to employ other veterans. | Veterans and current service members should also be careful, when it comes to scams targeting those who have served. Some scams appeal to veterans’ sense of loyalty and patriotism by employing affinity marketing – using military and US related paraphernalia. Sometimes the scammers will even go as far as to employ other veterans. |
| “A great form of affinity marketing – if you’re trying to do it – is to hire former military as your employees,” says Holly Petraeus, assistant director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. | “A great form of affinity marketing – if you’re trying to do it – is to hire former military as your employees,” says Holly Petraeus, assistant director at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. |
| “I would say military culture is one that fosters respect for rank, for superiors, so if you have a retired senior enlisted or senior officer selling people that this is a good company, or that this is a good place for them to spend their money, that can be very, very effective.” | “I would say military culture is one that fosters respect for rank, for superiors, so if you have a retired senior enlisted or senior officer selling people that this is a good company, or that this is a good place for them to spend their money, that can be very, very effective.” |
| GI Bill: buyers beware | GI Bill: buyers beware |
| Both Kipping-Ruane and Marriott have used funds provided by the GI Bill to attend school after leaving the service. Of veterans contemplating pursuing higher education, Petraues asks one thing: to do your due diligence and to heed the simple advice of “buyer beware” when choosing their school. | Both Kipping-Ruane and Marriott have used funds provided by the GI Bill to attend school after leaving the service. Of veterans contemplating pursuing higher education, Petraues asks one thing: to do your due diligence and to heed the simple advice of “buyer beware” when choosing their school. |
| “Would the degree from that school be accepted by the industry you may want to go into? Will your credits transfer if you decide you want to get out to transfer to another school? All those are issues that the military hasn’t been able to get adequate answers to, and if you think about it, the college degree is the largest consumer financial purchase you’ll ever make – except possibly a house. So, really, it’s something you want to be shopping very carefully for,” she explains. “You’ll want to be sure it’s going to be the best outcome for your money.” | “Would the degree from that school be accepted by the industry you may want to go into? Will your credits transfer if you decide you want to get out to transfer to another school? All those are issues that the military hasn’t been able to get adequate answers to, and if you think about it, the college degree is the largest consumer financial purchase you’ll ever make – except possibly a house. So, really, it’s something you want to be shopping very carefully for,” she explains. “You’ll want to be sure it’s going to be the best outcome for your money.” |