Lessons Learned for Vets

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Tyler Burkholder recently began a SkillBridge program after his service in the Navy. As a loyal follower of the Lessons Learned for Vets Podcast, Tyler has used previous podcast discussions to his advantage while building a strong network on LinkedIn. In this Military Q&A session, Tyler reflects on his transition process and looks ahead to learn how to best serve those who will transition after him. 

How can vets do a better job supporting each other? 

 This very question is why I started the Lessons Learned for Vets Podcast. I wanted to provide a platform for veterans to share their stories. While each veteran has a unique transition journey, the feelings of struggle and victory are universal.
 
 Your story is worth telling and someone will benefit from it. Get involved and give back through service organizations. 

With TAP just 5 days long, what is the best way to get information to those transitioning since not every person sees the value in social media?

Though many veterans are against social media, LinkedIn is different than other platforms. Creating a LI profile is as important as creating your resume and the information you provide is as important as the answers you give during a job interview.

You often use the term focus: For those who lack a focus on what they want to do next, what are options that people could use to assist them in finding that focus?

Two books I recommend are Do What You Are: Discover the Perfect Career for You Through the Secrets of Personality Type and Now, Discover Your Strengths. 

Paint a picture of four concentric circles in your head. 

1 – Values and Preferences. Focus on what you love to do.

2 – Marketability. Does the world need what you have? Is there a market for what you do?

3 – Salary Needs. Can you get paid for what you love?

4 – Transferable skills. Are you good at it? Do you have the required qualifications? 

At the center of these four circles – where they overlap – is your career focus.

>  There is an overlap between Values/Preferences and Marketability. This overlap is your company research where you see if your values align with the market research of the industry to identify the best companies to target.

>  The overlap between Marketability and Salary Needs is where you conduct career and industry research. Does your target role pay what you need, and is it located where you want to live?

>  Between Salary Needs and Transferable Skills, this overlap is where we start to learn to market ourselves, translate our military skills and showcase the value we bring an organization.

>  Lastly, overlap between Transferable Skills and Values/Preferences help ensure you love what you do.

What are some ways for people to regain, or relearn, their worth after being told or shown, or both, that their life means nothing?

First, your life has meaning. You were put on this earth for a purpose. Although you may not understand your purpose yet, you will figure it out. In terms of finding your value in the workplace, I suggest doing an assessment of your transferable skills. Write out a list of all the things you CAN DO. Put a star next to the things you WANT or LIKE to do. Then write a story that showcases a situation where you used that skill to benefit or add value to the Navy. 

Please head to the Lessons Learned for Vets brand new YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/llforvets22 

You can connect with Tyler Burkholder on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyler-burkholder-mba/

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Robert Washington joined the Navy after 9/11 and served for 9 years before separating to pursue a full-time career as a professional MMA fighter. After retiring from professional fighting, he found himself underemployed when he reentered the traditional workforce. By tapping into the very qualities that made him successful in the cage and in uniform, Robert reframed his mindset to launch him into a successful career at Microsoft. In his book, No one owes you a F*ing thing: It’s your responsibility to fight for the life you want, Robert explores how mental toughness can transform your personal and professional life.

Robert attributes his resilience to the adversities he faced beginning as a young child growing up in poverty and dysfunction. He has learned to become a victor, not a victim, of his past. We discuss how character is often built from challenges and how rising from victimhood is a choice.

During his transitions from both the military and MMA fighting, Robert kept his core priorities as his focal point. His goal to keep every decision he made in line with his core priorities has kept him fulfilled both personally and professionally. As a motivational speaker, Robert has noticed that it is the “how” that paralyzes people from taking action toward their goals. Robert discusses the ways in which he keeps moving forward to overcome his tendency to overthink.

When Robert retired from his professional MMA career, he had to find ways to leverage the skills he learned both in the military and in the cage to find meaningful employment. He soon learned that having a degree and a veteran status on a resume wasn’t enough to set himself apart during the job search process. He came to the realization no one owed him anything for his prior service. After experiencing 200 job rejections during a 2-year period, Robert knew he needed a new approach.

