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I will agree with those on here that elected not to serve their country that starting at the bottom is a must. It is not however a place you must stay. While it is an employer's market for the moment you can take charge of your career. If your employer won't promote you after you have proven yourself, odds are their competitor will. The only loyalty you need have in the civilian market is to yourself and to your familly. What one won't do, another one will.
Thanks for reading, I am a diableed veteran with sezuire disorder and axiety secondary I have been rateed for both. I just finished school for Process Engineering technology and my school is helping with reviewing my resume and networking. I got some interviews from the resume but no response after. i am trying to use any benifiet availible and I communicate with my references.
You don't need to divulge your entire medical history to a potential employer.
I'm a 62 yr old Viet Nam era Vet of the Navy. My rating (Supply) related directly to some of the civilian jobs I aquired when I got out. Of course, back in the 70's and 80's, the State Unemployment Office was a great help to me being a Veteran........I got first priority on interviews for some jobs. That has changed since those years. My last Director/Supervisor told me straught up during a conversation, "I don't care about military experience or higher education"........no wonder him and I "locked horns" once in a while. On the other hand, I did get hired by one supervisor that was my age and had been in the Army. He liked my former military experience!
Anyway, this past June, I went for my SS/Early Retirement because I'd been having so much of a problem getting a job. My unemployment benefit had run out, so I wanted some kind of money coming in for me to help with our expenses. As for my resume, back in the mid 70's thru part of the 90's, I could list my military experience on my resume, along with my active duty dates with no problem.......NOT today! Shoot, during those years I could also list my college attendance with no problem.......again, NOT today! The dates would definitely work against me, being so many years ago. And, if a person puts military service and/or college with no dates down, a BIG "red flag" will go up with employers! So, my full-time working days have come to an end, but I still look for a little part-time job, of which isn't easy to find either!
Now, a little story: When wife and I were relocating to NC, we stopped at a hotel in Tenn.. During the morning breakfast, I talked to a guy that had been in the Marine Corp and decided to get out. He got out as an E-6. He got a civilian job and started going to school at nights. He told me "I got sick of seeing the lack of discipline in the civilian workforce, so I decided to go back into the military". He enlisted in the Army and due to his college credits, got Commissioned to an Officer. He retired from the Army as a full-bird Colonel! But, him telling me about the "lack of discipline", I could definitely relate to!
If a pre-employment Physical form asks about prior surgeries/dates, that has to be listed or "withholding information" can result in termination if found out. I'm a Viet Nam Vet who had ankle surgery in '88, hip replacment in '05 and rotator cuff surgery in '07. Obviously, those surgeries can be potiential health liabilities to a company, depending on the job I applied for.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Datafeed
You don't need to divulge your entire medical history to a potential employer.
A lot of company's won't hire disabled vents because they will perceive you a whiner . IE the the rated disability. Don't wear you disability as an asset, don't even mention it on the application nobody wants to hire a disabled person even though they front as a company that would do so. About the only place that will look at a service connected disability as an asset is the VA. Oh and if you do get hired at the VA then you have to put up with all of the other freeloaders who claim they have a service connected disability. I know 90% are faking it and they are just waiting for the payday. Anyways good luck finding a job and thank you for your service.
So you basically feel the way the veterans feel when they come back from deployments and take jobs that pay them in many instances, less than what they made while on active duty, and offer them no challenges whatsoever.
Speaking from the officer standpoint I would say much of the problem is these service members leave and go to organizations with sub-standard leadership when compared to what they were use to. So instead of having an individual like myself and senior NCOs motivating, coaching, and mentoring them, they go to positions where their supervisor's only means of motivation is the threat of termination.
Backin Henderson - Sub-standard leadership, in my opinion is an opinion. That is another difference. The military functions on "chain of command", "leadership", "subordinance". In the private sector, those are more or less organizational titles. A lot of businesses thrive on employee "ingenuity", "independence", "customer service". I've been told by bosses in the past that one of my best attributes is that they don't have to wonder if I'm going to do my job. A lot of bosses don't want to have to look over your shoulder and micromanage you. They'd rather tend to other duties.
