Deciding to Stay in After Being Out

I was in the financial world of military, worked in Mil Pay, Civ Pay, Acctg and I was prepared to take on the civilian world. Got my resume ready started visiting Boeing, Microsoft, banks, credit unions for a job. They all reviewed my resume and some got job interviews and basically got the same response. Good resume, but they did not have a position right for my experience.

In 1999 I finally got a job with Capital One in Federal Way, WA. Started as a data entry, ended with an accounting job as the balancer, proving processed checks prior to submission to the Federal Reserve Bank for processing to the original bank. After 9-11 all plans for expansion were limited and in 2005 they closed the site and went to outsourcing to First Data in CA, NB, M O, TX, NC, SC and Staton Island in NY.

I ended up with Reserve/National Guard Pay at Ft Lewis, WA. With the new programs coming up at the end of this year, I am thinking about sticking it out until I'm retirement eligible. The civilian jobs were good, but they have lost their appeal in the past few years.

And that is my story and I'm sticking to it.

(Submitted by Donald True)

Comments

[Tom Aiello]

Good for you! I've made the PCS to corporate america and still value my days of service in the Military.

I had a friend who was a armor officer who got out and decided to go back in 6 months later.

You have a good point in that you always have options in the Guard and Reserve.

[Joanette Terry]

I am feel the same way. After being out for three years, I am rejoining the Army Reserves. The civilian workforce is brutal and they say they care about military experience, however that is the BIGGEST lie. I never expected to be a hard struggle. I was unemployed for a year and half. I refix and retool my resume and no takers. Luckily, I finally got a job as a military contractor for National Guard. I am going into the Reserves side this month.

[Alex]

I support your choice!

[Rick Earnest]

Having retired from the USAF for almost 9 years now I must add that my military experience really opened doors for me when I was making the transition to civilian life. I took advantage of the education benefits offered with 2 CCAF degrees and was hired within 2 weeks of retirement. I had planned to take advantage of my 2 months terminal leave but took the job instead. My duties as a First Sergeant prepared me for a career in Human Resources and I have had the opportunity to hire many with previous military experience. I actually prefer those with a military background and will interview nearly all who apply and many receive job offers. My advice is to prepare a professional resume, follow up on submissions and hang in there, the right job will follow.

In addition the employers I have worked for all have supported members of the Guard & Reserve so there is no problem doing both!

Rick Earnest
HR Manager
MSgt (USAF Retired)
Lincoln, NE

[Tom Hopkins]

I would like to ask Rick what company you are an HR Manager for, I am retired and have not had much luck in finding employment, the area we are in is tough to employ military, and I am looking to possibly relocate. Are you currently hiring?

[Joyce Perry, TSgt, USAF, Retired]

Yes, Rick, What company do you work for... I've been retired now for 13 years... I've had more than 10 different jobs in those 13 years. I even went back to college and received my BA in Business Administration. That is what got me my current job. When I listed that I was retired military on my resume all I got was "Sorry, you are over qualified for the position."... so now I just put my Military Exp on one line at the bottom of the resume...
I'm ready to relocate and find a company that values my skills and doesn't consider me overqualified.

[Paul Govensky]

I retired after 24 yrs of service. I have been Infantry the whole time. I had thought that also getting a job wouldn't be that tough seeing that every single piece of mail would say that military members have priority due to their experience....hog wash I say...Let some of these young men or so they are supposed to be called enlist in the military and earn the right to be called an American that way the job force wouldn't be such harsh to us veterans that have earned our rights..

[3kiddos]

I understand everyone's frustrations with finding civilian jobs. My contract as well as my husband's ended in the same month in 2002. I knew that I would be a stay at home Mom and my husband would try to get into the aviation industry since he had his FAA sign off's and just had to test. Little did we know that noone would offer him more than 13 dollars an hour to start. He ended up learning a new trade and did well for a few years as a high end trim carpenter. He went into the Marine reserves in 2005 and of course got activated soon after and deployed for 9 months. For him, after coming from AD then to the reserves was quite a change so he decided to give his business another go. We have suffered terribly for months now since the economy is failing and not as many builders are actively building. It's a tough market and it stinks! He is actually going for his physical tomorrow so hopefully the Marines will take him back in as active duty. There are many many jobs that do have veteran's preference but if you are overqualified or did not have the right job in the military that transfers over to civilian life, you are basically on your own, and that stinks!!

[Michael Moore]

One thing to remember..HR managers do the screening for new hires. They are NOT the hiring managers. I work for GE and this global company is filled with prior military (me included). Even so, you might come across an inexperienced HR manager who does not understand how the military experience has prepared men and women. My advice is to seek out those like yourself in the civlian sector and/or join military affiliated groups/ internet sites to network. It took me a while before I landed with my present company..and I didnt' do it through hotjobs, careerbuilder, or monster..I got it through networking!

[Don Wiser]

I did 4 years in the Marines and got a job Dec 1st 1997 a few months after I got out on Oct 31th. I have been with the same company ever sense. My manager was former Navy. He went on to hire many more service members. Only the Air Force guy didn't work out. I thank the Marines for the training and if it wasn't for the USMC I wouldn't be here today. I miss it.

