Lessons Learned for Vets

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Eric Crist is an active duty Army Sergeant Major who will wrap up his career as a Command Career Counselor with the Army within the next few years. He is here to ask some questions about the transition process. 

Question 1: What military to civilian experience gaps did I see during my time teaching the TAP program and during my 15+ years supporting veterans?

Some of the common experience gaps include:

-          Profit and Loss. Though you don’t deal with P&L in the military, you don’t always have unlimited resources. To overcome this experience gap, focus on process improvements using Lean Six Sigma concepts. While you are not responsible for the bottom-line P&L, demonstrate that you have had budgetary responsibility and your focus on process improvements to save costs and improve performance.

-          Project Management: most people in the military have project management experience, but not everyone in the military is a project manager. You may need additional knowledge and training to be a project manager. You can make this transition, but you have to translate your skills and experience into relatable terms.

-          Leadership: The military does invest in leadership training, but that does not mean that you are a leadership expert in the private sector. Leading people in the military is very different than leading civilians. You have to recognize the differences in leadership style to achieve success. 

Question 2: When should service members start preparing a resume?

The most important part of writing a resume is figuring out what type of job or career field you want to target with your resume. As soon as you know what you want to target, then it is time to get started on writing that resume. Start with figuring out what you want to do, conducting informational interviews and then researching the requirements of that career field. Taking time to do this will make writing your resume and translating your military skills into your new career field. 

Question 3: How can podcasts or digital platforms help service members during their transition process?

Use digital resources such as podcasts and online learning tools to learn at your own pace and take advantage of downtime or commute time to expand your knowledge. There are many different podcast resources out there and you should listen to them all. Additionally, you get a year of LinkedIn Premium as a veteran, which comes with free access to LinkedIn Learning tools. 

However important digital platforms are to your transition, try to go beyond digital. Get out and engage with people face-to-face, whether remote or digital, so that you make strong, personalized connection. 

Question 4: What would you say is the main struggle service members have during the transitioning process?

This is a question I have addressed in several episodes, but my main list is lack of focus, an unwillingness to take credit for your accomplishments and lack of ability or willingness to translate your military terminology. I turn this question around and ask it of Eric as a Command Career Counselor. 

You can connect with Eric Crist on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/eric-crist-rblp-t-0888539b/

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When Tom Zacher retired from the US Navy in November of 2019, he very carefully planned out all the steps of his transition. 

He had no idea there were companies that help you with your resume, so he posted his resume on LinkedIn and asked for advice. After getting a big response with many conflicting thoughts on what was right for his resume, he was a little overwhelmed. We discussed the importance of asking for the strategic “why” behind any resume advice. If they can’t give you a strategic reason, then it is likely just an opinion and you may want to take that for what it’s worth. My recommendation is to pick one or two resume experts and stick with their thoughts so that you don’t make yourself crazy.

You can download the Military Resume Self-inspection Checklist for free at www.nextforvets.com to give you a starting point when evaluating your resume. 

Tom admits that he didn’t follow the “rules” of targeting his resume. He was just sending the same resume to every job posting, regardless of the company and the responsibilities of the role. He didn’t do everything perfect and he is still employed. He could have expedited the process and saved himself some stress if he had followed the rules. However, it is important to know that you don’t have to do everything perfect to have success.

Tom's SkillBridge experience was less than ideal. It was a remote role with little engagement and not much to do or learn. Looking back, Tom knows there are things he could have done differently to avoid the negative experience of his SkillBridge. He admits that he put all his “eggs” in one basket and didn’t diversify his SkillBridge applications. He took the first thing that was offered and he knows now that he could have improved his options by opening up his search.

Veterans are loyal by nature, but there is nothing wrong with being your own career manager, looking out for your best interests and keeping your options open. Tom walks us through some of the things you might consider and weigh – in addition to annual salary – while evaluating multiple job offers. 

Tom is happily employed, but he is still very active on LinkedIn building and engaging with his network. One of the common mistakes job seekers make is that they disappear from LinkedIn after they land their job. However, when they need their network again, it has gone cold. LinkedIn is a great place to keep your industry knowledge current. It is also a great way to give back and help others by staying engaged on LinkedIn. 

Don’t overcomplicate the transition. Be determined, be consistent and be resourceful, and you can make things happen for yourself. You have to be willing to take action on your ideas!

At the beginning of the episode, I gave an update on Charlan Rieve and her son 8-year-old Rowan. Unfortunately, the brain tumor that was removed last year turned out to be cancerous. He is currently going through chemotherapy. If you say prayers, please send some their way. If not, just send them some positive thoughts. Last year, I launched a GoFundMe fundraiser that fell just short of our goal to reach $10,000 to help offset some medical costs and help Charlan while she can’t work much. If you’d like to help us reach that final goal, you can find the fundraiser at https://gofund.me/17dbe390.