Another civilian perspective about work in general: "motivating, coaching and mentoring:. The only motivation a civilian needs is that if you don't work, then you don't eat (eventually you will be fired). If you want coaching, then you go to college and if you want mentoring, than you ask for it. The other schism is that military gets paid whether they work or not (rightfully and contractually so). The joke amongst friends is that being in military is like being on welfare except you HAVE to go to work. But that's another discussion
Backin Henderson - Sub-standard leadership, in my opinion is an opinion. That is another difference. The military functions on "chain of command", "leadership", "subordinance". In the private sector, those are more or less organizational titles. A lot of businesses thrive on employee "ingenuity", "independence", "customer service". I've been told by bosses in the past that one of my best attributes is that they don't have to wonder if I'm going to do my job. A lot of bosses don't want to have to look over your shoulder and micromanage you. They'd rather tend to other duties.
Another civilian perspective about work in general: "motivating, coaching and mentoring:. The only motivation a civilian needs is that if you don't work, then you don't eat (eventually you will be fired). If you want coaching, then you go to college and if you want mentoring, than you ask for it. The other schism is that military gets paid whether they work or not (rightfully and contractually so). The joke amongst friends is that being in military is like being on welfare except you HAVE to go to work. But that's another discussion
good point....i was enlisted in the navy and understand what you say...if steve jobs was an e-2 he would not be the creative genius that he was...although most people need more discipline than less especially when they are young.
good point....i was enlisted in the navy and understand what you say...if steve jobs was an e-2 he would not be the creative genius that he was...although most people need more discipline than less especially when they are young.
Sam Walton was an Army officer before he was a household name. He could not have built such a well oiled retail machine without having the leadership training and experience he received from the army
Sam Walton was an Army officer before he was a household name. He could not have built such a well oiled retail machine without having the leadership training and experience he received from the army
And there are many more sucedessful corporate enterpenours and busines leader who were never a vet.
The biggest enemy of vets in corporate world is their belief that their military role somehows makes them superior to civilians. Truth is, often time a sucessful military leader is sucessful because of the military structure of rank, fear of discipline, forced to obey, fully structured and virtualy unlimited resources.
Do you reallly think that in the military people act the way they act out of total respect for their commanders? Not so, many do so because they have been trained that they must obey these orders or face discipline not available in the civilian world. Obey the rank is so intrenched in military that leadership is often accomplished by virtue of rank, not respect.
The military is also overly specialized. Our systems engineer performs task that in the US air force, 3 people are tasked with htose duties. there are probably a dozen specialized military jobs that we have roled into one for my position. I can't tell you how many military vets I;ve interviewed and when asked can they perform this or that task, the answer is thats another specialty. there are so many individual task and duties split among so many military that no wonder the budget is so huge, you have 10 people doingt he job one civilian has to do all by themself.
have you ever intervied a ex military and have to try and get them to taslk about themself and their accomplishement instead of the constant we, us, the squad the unit the..... Its alsmiost that they have to function is some banded unit or else they can't find their little place as an individual. And this isn;t just enlisted infantry, i se this with officers just as much if not more. Mission and organization clouds their ability to be innovative and resourcful. Now in a combat or tense enviroment, they can pull things together and lead (so long as they have structure and a mission) but faced with mundane and find your own place in the civilian world, they fall apart because without that structured military apprach, they have no training in being a individual human.
As many know, my employer is essentially a civilian version of a military air transport group, het we have been contracted to do things most asumed the military could do, but we get the contract because we are able to think and adjust under our own authority. If the Captain wants to divert and land at another airfield because of his judgement, nobody int he corporation is going to second guess his decission. he doen;t need anyones permission as he has the full authority. If I reject paying cargo because I suspect something just isn;t right, i dont; need anyones permission ro fill out form XX-123 in triplicates and get someones signature or approval, its my call right there on the spot. I can;t tell you how many times we've been overpaid on contract miklitray shipment because some military officer didn;t have the authority to authorize us loading some cargo we saw going to the same place we were going.
The military is based on structure and command and rank. Don;t think for a second that you can lead if someone has not authorized you to lead. Don;t for a second belive that militray discipline is not without the absolute fear of punishment. And don;t for a second belive that forced unity is common in the civilian workplace.
vets have a tough enough time transitioning to civilian owrld and its a dis-service to them to fill their heads with those hyped tv commericals showing military veterans tossing off their unifirms and ebeing welcomed into civilian employment with open arms because of some fictional portrayal that vetrans possess this great work ethiocs above everyone else. many military people have been lied to fromt heir recruiter all the way to the truth about their missions, give them a fighting chance by being honest with them about their true prospects for civilan employment.
What did Truman say about Ike's potential problems with his presidency?
The military is an excellent experience for four to six years.
I lost a lot of respect for 0-6s and 0-5s after working at ISAF headquarters...many of these full birds would not have made it in the civilian world. that being said, i have never come across a bad flag officer.
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