Abstract
Veterans experience higher levels of unemployment than the general population. When you include those who have left the workforce, Veterans have a 52% unemployment rate compared to a 40% unemployment rate for the general population (US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Jan 2017).
My intent for this article is to give unemployed, underemployed and Veterans in career transitions techniques, which will improve the probability of finding, securing, and retaining gainful employment for the Veteran population.
THE CAREER TRANSITION PROCESS
I have been retired since 2004 and the challenges of finding employment for transitioning service members, and Veterans who are changing jobs, have not changed. We still have issues with Veterans not speaking the language of the civilian industry into which they want to transition. We have civilians with mythical preconceptions of what and who Veterans are, and most of all we have an unrealistic expectation of what the whole process is really like. I will try to lay it out for my Brothers and Sisters who are facing employment challenges.
Establishing Realistic Expectations
Let’s get something straight, unless you were in a decision making position at a military organization who purchased heavily from the defense contracting community, there is no one outside the gate drooling, waiting on you to come strolling out and hire you. Equally important is they do not have that $60-$80K job about which your battle-buddies told you. If that opportunity exists, you are not being hired for what you know, rather, WHO you can provide the company access to. Once your access becomes dated, your employment is at risk.
Companies care about your service, they care about your sacrifices, but if you do not have the technical skills they are looking for, none of your military soft skills will get you hired into anything but entry-level positions (those skill sets will get you promoted faster though). For instance, if a Marine infantryman leaves after six years of active service, let us say she made Staff Sergeant. She has a boatload of leadership experience and considerable skills in critical thinking and problem solving, but those skills will not get her hired into a management position at a manufacturing facility, which uses CNC or other automated tools to produce the items.
Not all Veterans are created equal. In today’s vernacular when companies hear the term “Veteran” the mental image they pick up is a transitioning member of the armed forces, generally a combat hardened Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine. To them it is a label. They forget the true definition of Veteran; we have Veterans from the Viet Nam era in the workforce, those of the Cold War, and those from the modern era. While they share similar experiences, those of the modern era have a much different outlook than those from the preceding eras. Each era of Veteran faces their own set of employment challenges.
The Job Search Process
Finding your why.
Your first step should be to find out not only what you do well, but also WHY you want to do it. It cannot be for the money, making money is a consequence of labor. Sooner or later you are going to wake up one morning and think to yourself “They don’t pay me enough to put up with this bullsh!t.” That is when you know you have lost your “Why.” Knowing your “Why” helps you identify the industry and geography you want to work in.
Networking.
Now start networking in the industry and in the location. You have a network, people who you have worked for, with and have worked for you in the past, your old leaders who have left the military, people with whom you go to church, people in your hobby groups, all are good places to start building your network.
When you get the chance to speak with your connections, it is bad form to ask for a job. If you do not know the person well, or the company he or she works for, you are fishing in the dark and this puts your relationship at risk. If the company does not have a position, your contact will reply in the negative. This puts the conversation at a disadvantage. If there is a position, but your contact does not think you are a fit, they must state either you are not a fit (awkward), or they must lie and say there is no position. With either response the result is the same, the conversation goes south and it could damage your relationship. Instead, get insights, information and introductions relevant to your job search. What certificates do companies in your industry hold in high regard, do you really need a degree? What do I need to do to be competitive in this market? They will notice you are looking for your next opportunity. If the company has a position and you are a fit, your contact will let you know.
Find your job opportunities.
Do not limit your online searches to the major job boards. 80% or more of positions either do not make the job boards or are filled by the time they appear online. A better technique is to go to the company website and look for their internal careers portal. If a company has a position listed there, you are more likely to be applying to an existing position.
Targeting your resume.
Target your resume. As soon as you find a position, print it out, go through it and determine what the employer is really asking for. What pain is the company experiencing that this position will make go away? Then using civilian terminology write your resume to the keywords for those areas.
Your application (including resume) will go into an Applicant Tracking System (ATS), which looks for keywords to rank order the applications. The more keyword hits, the higher the resume is to the top of the stack. You could be the redeeming quality for the company, but if you do not have the keywords, the hiring manager will never see your resume. Most companies has policies that limit any new hire to ones who have applied through the ATS. This is where your networking comes into play. If you find the position through networking your connection can alert the hiring manager to your application, even provide the hiring manager with a copy of your resume. The hiring manager can them go into the ATS and pull your application, regardless of where it is in the stack. This is why networking is always more effective in your job search than simply applying to an online or newspaper add.
Interviewing.
Interviewing for a position is much different in today’s market. If the company selects you for consideration for a position they may call you to set up another telephone interview, sometimes you may have multiple phone interviews before the company calls you in for an in-person interview. This initial in-person interview could be with a panel of individuals from different areas of the company. At this point, you have shown you have the technical skills necessary, now the company is looking for cultural fit. You will normally have one panel interview, after which the HR representative will set up an interview with the hiring manager. This process is much like a sports tournament. The goal is not to win the tournament, but to not allow the company to eliminate your from consideration before the final round.
Be prepared during the interview, research the company, and check everything you can think of, to include stock market performance for a publically traded company. Read the news releases to see if there are insights you can use in the interview. Also, be prepared for after interview conduct. Executives sometimes ask gatekeepers what their initial impression was. If you are short, blunt, and impersonal with the gatekeeper, you may not receive a promising referral. Instead, you need to smile, say please and thank you. Leave a thank you note for the interviewer with the gatekeeper. Showing your appreciation can be the discriminator if you and another candidate are both good fits for the position.
Some Final Thoughts
Finding a job is a full time job. Make sure you put the effort into finding the job of your dreams you will put into performing the job.
By Mark J. Colomb