Tom manages a YouTube channel, #tomazcher Veterans Advice, you can subscribe to his channel and find his videos here: www.youtube.com/channel/UCN9WCIjFW1vtr9y-dO2EjrQ

You can join his LinkedIn group #tomzacher Veterans Advice at: www.linkedin.com/groups/12532306/

You can connect with Tom Zacher on LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tom-zacher357/

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Samira Searcy retired from the US Army in 2020. She went from a SkillBridge internship into a role before her final out-processing date. Unfortunately, before she was even officially retired from the military, she was laid off from her position. After taking a pause to recover from that terrible experience, she quickly got back in the game.

Samira talks about how she made the big decision to leave the military. She evaluated herself physically – could she still meet the physical requirements and show up with her “A” game every day. She evaluated her family situation and assessed if she was still as committed. 

She followed the transition checklist to the letter. Unfortunately, the COVID situation delayed her out-processing for 6 more months and gave her some time to do market research and take advantage of the SkillBridge program. It turned out to work perfectly for her timing and she was offered a full-time role. As she was settling into the role, she was let go from the company.

Her next position was with an employer who she had never heard of before. After a chance meeting at a Vets2Industry networking event the day after she was let go, she met her soon-to-be boss who created a position just for her. Her employer brought her in to create Aston Carter’s military and veteran recruiting program after spending a bit of time getting to know her in a follow up conversation. 

Samira shares how she made a connection with her future boss. She trusted her network, she picked herself up off the floor after a huge setback and she went into the networking event with an open mind, a positive mindset and represented herself honestly and authentically in that networking event. Her future employer saw something special in her and believed in her ability to build their military and veteran recruiting programs.

Samira is the host of “On the Bounce” podcast, which is focused on resilience. She talks about how she tapped into her own resilience to bounce back from losing that first role. She trusted in her skills. Losing her first job didn’t change her skills or her value as an employee. Losing the first job didn’t make her less capable, she was just in the wrong position. She looked at what lessons she could learn from the experience and then moved on to the next role. Bad things might happen in your career, you might need to quit, you might get laid off or even let go. That doesn’t mean YOU are a failure. How you react to those bumps in the road will determine your future path.

Samira has learned that she does not have all the knowledge she needs to be effective and remain relevant in her role. She has dived in to conducting research, gaining knowledge and building her skills. Skills gaps don’t mean you are not a good candidate, you just have to be willing to do the work to fill those gaps and keep yourself relevant. It doesn’t need to feel like a threat, you just have to get to work and gain the knowledge you need to be successful. You must take ownership of your own career once you leave the military.

Samira compares the military transition with planning a long road trip. You prepare the basic plan of the journey and then you find yourself deciding that the road trip is taking too long or wearing on you and start being more reactive instead of following the plan. The same goes for transition, you can make a choice to be negative, filled with stress and anxiety or you can welcome those bumps, shifts and changes and learn to enjoy the journey and know that you are still moving toward the end goal. Your positive mindset will help you deal with those obstacles. It’s not easy, but it’s doable and what is on the next side will be worth the journey. 

You can connect with Samira Search at https://www.linkedin.com/in/samira-searcy/

You can find On the Bounce Podcast at https://onthebounce.buzzsprout.com

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This week’s episode is a little bit different as our guest Michael McCoy is still serving in the Tennessee Army National Guard. He has been in talent acquisition, specifically seeking veteran and military candidates, first for Premise Health and now for Verizon. 

Mike is here as an experienced talent acquisition professional to pull back the curtain and give a behind-the-scenes look at the recruiting process from his point of view. Buckle up, this is a jam-packed episode that you may need to listen to more than once. 

This episode covers a diverse array of job search topics. Here are some highlights:

LABOR MARKET RESEARCH:

It's important to research what you want to do as well as where you want to live. We share some resources such as CBRE (https://www.cbre.us/real-estate-services/occupier/labor-analytics), The Business Journal (https://www.bizjournals.com) and The Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.bls.gov). Mike advocates for something as simple as Google Maps to find local businesses in the industry where you want to work in your target location. 

 RESUME WRITING:

Don’t forget to talk about your personal impact when you write your resume. Don’t just list the amount of equipment you managed, talk about what you achieved while managing that equipment.  

Look at every job posting as a problem. Your resume is not a work history, it is proof of your ability to solve the employer’s problems or fulfill their needs. You will have more success sending targeted, focused resumes for each company and job posting instead of sending the same resume to everyone. 