Robert talks about how to leverage the skills learned in the military to a future employer. We discuss connecting your story to the organization’s needs and how your prior service is of value to an employer. 

Silence the voice in your head that says your story is not worth telling. 

Robert uses LinkedIn to highlight not only who he is as a career professional but also to showcase his other interests. By contributing content on a regular basis, he hopes to be a resource for transitioning service members navigating the job search process.

Please head to the Lessons Learned for Vets brand new YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/llforvets22 to hear Robert answer a BONUS QUESTION about ways he is helping veterans get into the tech career field.

You can connect with Robert Washington on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/robertwashington83/

You can learn more about his book at https://www.amazon.com/one-owes-cking-thing-responsibility/dp/0999863207

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Joshua Atkinson served 11 years active duty in the US Marine Corps and 2 years in the reserves. He now works as a logistics SME and consultant for Whitney Bradley and Brown and as a Business Development Director for PM-ProLearn, a veteran founded project management training company. 

Josh was not expecting to leave the USMC after 11 years. It was an unexpected process that was full of regret and bitter feelings. As a result, his transition was pretty rough. He wishes that he had started preparing for his post-military career very early in his military service, so that he would have been better prepared. 

Josh discusses hunting versus fishing, or an active versus passive military transition. When you blindly send out your resume and have no idea the type of fish you are trying to catch, this is a very passive approach where you are hoping to just “catch” any job. In the hunting analogy, you are very strategic in your approach of figuring out the “what and why” so you can create a targeted plan. This requires you to figure out your strengths and determine what best fits your personality and your own personal “why” behind what you want to do in your career. 

Josh compares your resume to using the right ammunition when you are hunting. You have to create a resume that is focused on the target or you won’t have the desired outcome.  This will increase your likelihood of success. 

Josh compares being a veteran to being a “foreign orphan.” The military shapes your personality and builds commonality among all of its service member starting with boot camp. If you don’t learn to speak the language of the private sector, you may find yourself as an outsider. It is very important to learn how to effectively communicate with employers in a language that they will understand.

Josh is the co-founder of PM-ProLearn and he discusses the importance of certifications. Certifications can help you improve your marketability against your civilian competitors in the job market. Taking the training for a certification in a new career field can also help you assess whether you enjoy the industry or not. However, it is important that you not become a “certification collector” and you remain targeted in your approach to completing certifications. Gaining certifications helped Josh regain his confidence after his rocky military transition. He sees a certification like a well-fitted suit, they both give you the confidence that you look the part when you go into the job search process. 

Josh advocates for doing your military transition YOUR way. It will be unique to you and you have to take your own approach, feel your own emotions and travel your own path. He advocates treating LinkedIn like a “bar” and advocates for starting your LinkedIn networking by seeking out the people you have things in common with first. Be willing to reach out and take initiative to ask for information or assistance.

Please head to the Lessons Learned for Vets brand new YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/llforvets22 to hear Josh answers a BONUS QUESTION about what he'd do differently if he had to do his military transition over again. 

You can connect with Joshua Atkinson on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuajatkinson/

You can learn more about PM-ProLearn on their website at: https://www.pm-prolearn.com

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Hayden Barnes served 4 years in the Utah National Guard and 7 years as an Army Infantryman. After participating in the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA) in 2021, he landed a great job with an impressive salary at a tech firm in software development management. 

Hayden was told by senior military leaders that he’d never make it as a civilian and should stay in the military. He is very passionate about being a voice of what is possible for junior enlisted servicemembers, especially in the face of the many programs out there that are specifically targeted to senior enlisted, retirees or officers. 

Throughout both his military career and private sector career in tech, he had to make several unplanned pivots and career changes due to many different factors. Part of why he struggled was due, in part, to “imposter syndrome.” Hayden experienced these doubts about whether he was up to par with his peers, many of whom he thought had a better background, more training or intelligence in his comparison with them. He learned that he had to stop looking at others and comparing himself and simply focus on his own journey and situation. 

