May 2015 |
Transition-e-news Volume 3 Issue 106 |
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Transition Insight
"All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence, and then success is sure".
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Your Annual Check-up!
© Tom Wolfe, author; all rights reserved; excerpts from Out of Uniform:
Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition; used with the permission of the author and publisher,
www.potomacbooksinc.com.
Performing planned or scheduled maintenance is part of the daily routine for many military personnel. We learn very quickly that proper and timely upkeep on equipment and systems will go a long way to reduce downtime. It also leads to stellar scores on those pesky operational readiness inspections. A funny thing happens when we focus on and discover the value of planned maintenance-it carries over to our personal lives. Getting your car's oil changed every 3000 miles or so. Draining those garden hoses before the first frost of the winter. Scheduling those annual physicals. Getting a flu shot in the fall. Marking those important dates on your calendar well in advance of the event. Swapping out those smoke detector batteries? See what I mean? Although you are probably very good at applying the principals of planned maintenance in your military occupation and your personal life, some of you may have neglected to do so in another critical application-career transition. Preparing for and accomplishing a successful military to civilian (M2C) career transition requires hours of physical and mental preparedness. No matter how much we do to get ready for and execute this process, mistakes and disappointment are inevitable. Successful job hunting and interviewing is more than just preparation and perseverance, it is also about control. If you fail an interview because of something you could have controlled, that is called stupid. If you fail for reasons out of your control, that is called life. Since your degree of operational readiness is within your control, you must pay attention to this critical mission. Let's say that you were M2C mission ready in 2014. Does that same status apply in 2015? Maybe yes, maybe no. Now is a great time to make sure the answer is yes. Here are ten tips for your transition check-up.
In summary, simply apply the concept of the Five P's to your M2C career transition-prior planning prevents poor performance-to enhance your readiness for success. GOOD HUNTING! © 2015; Tom Wolfe, is an author, columnist, career coach, veteran, and an expert in the field of military-to-civilian career transition. During his career he assisted thousands of service members in their searches for employment, placing more than 3000 in their new jobs. Prior to civilian life, he graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy and served as a surface warfare officer. He teaches transition courses, gives seminars on career and job change, writes about the career transition process, and continues to counsel current and former military personnel. His book, Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition, was published by Potomac Books in 2011. Tom lives on the North Carolina coast with his wife, Julie, and their Chesapeake Bay retriever, Maggie. |
The Power of a Strong ResumeReprinted with permission from HRNasty.com How much effort did you put into your last resume? Are you proud of your resume or do you think that your resume needs improvement in a few specific areas? You would be surprised how often I ask someone about their resume and I hear the following: "My resume sucks." "My resume is terrible, I hate it." "I wish I had a better resume." "I am so worried I have a typo!" It kills me when I hear the above comments. When I work with a job seeker that isn’t 110% confident about their resume, there is a weak link in their armor and they are destined to struggle in with their job search. In the back of the candidate’s mind, instead of looking forward to the interview with confidence, the candidate is worried about their deficits. It doesn’t make for a good start to the interview or a conversation where confidence is king. If you have read this blog, you know I am a fan of Malcom Gladwell and his social observations. I think I have come up with my own Gladwellesque observation as it relates to resume strength. Resume strength correlates to a number of actions including: length of time between resume submittal and the job offer, the quality of the offer, and more importantly the preconceptions both good and bad around your initial performance. Are you your peers expecting greatness or doubting your efforts. Don’t get me wrong, I am not comparing myself to Dr. Gladwell. I just want to try to explain why a solid resume is so important and provide business reasons for spending the time to create a strong resume that instills confidence in both the candidate and the hiring manager. Real life example: Folks know I don’t care for kids too much but I saw a scene involving two little babies that I found fascinating. Living in Seattle, I spend a lot of time at my favorite coffee hangout. I was sitting outside my espresso getaway and saw two mothers side by side with their precocious little sucklings in strollers. The first little piglet was dressed in a matching outfit and looking very "cute and adorable" to