APPLICANT TRACKING SYSTEM (ATS) SOFTWARE:

Mike gets real about how he has used the ATS to screen and sort candidates. No, he is not letting a computer make his hiring decisions. However, he gives some great tips on ensuring your resume goes into the ATS and is searchable for the job for which you apply as well as future openings. 

INTERVIEWING:

Clear and concise communication is key. When answering interview questions, try to keep your answer to 2-4 minutes max. If you talk longer than that, you are likely giving too much information. Don’t talk yourself out a job in the interview. 

NETWORKING:

Mike founded LinkedIn Music City, a local military transition and veteran networking group based in Nashville, TN in 2018 and he offers some great advice on how to successfully navigate both in-person and virtual networking events. 

You can connect with Michael McCoy at https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelsmccoy/

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Mark Brock had a relatively smooth transition after retiring from the US Army as a Command Sergeant Major. Though he landed a SkillBridge and then a great job pretty quickly, he discovered that the struggles of the military transition were much bigger than landing a job. 

 He vowed that he would wait until he had 2 years of experience in the private sector before he started sharing advice. However, his first piece of advice was a list of 10 lessons – many of them not even related to the job search – that prompted me to reach out to him so he could share those lessons with my listeners here on the show. 

You will find Mark’s no B.S. approach to advice to be very refreshing and candid. Here is an overview of Mark’s list:

1.      Get over yourself. Employers call BS on that flowery resume that depicts all your scope and responsibility as a Senior Leader. Tailor the resume for the position and be reasonable in your achievements.

2.      Civilians do not understand the military structure or lingo. To them a Corps CSM is the same as a Corps Armorer. I mean honestly, an Armorer in Corps probably works harder than the CSM anyway.

3.      Find a couple of hobbies to challenge yourself physically and mentally that you will have fun doing. For me it was Brazilian Jujitsu and learning how to play the guitar. I literally ran 2 times in all of 2021.

4.      Thanks to social media it is easier to maintain friendships. Camaraderie will be found at your new job, gym, or neighborhood. You will assimilate.

5.      Catch up with the lost family time. You rowed hard for years, now it’s time to put them first.

6.      Don’t do anything you don’t want to do.

7.      Grow your hair, grow a beard, pierce your ears, do whatever you want to do within the limits of your chosen profession.

8.      Take your health serious, you are in worse shape than you realize. It will all come out when you retire, trust me…

These next two were added by someone else before they were published, but I think they are valid points so let’s go through them together

9.      Unless you go into public service, such as law enforcement, healthcare, social work, etc., you will probably not so something as "meaningful" to society as military service. Be OK with making your meaning outside of your chosen profession - your faith, your family, your volunteer service, and your hobbies. This is Ok. You've paid your debt to society many times over. (Added by Chris Morton)

10.  And since #9 is true, relax. You're probably not saving babies every day. Most bad decisions in business cost people that already have made a couple of bucks. They'll be all right. (Added by Chris Morton)

You can connect with Mark Brock at https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-brock/

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We are back this week for Part 2 with Tyrone Hewitt. This is where Tyrone’s in-depth knowledge truly shines, in the topic of veteran benefits. 

There are thousands of Veteran Service Organizations (VSOs) and a diverse array of veteran benefits. Much like a Las Vegas buffet, where you likely won’t eat one of everything, you don’t need to use all the resources that are available to you. Tyrone gives some insight into how to determine which resources are best for you.

 -          Start with your local transition center to assess what courses are available to you. Speak with your transition rep to assess your needs and determine what resources you can tap into.

-          Ensure your resources align with your personal and career goals. Where you are in your career and where you want to go next will determine what resources will be best suited for your goals and career path.

-          Don’t overload yourself and cause additional stress by trying to use all the resources, gain all the certifications and education – even if they are not what is best for you. 

-          Don’t feel like you have to follow the same transition path as others. Don’t fall victim to the “comparison killer.” Own your transition and make it work for your unique situation. 

Remember that your resume should be targeted and focused. Too many different certifications and credentials can make you look unfocused. Align your resume content with your career path.

Tyrone goes through some of the commonly overlooked veteran benefits such as disability and education. He talks about the difference between compensated and non-compensated disability benefits. Pursuing the service-connected disability benefits can pay dividends, both through compensation and healthcare benefits down the road. 

 Remember there are both federal benefits such as the VA as well as state benefits such as tax benefits and saving on other state-related fees. Research the state where you want to live to determine what benefits are offered as part of your decision making process of where you want to live after your military career. 

