to Corporate

Transitioning from the military will undoubtedly be one of your most challenging tasks. You may feel a myriad of emotions including confusion, humility, frustration, and satisfaction, all in the same day. This is normal. Mike Ragsdale a Navy Veteran, can relate. He says, “I’ve been there too, and will probably be there again at some point. You’re not the first to feel these things, and you definitely won’t be the last. While this doesn’t make it any easier, hopefully it provides comfort.”

The transition process can be confusing and bureaucratic, and it may not even seem fair. However, if you want to transition successfully, you need to understand the private sector and help them understand you. Nix the mindset of, “I don’t owe an explanation to someone who’s never served” or, “I don’t need to prove myself to anyone.” While it’s great to be proud, this mindset will not get you anywhere.

To make your journey smoother, Ragsdale offers three pieces of advice.

1. The private sector has no idea what you’ve done or what you’ve seen.

When you sit across from a recruiter or hiring manager from the private sector, it’s important to recognize that they probably won’t fully understand what you’ve been through. Maybe they read books or watched movies about the military, but they haven’t experienced what you have. They haven’t smelled cordite after a machine gun just cut loose on a target or flown into Ramadi on New Year’s Eve with tracer rounds flying up in the distance. The fine, talcum powder-like dirt that’s everywhere and the feeling of never being clean are things they haven’t had to deal with.

You’ve been through crazy experiences that they can’t completely comprehend, and that’s okay. Just don’t downplay what you’ve been through just because it’s hard to explain. It’s important to own your experiences and recognize that they’re a big deal, even if others don’t fully understand. This leads to his next point.

2. Ask for help.

In the military, you’re taught to gut it out. You’ll figure it out on your own, right? If you ask for help, you’re weak. Flush this from your mentality. Ragsdale urges, “Ask for help. You don’t get bonus points for extra suffering. By doing this, you’re only hurting yourself. There are people out there who would absolutely love to help you figure this out. Trust me.”

Also, networking is not a scary word. There’s no need to suffer in silence when there are people who would be happy to lend a hand. It’s always beneficial to bounce ideas off of others and get their perspective, even if it feels like it might not lead anywhere.

Even when you don’t feel like having yet another conversation with someone, that may or may not go anywhere, DO IT! Because you never know when that will lead to your next “A-HA!” moment or your next opportunity. So, keep reaching out. And if someone doesn’t respond to your meeting request, it could be a red flag indicating what they’re like to work with, or suggest a negative culture. Don’t be afraid to keep asking for help and get as many perspectives as possible.

3. Get creative and translate your experience into the role you want at the company you want.

Unfortunately, companies don’t need someone who can kick doors down, interrogate a terrorist suspect, put a GBU-12 through the window of a house from 30,000 feet, or drive a Navy warship. While these are all incredible things, the companies you’re speaking with likely don’t need these skills. What they do need are the soft and hard skills that you possess that went into these feats, such as attention to detail, project/program management, operations, strategy development and implementation, influencing without authority, and leadership.

So, think about what you’ve done and how that translates into the role you are applying for at the company. Here are some examples: www.bandsofhands.com

1. Let’s say you were a Marine Corps infantry NCO, and you were solely responsible for the care and the care and feeding of all your Marines. You had to man, train, equip, motivate, and mentor. This means you were like a COO running a small business unit! That’s how you translate your experience. You had to make sure everyone had everything they needed to successfully accomplish goals and objectives.

2. What if you were in Intelligence? You were surveying the battlefield to ascertain where the enemy was, what they looked like, and based on your findings, worked to determine attack strategy. This is sales and marketing! You’ve now translated your experience into relatable and desirable skills! Companies use these same concepts to “attack” their competition and increase their market share.

3. Were you in IT? Well, this one is pretty obvious. You’re valuable!

In closing, YOU GOT THIS! Trust your instincts, ask for help, and think! You’ve proven you’re successful in austere environments where the stakes don’t get much higher. If you’ve done it there, you can certainly do it when you’re talking to a hiring manager on a Zoom call in your bedroom with no one shooting at you.

Need help with your transition? Have questions? Link up with Eve on Linked In today. www.linkedin.com/in/eve-nasby-given-hiring-expert