From Captain to Corporate

As opposed to telling you a long, drawn out story about my transition from an Army captain into Corporate America, I’ll share with you the lessons I learned in the hopes that you can learn from my mistakes and successes.  The backdrop was in 1997 as I decided to transition out of the military.

1.  The military forces you to not show all your cards, so be careful for you and your families’ sake.  When I put my paperwork in to decline the advanced course, I was one of 5 new captains that were immediately put on orders for Korea. It was just a former XO that pulled me up to brigade staff that gave me a reprieve from the hardship tour.

2.  Head Hunters are a good way to get in front of a lot of employers but you should never pay anything and you should never go exclusive.  I used a head hunter, and while I think some of these do a better job of branding, they are relatively equal.  They required me to be exclusive to them, and after the fact I realized that is not fair to the veteran.  You should not put all your eggs in one basket!

3.  So, Tom, what are the other baskets (ways to get a job)?  In addition to head hunters (which is one of the smaller ways), here are where I’ve seen most veterans get jobs:

• Networking – Via college alumni, via other veterans, friends, and family.
• Posting a resume online – Only bother keeping up the resumes on the job boards that are giving you the most offers.
• Search jobs online – Apply for the ones you want and don’t be bashful about it!
• Attend Career Fairs – A great way to get in front of a lot of employers in a short time.

4.  I was an Engineer in the Army, but that’s not why employers wanted to hire me.  It was real clear that my project management, leadership, problem solving, and people skills were much more valuable than an engineering degree.  I interviewed for sales, operations, manufacturing, and actually took the one marketing job I was offered. 

5.  Another watch-out is realizing that the head hunter is trying to meet their clients’ needs too.  On many occasions I was told by the head hunter that “You’re a great fit for Operations…Marketing is not the best use of your skills.”  They may steer you in a direction to make sure their clients’ needs are met.  Remember, they get paid on hires, so they want to maximize their number of hires.

6.  What was my biggest single thing that helped me get a job?  Preparation.  I spent a ton of time thinking through interview questions & answers.  I met with a group of officers twice a week for months to grill each other with interview questions.  This did two things:  It helped me learn a lot about myself and it gave me confidence to impress the recruiters – I honestly remember thinking to myself that the interviews were too easy.

(Submitted by Tom Aiello)

Comments

[Mike]

I agree. Headhunters want to fill their clients needs above all. Every headhunter that I used put me infront of low paying jobs, in areas that I did not want. I did much better by using jobsites like monster and 6 figure jobs.

[Paul M.]

I agree with Tom. I left the Military in 1999 as a mid-level Captain, and am enjoying continued success in the civilian sector. As tom said in item 6, PREPARATION was THE KEY element that enabled my transition. Like Tom, I spent a lot of time practicing for interviews. A group of us would interview each other, record the sessions and then play them back for critique. Very effective and I highly recommend this approach. Good Luck to you entering the civilian world -- and don't leave those leadership skills behind; it's one of the primary reasons we are hired.

[Former O-3]

Yea, watch out for the headhunters. Some are pretty good, others will have you make a 2 year mistake.

Pretty good one - sent me on an interview for a 90k plus job that matched my military experience and interests, and near my family.

Others - very aggressive and viewed me as "a military officer" instead of my personal talents, interests, and experiences. Told me I would never get over 60k anywhere and sent me on many interviews only in the manufacturing sector as a manager of 10-30 people making spare parts for simple tools. I would of quit these jobs within 2 years guaranteed.

I worked for 2 years, quit, and then went to grad school. MBAs were too hard for me to get into, so I did a public policy program.

Now, I found that getting a masters and now a PhD was better for me. Also, I would recommend a masters degree (in whatever your interests are) - university resources are usually very good and you will become informed about the job environment and your fit. I did a 1 year public policy program and starting salaries begin at 80k (regardless of military or work experience) for these gov't related consultant jobs, which a lot of headhunters don't offer. Some headhunters know that you are not informed, but this will change that. And look, there are some jobs that you just cannot get from the military - IBM told me that since I was over 18 months from undergrad graduation, I could not be hired as an entry level consultant. Kind of stupid if you ask me. Now, that I am getting my masters, I can.

So, keep your eyes open...following interests and talents is a good bet.