 Tyrone goes through some key resources:

 SkillBridge programs: You must communicate with the command staff who will have to approve your paperwork early in the process and create a staffing plan to cover your responsibilities while you will be gone to do SkillBridge. Take the initiative to handle this issue and remove this obstacle before it arises.

 Employment: Just because you are a senior military leader and/or have a degree, you are not guaranteed a job. You will have to work to find the right place for your skills and your background. Also, just because you have always been in the same career field in the military, you don’t have to stay in that same career field. 

 VA Disability Claim: You must be prepared and you have to get seen by a doctor for your disability claim. There is a diverse array of disabilities that can be service connected, but you will never know if you don’t see a doctor, get your issues documented and file a disability claim. You don’t have to do your claim alone, there are several VSOs that will help you successfully navigate this process.

You can connect with Tyrone Hewitt on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyrone-hewitt-mhs/

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Tyrone Hewitt retired from the US Navy after a career that was primarily focused in aviation maintenance. He knew when he left the Navy, he wanted to change directions. He started planning, researching, doing informational interviews and job shadowing early in his planning process. He soon found out that elementary education was not the right path for him.

He recommends taking time to do in-depth research on your career field BEFORE you pursue education, so you don’t waste your time and education resources to get a degree in an area where you don’t want to work. He decided to work in the transition space, supporting and educating through the Transition Assistance Program. 

He discovered first-hand just how stressful the transition process and there are so many more facets of a transition out of the military than many realize. It is much more than just landing a job and getting the paycheck. Starting early, having a plan, taking advantage of your resources and opening lines of communication with your family are all important parts of smoothing the transition process.

He is a big advocate for engaging your spouse in all aspects of the transition. Invite them to the transition classes, ensure they get a chance to ask their questions and offer their input. It is important that expectations of everyone are understood so that you don’t add to the stress of the transition process. 

Tyrone addresses some common transition questions he receives such as “what is networking?” and “who should I network with?” He simplifies networking as just a conversation and discusses how you can network with anyone anywhere while doing anything. You must branch out of your current network if you want to expand your knowledge and opportunities. 

We also discuss WHEN you should start the networking and application process. We also talk about the value of networking to expand how far out you can actively compete for positions. 

Tyrone talks a lot about the VA disability process on LinkedIn and he gives us some insider information on this process. He addresses the fact that veterans tend to normalize their disabilities and ignore issues that they should have addressed and get compensated for. He thought it was normal to live on Motrin and coffee and deal with daily pain. 

Instead of just living with these issues as a veteran, consider taking advantage of the resources and benefits that are available to you through the VA. If you raised your hand and said the oath of service to your country, this is something that you are entitled to. The VA health care process is long term, and you should look at the future of taking care of yourself.

Tyrone calls himself the TransitionNerd because he is dedicated to researching and gaining knowledge so he is available to answer questions and provide support to all veterans on all issues. 

Come back next week for Part 2 with Tyrone Hewitt!

You can connect with Tyrone Hewitt on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tyrone-hewitt-mhs/

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Although Kasie Valenti originally intended to make a career of the military, but after 8 years of service as an officer in the US Army, her career focus changed as her life changed. This focus of a long-term career in the military took her away from even thinking about or planning for a private sector career after the military. 

She worked right up until the end of her military career, so when it came time to transition she struggled to figure out where she fit in the private sector. She felt a lot of shame and guilt about leaving the military and felt that by planning for life after the military, she was being dishonest and disloyal to the military.

This is where FITFO comes in. The acronym stands for “figure it the F@*K out.” Many transitioning service members take the FITFO approach, which is useful in the military where you have to adapt, be resourceful and figure things out. The transition is not the time to FITFO. There are mentors, resources and time available to you to help you navigate this complex process. Though you will likely figure it out, you will struggle and stumble more than if you take the time and make the effort to proactively prepare.

Kasie has learned that just because you were in one career field, that doesn’t mean you have to continue in that field after the military. She advocates thinking about your post-military career early in your military career, to really think through what you want to do after the military, you can make efforts to prepare yourself during your active duty military career. Don’t feel guilty about taking the time and using the resources to focus on yourself and your career after the military. 

Kasie experienced having a child and being a mother both as an active duty service member and as a veteran. She talks about the differences that she experienced. Kasie brings a unique perspective to the transition process as a veteran, a separatee and a military spouse and mother working overseas.

 Kasie talks about Veterans Yoga Project, another resource available to support you during transition with mindful resilience. These mind body tools are available to active duty service members, veterans and military spouses to help you manage, cope and build their resilience. You can use the website or their brand new app. 

