Tackling the Challenge

I am a former Marine who finished my first term in the air wing last June. I chose to get out, move home, and tackle a new set of challenges.

Like many of my fellow Marines, I thought that life on the outside would be cake, that employers would be lining up to have me, and I would sell my skills to the highest bidder.

Along the way I had to pay strict attention to the new set of rules in a game I haven't played in enough years to forget them. For 5 years, I wore a flight suit for Uncle Sam, jeans and t-shirts on the weekends. I had no clue how to dress for an interview. Sure, I knew I had to look good, but when it came time to actually pick out a shirt, pants etc.. I was totally lost. I took my wife shopping with me and she suggested I point out a gentleman I think is dressed appropriately for an interview. Once we agreed on a style, we simply mimicked it.

Dressing is one thing- actually getting an interview is a whole different animal. I started my search knowing exactly what goals I wanted to accomplish. I targeted employers that I wanted to work for, and I targeted the open jobs within. I spent many many hours perfecting my cover and resume. Probably the most important writing tool is showing your work to other people. We spend so much time trying to perfect our creation that to the casual reader it's conveying something different than what we want. We become blind to its imperfections. After a while, I only needed to change verbage on two or three sentences regardless of where my package was going.

I started my hunt around warehousing/logistics because that's what I did before the Marine Corps. While I was in, I was a helicopter crew chief. I didn't hold the necessary certifications to work on civilian planes so pursuing that avenue was out of the question for the time being. I got a few leads that I respectfully turned down before I wasted any more HR time than necessary. I simply wasn't finding anything close to my (what i thought was) realistic goal of $15 an hour.

I exhausted just about every online job bank on the internet and even resorted to just driving around, writing down companies names, to later go home, research them and their openings only to write more dead end letters. I opened the Sunday paper and sent a letter into a company advertising an open warehouse position. It was close to school, close to home- so I figured why not?

I got a call from a company and I participated in a phone interview. That went well and I proceeded to the face-to-face with my snazzy new outfit. I knew the interviewer would know my background and I used it to my advantage. My "gig" line was straight, my shoes laced left over right, and there wasn't a wrinkle on me anywhere. I knew they were expecting a certain appearance. It worked.

The interview was flawless and I expected an employment offer. A few days passed and I got a phone call from a woman told me I hadthe job if I wanted it, but they were interested in trying me out for something else. I proceeded with a few online screening tests, and another interview. All went well and I landed a job as a Technical Associate at an automation solutions company. This was a shock to me as this job had absolutely nothing to do with my work experience.

What it did have to do with was my proven ability to learn new things. I remember in my interview they asked how long it took for me to learn my helicopter, and if I had a background in aviation before the Marine Corps. There weren't interested in what I knew- they were interested in how well I could learn what they had to teach me. They started me at $39k a year, which more than matched my Sergeant pay, including BAH and all that extra stuff. No nights, no weekends, and very light travel. I'm actually going to the Twin Cities tomorrow for a day, and next month down to Florida for some training.

I've been there for almost 6 months, and it has had its ups and downs. At first I felt inadequate because all of my coworkers are mechanical or electrical engineers. My boss sat me down once and told me that I went to college, just not how the rest of these folks did- in reference to my time in the service.

Another road block was going from a flight suit in a hangar to civiies and a desk. Office life is totally different than anything I was used to before. I survive in that respect because of the fundamentals of professionalism. Sometimes I find it difficult not to drop f-bombs every sentence, but it gets easier with time.

I'm glad I found an employer that values veterans and their potential for success "on the outside." Some added perks for them is that I will never be late, I will never call in sick, and I will give 100 percent in everything I do. These are some core competencies that every employer knows a veteran will deliver.

Don't be afraid of transitioning out, but be warned: It's an entirely different game out here. But, keep true to your core values and you will be just fine. You'd be amazed with what can be accomplished with the most basic interpersonal skills learned in the military. Tact, respect, and bearing. Look people in the eye, give a firm handshake.

Good luck!

(Submitted by Pete Glowinski)

Comments

[Amy S.]

hey thats was some story of yorus. i was actually intrested in joining the military myself, and didnt really think of life in such a view. Hope everything works out for you. And thanks for serving our country.

[Robert Johnson]

About making the transition. You already had the skill set to make it in aviation on the outside. All you had to do was take a copy of your training record to the nearest FAA Adminsitration and request a permission form to take the A&P exam based on your past expierences. They would have given your the need form, signed, or informed you where you needed to strengthen for the test. A very good web site is JSFirm.com to look for aviation jobs.