Fear is often a tool that is used my more senior military leaders and veterans. Instead of arguing or getting upset at those “scare tactics,” focus on achieving success for yourself. Instead of proving them wrong, simply focus on proving yourself right. Consider the fact that those who are often using this fear-based tactic on you are often coming from a place of their own fear, a lack of knowledge or perhaps they are trying to gain or sell something. Before reacting to these fear tactics, stop to consider their motivation.

Hayden discusses some of the transferable skills that he gained in the Army as an infantryman that helped him achieve success in the tech career field. He leveraged his transferable skills, that were not really tech related, as well as what he learned in the Microsoft Software and Systems Academy (MSSA) program. 

We discuss some of Hayden’s biggest challenges in adapting to the private sector such as dealing with a more casual and less structured environment. It has been more of an adaptation than a struggle. Be open to the process of adapting to new cultures and new environments, much like you’ve done throughout your career. 

After starting as a small project manager, Hayden has progressed through the company into higher level, more strategic roles. He sees his military skills as his foundation, his education and training are the reinforcements of that foundation and he built his career from that. You have to believe in those skills as your foundation and it will help you achieve success after the military. 

Hayden goes over what skills he highlighted on his resume. It was not focused on his infantry experience, instead he highlighted his achievements translated into his target industry key words and pain points. Do your research and change the story from military language to corporate terms that your new employers can understand. 

Please head to the Lessons Learned for Vets brand new YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/llforvets22 to hear Hayden answer a BONUS QUESTION about his key to success after his military service.  

You can connect with Hayden Barnes on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/hayden-barnes/

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Olivia Nunn retired from the US Army in 2021 as a Lieutenant Colonel. You may recognize her as the host of the US Army’s Soldier for Life Podcast. Olivia gets honest with us in the podcast about some of the challenges and struggles that she went through during her transition out of the military, many of which have driven her to be a passionate advocate for mental health. 

On the surface her transition was seamless, she landed a great role in marketing that aligned with her background in public affairs and communication. Although Olivia had access to all the best resources available to support her in her military transition, the emotional and mental process of the transition caught her off guard. 

It is important to know that there are tools and education available to service members to support them with dealing with the emotional and mental health struggles that they may face during this process. 

In her transition, Olivia practiced what she preached. She started early and began planning at 24 months before her retirement. She created a LinkedIn presence early on and began to post authentic, branded content. She attended events and built a solid network. When she made her announcement that she was preparing to wrap up her Army career, within a short time she started getting leads on opportunities because of the work she had done to prepare. 

The early parts of the 24-month preparation period need to be spent on research, determining what you want to do in your career after the military, where you want to live and figuring out your personal brand. Once you decide what you want to do in your career, you may find you will need additional training, certification or skills. This extended prep period will give you time to get ready for what is next!

Olivia found herself struggling with mental health issues during her transition. She felt very much alone and was not willing to ask for help and support. She found that the resources available to her during her struggles, especially during the COVID crisis, were seriously lacking and that the system was overtaxed. 

Once you get past the shame and guilt of asking for help, or even needing help, and share how you are feeling, you will find that there are so many people willing to help and just listen to you. Olivia shares her personal story of how she came back from her struggles. She leaned on her faith, prayer, therapy and a handful of friends who she talked through her issues with.

You may be used to being the strong one who supports people, but you have to be willing to reach out your hand and ask for help so that it does not weigh you down. 

Olivia talks about she is constantly figuring out who she is as a person outside of the military. She has been trying new things and has launched her own business. 

Though the Soldier for Life Podcast lives on without Olivia as a host, she is now hosting the Never Stop Serving Podcast for the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). You can find that new podcast series here: https://tinyurl.com/cymjs3w6

You can connect with Olivia Nunn on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/olivia-j-nunn/

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John Axtell retired from the Marine Corps in 2014 where he was a military police officer, infantryman and a recruiter. He and I met many years ago when he went through my TAP class and I helped him see the value of his skills and experience in recruiting to land a role in talent acquisition with an airline. He went to Wells Fargo as a recruiter and is now on the Military Talent Programs team.