Connect with Kasie Valenti at https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasie-valenti/

You can learn more about the Veterans Yoga Project at https://veteransyogaproject.org

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Michael Hunter served 26 years in the US Army and just retired at the end of 2021. He now works as a Military Liaison for Aligned Education Foundation, a 501(c)3 that educates and supports active duty military, veterans, spouses and real estate agents in the VA home loan benefit.

Though Mike initially intended to pursue a high-salary career, it was a conversation with someone about his top priorities that totally changed the course of his career. Once he and his wife discussed their personal priorities, discovering that money wasn’t in either of their top 3 priorities, he changed direction. Taking the time to prepare, assess yourself and define your family’s priorities ensures you won’t feel as pressured to take the first job that is offered.

Buying a home is just one more stressor that you may need to deal with during the military transition process and Mike is here to talk about how to better prepare for and navigate this process. He now works with Aligned Education Foundation, founded by veterans who had success in the mortgage industry, but decided to launch a non-profit that focuses on helping other veterans learn how to optimize their VA home loan benefits. The fact that almost 85% of veterans do not use the VA home loan benefit due to myths, misinformation and uninformed mortgage lenders and realtors. 

You can find information on the educational seminars and services that Aligned Education Foundation offers at https://alignededu.org. 

Mike offers some tips about preparing yourself financially for the transition process. Taking care of these steps give you the freedom to choose what you want instead of feeling forced to take “just a job.”

- It is recommended that you save up to 6 months’ worth of savings to cover your bills. 

- Remember there is often a delay between when your military paycheck ends and your pension or disability check starts.

- Do everything you can to clear out your debt, especially revolving debt such as credit cards. 

- Carefully research the job market in the area where you want to live. 

- Do your research and look at all of your benefits and life insurance options. Take care of the life insurance process before you receive your disability designation, or you might find yourself uninsurable. 

Mike offers some home buying tips:

- Find a realtor that you trust, that has your interest at heart. Ask for referrals from friends and family.

- Find a veteran-friendly lender and get pre-approved. Pull your certificate of eligibility – Aligned Education Foundation can teach you to read this information. 

- Be advised, the VA has no credit score requirement. If you are declined, that is the lender’s choice, not the VA. 

- Once you get the first quote, you have 10-15 days to gather competitive offers from other lenders. Shop around and make them work to earn your business, all the way through final approval, that gives you the best deal for you and your family. 

- Start the transition planning process early. Figure out what you want to do and where you want to live as soon as possible to ease this process.

Connect with Michael Hunter at www.linkedin.com/in/michael-hunter-cpd/

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Have you ever looked at someone’s military transition success and thought to yourself, they are so lucky? After retiring from the USAF as a Chief Master Sergeant, Rich Pelletier seemingly had an easy transition. 

In his own words, from the outside it looks like he rode a unicorn over a rainbow and landed in a pot of gold in a field of four leaf clovers. In reality, he really put in the work behind the scenes and truly MADE his own luck.

Rich landed at Amazon as an Operations Manager, and he shares candidly about his experience there and the company culture. If Amazon is a company you are considering, tune in to hear his thoughts. 

Rich and I taught a Lessons Learned for military transition at Luke Air Force Base back in 2021 where we shared our top 3 lessons for success in the military transition process. 

Here are Rich’s top 3 lessons:

- Don’t allow your previous rank or role determine where you go next. Rich was in the armament career field in the USAF, but he focused on the relevant leadership, communication and employee development skills to land his role at Amazon. In fact, he was offered a position higher than the one he interviewed for originally.

- He started off by communicating with his family to ensure everyone was on board with the actual retirement from the military the location where they wanted to live. Rich shares how he evaluated the 4 job offers he received during his interview process, which you will find very useful.

- Rich was intentional about building a network on LinkedIn and started networking strategically with people in the industry and organizations where he wanted to work. He also gained support strategically where he didn’t have expertise, such as resume writing.

Here are my top 3 lessons:

- Find your focus! This one won’t be much of a surprise to anyone who has listened to me talk about the transition process. Listen in to why this is what I consider the MOST important first step in your military transition. 

 - Don’t be afraid to self-market. You are the only one that knows your value and you have to be willing to take ownership and take credit of what role YOU played in your accomplishments in the military. 

- Network with purpose. We discuss who to connect with, where to network and how to approach your networking efforts in a strategic manner. Rich’s example of how to post your career focus on LinkedIn to gain focused networking connections is PURE GOLD!

 You can connect with Rich on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/richardpelletier/

 You can sign up for a FREE mentorship session with Rich on Veterati at www.veterati.com

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