Your Leadership Skills are Valuable

After retiring in 2003 I decided that I wanted to try something completely different. I wanted to find out what my talent and skill set would be worth in the open market, and did not want to work for a government contractor.

I applied for a job as a warehouse manager and was hired by a small third party logistics company. They hired me knowing that I had no experience in this field. They were willing to take a chance based on the leadership and management experience aquired during my time in the service.

Also the price was right...I took a $20,000 pay cut compared to my salary while on active duty. For the next three years I sacrificed and learned the ins and outs of the logistics industry. It was like going to boot camp all over again minus the pushups.

After three years I decided to move on to other opportunities and was hired by a larger company to be a mid level manager. I worked hard and was noticed by senior management. Within two months I re ceived my first promotion and pay raise. Six months later I received another promotion and pay raise.

Earlier this year I was promoted again to assistant vice president and run a 500,000 square-foot distribution center. I manage 150 employees and have direct responsibility for profit and loss. The advice I would like to share with all of you who transition to the civilian market is to never under estimate the market value of your military experience and training.

Be particularly eager to sell your leadership and management skills to all potential employers. Don't be afraid to venture into uncharted career paths. The potential rewards for superior performance are much greater than you can imagine if you're willing to work hard, study and have the can do spirit. Yes, there is a lot of luck involved but we create our own luck by being smart, working hard and taking risks.

(Submitted by Bryan Sweeney)