John went into TAP with the fear that he was only qualified to go into security or law enforcement. He and I spent some time one-on-one to help him understand how to translate his military skills and leverage his experience into a talent acquisition role. 

John has been in talent acquisition in the private sector for 8 years. He shares “insider” knowledge to get inside the mind of a recruiter. He shares best practices on things like resumes, networking, LinkedIn, the Applicant Tracking Software (ATS) “bots” and interview prep. 

Some highlights:

RESUMES:

- Think about human nature when you are laying out your resume. They naturally read from top to bottom and left to right. Organize and prioritize your resume layout with this in mind. 

- The human eye is drawn to numbers and companies like to see measurables. 

- Resume writing is a science and a skill. 

- Focus on “Return on Investment” statements that show how you can add value. 

BEATING THE ATS:

- Even a large company like Wells Fargo has humans that read the resume. 

- The best way to “beat” the ATS, you need to network and create connections on the inside of the company. Networking can help you understand the company where you are applying and focus on their priorities. 

NETWORKING:

- Networking helps you get a leg up on the competition and get past the ATS in the job search. 

- Networking is all about making connections and having conversations with people who can give you inside information on their company. 

JOB POSTINGS:

- Required qualifications you must have, this is where you can match and mirror the key words in your resume. Desired qualifications are a bonus and you don’t HAVE to have them. When trying to determine if you meet the qualifications, these desired qualifications don’t count against you. 

- At Wells Fargo, if you see “other desired qualifications,” pay special attention to these skills and focus on showcasing them on your resume. 

- Think of the job posting as a “cheat sheet” that you can use to focus and target your resume to the company and the specific role. 

INTERVIEW PREPARATION:

- Know your resume and be able to speak to everything on it. Prepare your STAR statements (Situation, Task, Action, Result) in advance and be prepared to answer behavioral questions with stories and examples.

- Do your research, both on the company and the people who are interviewing you. 

- Be comfortable and be confident! If they invited you to an interview, they've already expressed that they like you as qualified candidate. 

USING LINKEDIN:

- Be strategic with your connections. Focus on quality over quantity. Build a network of people that are engaged and willing to assist you with your search. 

You can connect with John Axtell on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/john-axtell-ii-77887093/

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Andro Infante is wrapping up a successful 20-year career in the U.S. Army. With just a year until his retirement date, Andro is taking an active role in his own transition to ensure success. 

In this Military Q&A session of the podcast, Andro comes to the show with some questions for Lori.

Since recruiters are only spending a few seconds on each resume, what are your thoughts on the summary section, Should I keep it or dump it to use the valuable space?   

While the answer may be yes, there are ways to make your resume stand out from the crowd. 

Listen in as Lori highlights a few strategies to optimize the time that recruiters spend scanning your resume. Learn from Lori how to build a Headline and Tagline to grab the recruiter’s attention and why the content supporting the Headline is so vital.

Most are attracted to big name companies. How do you combat being stuck behind a name brand for a potential employer? Are we setting ourselves for failure focusing on the name? What about start-ups?   

Often it’s the industry giants that garner the most attention for being military-friendly for transitioning service members and veterans. During the job search process, don’t discount smaller companies or startups. 

What are some questions to ask recruiters and hiring managers to decipher what kind of culture their organization has?   

We discuss how to assess what environment and culture is best and discuss the positive and negative of both small and large companies.

If you are someone who doesn’t know what work environment is the best option for you, start doing research on yourself! Take advantage of self-assessments and books such as Do What You Are and websites such as www.16personalities.com. Keep all your options open during your job search.

When you’ve landed the interview, come prepared with 6-8 questions. Listen to Lori as she speaks into how to research a company before interview day. She’ll guide you with questions to ask during the interview that will help you decide if the culture is a good fit.

