There is a harsh reality for veterans when they leave the military and go out into the civilian workforce — many employers don’t value military service.
It’s just the way it is folks. I’ve heard this from hiring managers. It’s not that they’re prejudice against veterans it’s just that many are dumb about what you guys do beyond marching and carrying guns.
A survey released yesterday by CareerBuilder.com found that one in five vets think their biggest hurdle to landing a job “is employers’ inability to understand how military skills can fulfill qualifications for civilian positions.”
So who do you think is going to educate these folks about what veterans have done? I’ve written about the topic and always tout the experience to HR managers, but I’m not there with you guys and gals at the interview table, or when you’re crafting your cover letter.
That means veterans have to step up to the plate and show everybody how great they are, and how their experience would fit a particular job.
I know, this is easier said than done, but just practicing a mock interview with a spouse, or buddy will help you immensely. One veteran I interviewed a while back told me he took a basic job coaching class that included interview skills training and it paid off with a good job. You can hire someone to do this or you can connect with a host of veterans assistance agencies in the U.S. and get help for free.
There are government run sites to help ex military personnel find jobs and there are also independent sites for networking and job postings. Here are a few to check out: www.military.com; www.weservetoether.com; www.togetherweserved.com; www.m4l.com; vetfriends.com; gijobs.net. Also use any help the government provides. Most bases offer transition services for ex G.I.s, so go back to Uncle Sam and find out what you’re eligible for.
While I stress the importance of showing a hiring manager the merits of your service, that doesn’t mean you should show up for an interview with your uniform on and saluting everyone in sight.
You have to learn how to strike a balance.
Here are some general tips that may help:
* Get rid of the military jargon on your resume and try to keep it to one page long. Don’t include every job you held before the military and every post you had while serving. Pick out four or five key jobs and leave the rest out. When detailing the jobs you held in the military try to use words a civilian can understand. Just saying you were a Chief Petty Officer is going to go right over the head of most folks. Detail what that job included, administrative duties, project management, etc.
* Try to keep the “Yes Sirs” at bay during the interview. You’re just a regular guy or gal now and hiring managers are going to want to know you can make the transition from war to the workplace easily.
* Use your contacts in the military until you’ve exhausted them. Many of your fellow soldiers or commanders may now be in the civilian workforce and there’s nothing wrong with sending them an email or calling them if they work for a company you’d like to consider, or could just act as mentors as you navigate the job-seeking process.
* You have to make sure the hiring manager understands the skills you can bring to the job. Talk about a specific assignment that shows how you were able to map out a plan and then execute it. Keep code names for military operations, or model numbers of helicopters or tanks to yourself.
* Ex-military folks may have to pay some dues before they find just the right job. Many men and women go into service without getting a college degree and without substantial job experience, so just like everyone else, you may have to make some job concessions. That means possibly taking a short-term internship to learn the ropes. Also consider making a deal with an employer who is interested in you but just isn’t quite sure you’ll be able to make the transition into the regular workforce, advises Brian Drum, a consultant who also writes a monthly career column for military.com. Offer to do the job for a few months with no strings attached, and put it in writing if the hiring manager is more comfortable with that, he adds.
* He also suggests going through a temporary staffing agency. Many companies often hire temps as full time employee, he adds, when they see an individual can get the job done.
It’s all about staying positive and realizing that you face a tough battle ahead finding a job in this economy. But it will happen, I promise. Don’t give up and lock up negativity in your foot locker for good.
And for all of you hiring managers, bosses and employees out there in the civilian work world, it’s time to give the men and women who fought for this country a break and realize they have just as much to bring to the table as their non-military counterparts.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:16 pm
I truly feel for our young men and women coming back from the war only to be unemployed. There has been so much job loss over the past year it has created a surplus of applicants for few jobs. So what is the solution? We sent them to war and we should take care of them until they find gainful employment. If that means paying for them to go through special training programs then so be it. Our veterans should be able to use the G.I. Bill to assist with college tuition and hopefully each and every veteran was told to invest in the G.I. Bill for their future. Nevertheless, these folks are special and deserve to be treated with respect and appreciation. Take some of the 840 Billion that they bailed out Wall Street with and help our beloved veterans that fought to keep us safe. We should never have a veteran feel that this country doesn’t care about them.
November 11th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
Toni, you are so right. We should do whatever we can to help returning soldiers.
The new GI Bill takes effect in August of 2009 and the American Legion just launched a website to help vets figure the new benefits out.
“The site — www.mygibill.org — includes clear explanations of the different GI Bill benefits, news alerts and updates, frequently asked questions, state-by-state benefits and online application opportunities.”
But as a nation we have to do more to ensure a smoother return for veterans. It doesn’t seem to make sense that we would bail out Wall Street and fund outrageous executive salaries, while we do little to help the men and women that risks their lives for us.
November 12th, 2008 at 7:47 am
Great great resources, thank you so much for this great post on Veterans Day and thank you to all those who have served past and present, YOU are why I am free to write this!
November 15th, 2008 at 5:10 am
I am a veteran of the Army and Army Reserve. The fact that I enlisted when I did guaranteed me a job in a Pittsburgh steel mill until it’s bitter demise. Using a great deal of strategy that I learned from military experience did unquestionably make me a much better retail manager and an advocate of using teamwork to accomplish tasks that must be done collectively. As much as I am proud of my service to my country, I am also cautious of what it means to be a combat veteran. When I consider the high level of competent training I recieved from such veterans of the Vietnam era in a military environment, and compare that to the men whom I have the privilege to work alongside in civilian life, I find that caution is the key to a successful transistion. After over 25 years of being out of the military, I still cannot stand up and have my hands in my pocket and if you sneak up on me and make a loud noise, I tend to quickly move in a defensive position. When I see our flag pass by during a parade, I will be standing. When I hear taps coming from any source, I bow my head and reflect. When I see any person in a military uniform, I acknowledge them with a nod, and they know me by my 100 yard stare who I am. THe Army affected me deeply and to this day is still part of who I am. Therefore, I know by simple acknowledgement, no matter what you think, there is not one combat veteran who is not messed up. Not one who will not become a problem to employ at some point. As rude as that sounds, I know it to be true. When I volunteered at our VA for several years, I became aquainted with several clinicians. No matter what ‘war’, no matter what happens to any soldier in the combat zone, the sights, sounds, and even the smell of some things will reacquaint that heroic veteran once again with mortality and an unnatural act such as the cruelty man can do to one another. There is no natural or simple cure. I suggest any HR person looking at a military background truely search the candidate’s 201 file for what the candidate did. Search what assignments and what MOS the serviceman was attached to. Unlike civilian pateint confidentiality laws, military laws differ considerably. A service record is updated with each use of VA services and any employer has a right to recieve any supplemental service records as long as permission is granted by the serviceman. I will always advocate any business to hire a veteran. However I would be cautious as to what type of job is to be filled.
BTW, I can go to any VA hospital and be treated free of charge. I can be buried at no cost in a military cemetery or in a military plot. I still pay a yearly premium for Servicemans Group Life Insurance and it is half the cost of private policies. I have a huge amount of benefits that will last me the rest of my life. For this I am grateful. The benefits for war time GI’s are different. They should be if for no other reason that to maintain the same benefits for a non-combat vet like me and one who laid it all down for you and me, the obligation would never be paid.
November 25th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
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