Takes on Business 101 for Transitioning Military

Recently, I took a 3 day course on business for military members that are in senior positions (Staff Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs) and Officers).

Here are some things I have found interesting and noteworthy.

1.  Jobs are like duty stations.  It is normal for people to bounce around every few years until they settle for something they really like.

2.  Companies are organic living beings.  They constantly grow and shrink. 

3.  Employees with tenure with companies can be resentful or threatened by the new skills and talent that you may bring to your new job.

4.  Keep your deployment/sea stories to yourself.  It is like a camping trip that no one went on.  Consider your stories completely unrelatable to those who haven't served.

5.  Large time gaps in your work history can HURT you!  Complete college while you are active duty if you haven't already.  Never stop going to school.  Don't stop until you have reached PhD.

6.  If you start your own business, you need to be different to be competitive.  "Know that the Riches are in the Niches."

7.  If you apply for a government job, while it may be normal to make counter offers, negotiating your step level can be extremely risky since it is typically unknown to hiring managers how to get a new hire bumped up to another level. 

8.  Your social media accounts should not have you in your military garb.  Nobody cares about your medals except for you.

9.  Never stop learning.  Spend an hour each day learning something new.  Boost your vocabulary, learn some new phrases in another language, learn managerial accounting, research your companies website, etc.  There is nothing wrong about making yourself smarter about various things.

10.  Learn how to interview by going to Youtube.  Practice answering basic questions about yourself and be able to translate your military experience into skills worth having at your next job.  Be original in your answers, recruiters are bored of answers that are cliche.

Job Seeking with the Federal Government

Since my last post, I got two notifications from my applications for job positions within the federal government.   I applied for two separate blue collar jobs that at a minimum requires a high school diploma and 2 years of experience and some type of formal schooling or nationally recognized accredited certification.  I applied for the jobs about 5 months ago and since then, I have applied for numerous others and eventually, I got hired by a large private company that has a global presence.

What is interesting about the government jobs is that they are required to inform you of the reason of not getting hired.  Although, I had a valid Bachelor's Degree from a technical school, certification and 20 years of experience, they still told me I was lacking in education and/or experience.  Does this mean that my last post was correct?  Are other people more qualified than me applying for the same job?  That is simply amazing to me and further confirms that the market is over-saturated with qualified candidates.