Why do the majority of veterans leave their first job after the military within 6-12 months? 

While the answer is complex, Lori dives into several reasons as well as the mindset of so many transitioning service members, especially retirees. Learn how to weigh staying versus leaving a job and more importantly learn the value of choosing a job wisely and strategically and not accepting one out of fear. 

What is a good time frame to stay in a position before looking into applying within or outside the organization without it damaging your “resume” and making it seem like you are a “job hopper?”

Make strategic decisions about your career. While you CAN leave when you want to, it is important to make careful decisions – both about accepting a role and leaving a role. 

Andro ends this podcast on how to make real impact with your networking using LinkedIn to announce your job search. Andro used a great video that clearly communicated what he was seeking. We go through some steps on how to do this effectively. Check out the LinkedIn post and connect with Andro here: https://tinyurl.com/2p9xbufd 

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Rich Comitz retired as a LTC from the US Army in 2019 and wrapped up his career as a Professor at the US Military Academy at West Point. After working in higher education for just over 2 years, Rich took on the role of Senior Vice President of American Corporate Partners, or ACP, at the end of 2021. 

It is believed that officers, especially those like Rich with advanced degrees, slide right into new roles in their post-military career with no issues. That is not always the case. No matter your rank, no matter your education level and experience, every veteran faces struggles and has some level of anxiety about the transition. 

Rich is here to talk about his process and share the importance of mentorship as you face the uncertainty of the post-military phase of your career. 

Rich struggled early in his transition, he believes that one the biggest issues was his ability to translate his experience and a lack of understanding of the industry he was targeting were key reasons for his struggles in the job search. He took a step back in his career, but he was quickly promoted after landing a role in higher education. 

He also failed to network during his transition planning process. He has learned, especially through his work at ACP, just how important networking is to the job search process. Networking, mentorship and informational interviews can help you practice how to talk about your military experience and how to translate it so that anyone can understand. 

Rich used the “spray and pray” method – a particularly ineffective job search method that can quickly burn you out on the job search. He applied to at least 200 jobs during his transition. He was unfocused in his search and was using the same approach to each position without much tailoring of his resume. He applied without knowing the level of compensation. Though he had a few interviews, many of them offered a salary far below what he was seeking. 

If you are truly taking the most effective targeted and focused approach to the job search, which Lori details in the episode, then you really should only have time to apply to 5-10 jobs per week. However, you will get much better results from sending out fewer high-quality replies to a targeted job search.

Rich gives us an overview of American Corporate Partners (ACP), a national non-profit organization that provides one-on-one customized mentorship partnering for a full year. The mentee can dictate what industry and what level at which they’d like to receive a mentor. They meet for a minimum of an hour each month for a full year. Start with the ACP program within the last year of your service to help you prepare for the transition, but also to prepare for your first few months on the job once you land a role. 

Go to ACP’s website to take advantage of this amazing FREE service and all that their mentors can help you with. 

You can connect with Rich Comitz on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/richard-comitz

You can follow American Corporate Partners on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/american-corporate-partners/

Learn more about ACP on their website at www.acp-usa.org

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This episode features husband and wife duo Scott Tucker and Jen Amos. Scott served 10 years in the US Army as an officer. Scott founded US VetWealth in January of 2012, offering financial services for career military families. Jen joined the business in 2016 as the Director of Community Relations. She's also the host of the award-winning podcast, Holding Down the Fort.

Scott had always been interested in finance and he took a role in private wealth management right out of the military. The industry wasn’t what he thought it would be, and he started looking into entrepreneurship. He set out to redefine the industry and help people capitalize on their finances to live the life they’ve always wanted.

Jen is a Gold Star daughter. She has seen the ramifications of losing her father when she was 10 years old when her family was not financially prepared. Her father served in the US Navy and was on the USS Kitty Hawk and in October of 1988 he was missing at sea. Though no one know what happened and suicide was suspected, his death was listed as unknown so that her family could still receive benefits. 