[E. Wiggins]

My last year of a 24 year career, was spent working on, and then improving my resume. I also asked a couple of my civilian friends to take a glance at the "practice resume." They gave me valuable feedback, which I incorporated into the "new & improved" resume. I started interviewing well prior to retirement. I received two offers before retirement, made my choice, spent three weeks relocating the family to someplace we had never been--AND THAT WAS TOUGH ON THE FAMILY. Nevertheless, we got squared away. I opted for the money, instead of staying near a base (I found out that salaries are generally lower near a military facility), or on territory with which I was familiar. I remained within the public transportation industry for more than 15 years (It was a career in which I could easily apply my Air Force training). In closing, we, who have been in the Armed Forces, stand head and shoulders above our non- military counterparts. Get that resume "on the street" at least six months before your discharge. At your interviews, ask the recruiter/ interviewers about various facets of their company. It's not too difficult to find out a little something about your prospective employer. Have fun at your interview. Most Human Resource folks will tell you they would rather have an ex-military person than a civilian, because the ex-GI will work circles around the rest.

[John M. Staehle]

I spent 24 years on active and reserve duty in the Navy and after making Chief and having recently completed my BS in Business Administration the success rate would go up for me. Two things were working against me however, my military bearing and attention to detail were too much for employers to understand and like many of you, they wanted the maturity of the military but when it came down to the brass tacks, most managers got scared and looked for ways to dump me.
I now sell tractors and related equipement for a local John Deere dealership in Deming, New Mexico and it is only because I like to talk with the locals and I like JD. The boss put my military know-how to work as I am now the contact person for all government sales in the area and have experience with procurement. All considered, not a bad position to be in, but once again fully taken advantage of. This will only increase my ability to make good money but the time spent is all for the government sales end I has already led my thinking to the point, just who is getting the most from this.
I shall have to see how far this boss (franchise owner) is willing to go. Until I retire fully out of the USNR, I will sell tractors to the government agencies in the area.
The best to all,

GMC John M. Staehle, USNR (Ret)

[Sarah B]

I work with so many people with previous military experience and I am a military spouse. I work for USAA and I absolutely love my job! It is a great company to work for and since we exist to serve the military community it is a very rewarding experience. I strongly encourage those with military experience to apply. There are offices in Sacramento, San Antonio, Phoenix, Colorado Springs, Norfolk, and Tampa. Go to usaa.com/careers and see what is out there. Even our CEO is a retired General. Good luck on your search.

[Gilbert Leos USA Ret]

I don't understand all this about jobs are hard to find these days. After doing my time in the military, I decided to test the waters in the cuurent job market so I brushed up my resume, looked in the classifieds for "Help Wanted", "M1A1 Tank Abrams Mechanic", low and behold, I could not find one. I thought to myself, "My Army recruiter lied to me to get me in the Army. So I put my resume on the internet and within days, I was offered several jobs with several big named companies and not for peanuts either. I'm currently making over $70,000 per year thanks to my experience from the military. Its kinda ironic too that my company has also hired, cooks, infantry men and other army job classifications that I did 20 years for. My company says that they cannot get enough people, especially prior service members. The moral of this story is to brush up your resume, and make things happen!

[carthel]

hey id like a security job can you help me im am a 26year old vet and helthy i served as an infanty soldier and also as military police

[Michael Zeiber]

I just recently retired from the military and I was offered 2 jobs while on transition leave. I finally took a contractor job in Iraq working for a security group. I understand after leaving the military everyone wants to stay home, but sometimes you have to go where the money is and right now it's in Iraq and Afghanistan. I'm not saying you have to do the work for another 20 or so yrs but it does pay off alot of bills. Working here for just 3 yrs and i can pay off everything I have to include a 30 yr morgage in only 5-6 yrs. Now doesn't that make you think.

[Jess]

I think it all depends on what kind of jobs you are looking for and are willing to do, how much you have prepared yourself for the civi job market and how much you planned for "life after military." My fiance always wanted to be a police officer; he had his eye on that prize his entire military career, prepared his applications months and months in advance of ETS, networked and researched. The end result: even without working as an MP (he chose not to) he was hired at the local major PD and in the Police academy the day his terminal leave began. All paid. The military won't prepare you for civilian life/work--you have to prepare yourself. The transition is hard--really hard. There were plenty of times he seriously wanted to go back. but he stuck it out and is succeeding. Plus, he encounters former mil everywhere--and so do I. All successful people. Its possible for anyone. Not that you are a deadbeat or anything, but you may have to rethink your strategy.

[Chuck]

I'd love to go back into the reserves, but my life has changed a bit since I was an E-5 in the good old USMCR. Since then, I've picked up a Masters, started work on a second Masters, and have been working nearly 10 years for a top Pharm company in biologics manufacturing. The knowledge I have is very easily transferable back into the military, in a number of capacities, but I can't just quit and go to OCS. Furthermore, I can barley find anything useful out there on the recruiting website that list basic qualifications. Hell, I can tell the military right hear and now that most of the folks you'd give a direct commission to based on certain educational prerequisites would last 3 days in training.

The military should rethink its direct commission programs, as there are a lot of folks like me out there that are still relatively young (early 30's), have enlistments and NCO experience under their belts, and have gained formal industry and grad/undergrad education that could prove invaluable to the military. I'm not saying "give me command if troops in the field", as my background lacks the requisite experience, however, I would say, 'make me an ensign and I'll show the military the latest in chemical/biological containment, filtration, abatement and decon practices.'

Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the military recognizes the bargain they are passing up. As far as the technical/support billets and MOS's go, the armed forces are ignoring a huge pool of ready made officers, who, above all, know what they are missing and want to come back in.