To get a post-military job, drop the jargon, GI

Eve Tahmincioglu • Profile • E-mail

Stephen Andersen often faced death as a Marine sergeant who was part of a helicopter crew flying above the most dangerous parts of Iraq evacuating wounded. But he found the combat and managerial experience he got in the military was meaningless when it came to finding a job in the good old USA.

When he left the service in June 2006 and decided to find a job, hiring managers would just brush aside his five-year military career, even though he often managed upward of 40 soldiers. All interviewers wanted to talk about, he says, was his brief stint in sales at a fitness club years before he entered the Marines.

“They didn’t look at my credentials as credible,” said Anderson, 26. "They think of the military as just a bunch of guys walking around in uniforms.”

No matter which side you’re on in the political debate over the war, there’s no denying that a regular paycheck and a fulfilling job will help our soldiers make a smoother re-entry into civilian life. That said, there are high hurdles they face when it comes to finding a job, everything from discrimination from prospective employers to not being able to drop the “Yes, Sir” mentalities once they take off their uniforms.

While many reservists will have their jobs kept open for them by employers, there are thousands of individuals who have known only military life and will have a tougher time transitioning. Some entered the military in recent years, right out of high school or college, did their tours and are ready for the unknown civilian work world. Others spent decades in the military and now find themselves over 40 and wondering how to live among the suit set.

About 250,000 active-duty individuals leave the military every year after retirement or one or two deployments, according to Chris Hale with Gl Jobs magazine. “This is a huge source of reliable labor,” he adds.

They are definitely reliable, having had to follow orders and fight for their lives, but can they write a resume, network for a job or master the interview process?

Eddie Trumble Jr. of Atlanta had a lot to learn. He retired from the Army in November and at age 42 found himself in the job market.

“I was nervous,” Trumble admits, even though he was able to get his bachelor's degree and an MBA while still in the service. And he faced a dead end when he searched for jobs online and sent out resumes.

He decided to get some job coaching and took interview skill classes that helped his confidence level, but one of his biggest problems was his resume. “When I tried to pass my resume to people at networking events I could tell, just by the look on their faces, that they really didn’t understand it,” he recalls. The problem: Too much military jargon and not enough details on what he actually did.

He enlisted the help of a retired Army lieutenant colonel who was now an executive at a major corporation and helped him revamp his resume.

The first step was to get rid of the military jargon.

Chief petty officer, for example, sounds impressive, but hiring managers are going to scratch their heads over just about any rank short of general. You need to spell out what your duties were and the leadership responsibilities you had. Use the job title “Manager” on your resume, and include your rank in parenthesis if you must.

For officers who had people under them, talk about military assignments more as projects that you were able to complete as a team. Include information about how you directed underlings. Don’t forget to include details about expensive machinery or computer systems you used or helped maintain.

One of the smartest things Trumble did, according to career experts, was to ask for help and  network in any way he could to polish his image and get connections for possible jobs.

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