She never discussed finances with her mother growing up. However, her mother was struggling financially and did not share this with her children. Part of what Jen does at US Vet Wealth is educating families in their benefits options, changing the way they view life insurance and teach them how to actively manage their money. 

One of the focuses of US VetWealth is educating service members and their families on alternatives to the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). You can find more information about US VetWealth and their free resources at www.usvetwealth.com and you can find and subscribe to their YouTube channel at USVW TV - YouTube.

One of the biggest lessons that Scott learned during his transition comes from one of his favorite books, The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz. One of those agreements was “be impeccable with your word.” What he learned was that he had integrity and honesty with everyone he interacted with. But he talks about the importance of being honest with YOURSELF. Ask yourself questions like are you happy, who are you and be honest with yourself. This is one of the things he discusses in his book “Veteran Wealth Secrets” which you can find on Amazon at Amazon.com: Veteran Wealth Secrets: The Post-Military Playbook for Obtaining Autonomy and Financial Control in the Modern Economy eBook : Tucker, Scott R.: Kindle Store.

The episode ends with Jen talking about finances and benefits. She recommends having an open honest conversation with your spouse and family about the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). Educate yourself on the options that are available to you, instead of just falling in line with what everyone else is doing. Don’t think about it just for yourself and your family, think about the financial legacy you are leaving behind for the generations in your family. You can learn more at www.thespousebenefitplan.com. They created this program to honor the military spouse and their importance in the decision-making process about benefits programs that are selected at the end of your military service. 

You can connect with Jen Amos at https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenamos/ and Scott Tucker at  https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottrtucker/

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Michael Klemmer retired from the US Army as an officer. He had a shortened 9-month time frame for his transition which really put the pressure on, especially when COVID added an extra wrinkle to the process. He found some of the provided programs to be lacking so he started looking for other resources such as LinkedIn, American Corporate Partners, SkillBridge and the COMMIT Foundation. He decided to take advantage of as many resources as possible. 

He thought he would be able to use his 9-month timeframe to focus on getting a job. After his first interview, which he bombed, he knew that he needed more time to prepare. After gaining a 6-month extension due to COVID, he used that time to actively pursue his own SkillBridge opportunity. 

His 4-month SkillBridge opportunity gave him so much value. He was able to decompress from his Army service and gain insight into a new industry. Though he didn’t land in a permanent role with the company where he did a SkillBridge, it was still very valuable. It helped him to network, meet new people and better assess his goals. He landed a position that leverages his expertise in contracting and acquisitions. 

One of his biggest struggles during the transition was decompressing from the military. He recommends the COMMIT Foundation program to help senior leaders to deinstitutionalize themselves and learn who they are as people outside of the military, to separate Mike from Major Klemmer. Spending time to figure out who you are apart from the military will help smooth the military transition process. 

Mike is not an extroverted person by nature, but he really stresses the importance of having conversations and meeting new people to expand your network. He used LinkedIn to help bridge the gap with people he didn’t know or make connections. LinkedIn allows you to start virtually to build relationships before you meet face-to-face with people. If you want to do something new, you may have to try new things that are outside of your comfort zone. 

In the last year, Mike launched Aerial Resupply Coffee company. Coffee has always been a big part of his career in the Army and he wanted to create a product and company that would bring people together and continue to build community and start conversations. He has been detailing his entrepreneurial journey on LinkedIn and you can follow along to learn more about the lessons he has learned along the way. A few of his key business launch lessons:

-  There is a point where you have to stop planning and start doing. You may never be perfectly ready, but you can start and then fix the problems as they come along. Once he pushed the start button, everything became easier.

-  He gave himself permission to make mistakes and learn from them along the way.

-  By sharing his journey with the public on social media, he has opened so many doors and gained the support of countless people. 

You can visit www.aerialresupplycoffee.com. My favorite is his Christmas Kitty blend, which coincidentally is back in the store for one week, the same week this episode is being released. Give it a try, you won’t regret it!

You can connect with Michael Klemmer at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelklemmer/

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