Upon completion of a military career many are armed with feelings of pride and honor, and sometimes a feeling of relief that the mission is finally coming to an end. It is time to ask you “What’s next?” After the decompression from the high operational tempo, reuniting with family and friends, and the readjustment to civilian life begins; ex-military personnel begin looking at what lies ahead.
We all know that individuals don’t join the military for financial gain or for relaxation, so what benefits does a successful military career provide? You will find former military personnel in executive positions with Fortune 500 companies and in thriving privately held businesses. However, many fail to make the transition smoothly; in fact, many are surprised and disappointed at initial attempts to market themselves in today’s business world. Why do some people succeed, and many fail?
In our years of experience in career management and marketing, we at The Source have found that many ex-military people struggle with the transition to the civilian work force mainly for these four reasons, Direction – Access – Marketing – Management.
Direction: After extensively interviewing and working with military personnel, we found that their stories are very powerful, but oftentimes they are not conveyed properly, or told to the wrong audience. The story goes like this: I lead and have led hundreds of men and women, I control and manage millions of dollars worth of equipment and assets, Sound familiar? Our advice is not to use your evaluation reports as your resumes. Companies all seek the same quality from military personnel; extremely duty oriented, mission prioritization, and independent, decisive thinkers – but if the vast number of separating or retiring military members possess these qualities, what set you apart? We call it Concept to Completion. If you don’t have the concept, and don’t know what you want to do as a career, it’s very difficult to get out of the gate. You must have a direction to get started. Seeking professional advice to counsel you through this process is essential. Once you formulate the direction, you can put together a plan of attack.
Access: Having a direction will enable you to tell your story. However, you have to attack the right people. Getting access is about warm referrals and selling your services to a businesses need. It’s like selling water on the desert, when you have skills someone needs, you will get many takers. Networking isn’t about a job titles or who you know, it’s about who can and will help; people who can mobilize. For example, a CEO of a company may be a poor networking source – he or she is entirely too busy, has too many other priorities, etc., but a family priest can be a great source – friendly, very understanding and well connected! You will never get better access inside the industry then from people that know you, and are capable mobilizing your career search.
Marketing: Now that you know what you want to do, and with whom we need to speak to, we need to market. I get the same answers every time; I use the Internet, Career Search Engines, JMO or Military Recruiters, etc. The fact that I just told you that I get the same answer every time should tell you where this is headed. Most people’s concepts of marketing are the lazy methods, and this is the direct opposite of what you’ve been taught and trained in the military! How many projects and missions can be completed while you lay in bed, or by sending an e-mail? Marketing yourself takes work, and motivation, and a lot of personal effort. This is especially difficult for military members that have delegated and assigning tasks to others for years – now there no one to delegate to. Unfortunately sending e-mails will not receive the same response as it does when an e-mail is a direct order to another military member. Senior military leadership fails to recognize this time and time again – you need to be meeting people, telling them your plan, mapping out your mission and getting them excited and mobilized about what you want to do in your new career.
Management: The career search must become your full-time job until completion. You cannot afford to wait for terminal leave to begin – this is increasingly difficult due to how important your mission is at the current time. You may need to pay an agency to do the work for you. Regardless, you must to put yourself in a position to make a good decision concerning your career. Statistics show that the vast majority of people don’t like their current jobs. You must take ownership, take control and initiate necessary action for your new career right now. You need to have several offers in motion to create a decision making process in your favor to map out the next 5-10 years of your career.
Individuals with military backgrounds make phenomenal employees, executives and friends. As we know recently, this war experience has exposed the true values in our lives and our careers. Don’t waste the great lessons and experience you possess when you transition out of the military – make sure your new career continues to have an impact on other people’s lives that you truly take pride in and enjoy.
http://www.thesourcecareers.com/
Chris Massaro
Managing Partner
The Source
Radnor Financial Center
150 North Radnor Chester Road
Suite F 200
Radnor, PA 19087
610-977-2084