passers-by. The baby had a tiny stud ear-ring and the stroller had enough cup holders to make my SUV jealous. In comparison, baby number two was exactly that: number 2. Baby’s hat didn’t match the rest of the outfit, she was missing a sock and rockin’ an unattended runny nose. Over the course of a double ristretto Americano and biscotti, I saw the Baby no. 1 receive a lot of attention from passing coffee addicts. Little mothers cooing and fawning over baby number 1. Baby number 2, not so much. Baby 2 received no action at all, not even a "mercy oohh" or "pity ahhhh". It was sad. This experience made me realize that through no fault of her own, baby number 1 and 2 were going to grow up with a very different experiences. Strangers would treat kidlet number 1 better and the expectations of this child would be different based on first impressions. This kid would get breaks and would take them for granted. Kid number 2 would receive no lucky breaks, and through no fault of her own, would not realize the difference. When the first baby spits up, its cute. When the second baby spits up it’s gross. Shallow I know, but I am trying to make a point. Moral of the story, don’t let your weak resume be kid number 2. Present yourself as a strong resume get yourself some "oooo’s and ahhhh’s". FIRST IMPRESSIONS: For those of us who think the first impression in a job hunt takes place when we are introduced in person to the hiring manager, we would be wrong. Yes the suit was a nice touch, and the pressed white shirt was noticed, but the first impression was made when the hiring manager opened your resume.doc up on their computer screen. Your typo made a lousy first impression. Your lined up margins on both the left and right hand side of the document made a great first impression. Are you feeling me? Some may think that I am shallow. Some may think that it isn’t what the resume looks like but the content of the resume that counts. That may be all well in good in theory, but here in the real world, your resume is the first indication of the quality and effort of your work. I need candidates that are not only qualified, but candidates that present well both in person and on paper. There is no use in presenting a resume with great content if the document is difficult to read or the candidate looks like a slob. I don’t need the heartache of making excuses for a candidate to an impatient hiring manager. Most of us want the path of least resistance. It’s human nature. There are candidates I call when pickings are slim because the resume looks "close enough". I am calling these candidates with a "What do I have to lose?" attitude. Like any singles bar scene, when closing time approaches, I take a shot and I am hoping I get lucky. Then there are easy to read resumes where accomplishments are easily matched to the job description. My expectations and excitement level is high and I am already thinking about how to introduce this candidate to the hiring manager. How I treat these two candidates SHOULD be the same, but guess what, I am actually giving MORE leeway to the second candidate. Yes, this is a case of the pretty girl getting the unfair breaks. This is the cute, well dressed little baby. It shouldn’t happen but it does. You would think that I would give the first candidate a couple of breaks, but remember, the hiring manager is my customer and like all customers, they are PICKY! Real life example number 2: Two openings for the same position. The salary band is between $45K to $55K depending on experience. Two candidates apply for two openings in the same department. I know better than anyone that no two candidates are "equal" but both candidates have a similar amount of experience. Candidate Sloppy Sam has a resume that has decent experience and the resume doesn’t present so well. Candidate Perfectionist Paul has a resume with decent experience and is easy to read. The resume presents well. The resumes are equal in experience but the presentation layer of the two resumes is slightly different. By comparison, there is a stronger resume and there is a "weak resume". There is a cute, well dressed piglet and there is a runny nose crumb snatcher. Who’s resume am I going to call first? Who’s resume am I going to look forward to calling? With one candidate I will be in full recruiter mode. With the other, I will just be kicking the tires and crossing my fingers. Because I am in a better and more excited mood, I am going to give breaks to Perfectionist Paul. I literally go into this call WANTING this to work. Yes, HRNasty is acting shallow, but in all honesty there is a lot of human nature at play. As candidates, we will be better equipped if we hope for the best but are prepared for the worst. When I present the two candidates (for the two openings) to the hiring manager, it won’t be a question of "If". The hiring manager WILL ask me "Who is the better candidate?" Even though we have two openings, if the hiring manager only has time to schedule 1 candidate for an interview, guess who is going to get the call? The hiring manager may want to try to train both new hires at the same time, but the hiring manager doesn’t want to lose time or budget so we may try go get one candidate in as soon as possible. Guess which candidate is going to be fast tracked? The bookies have placed odds on this race and there is a clear favorite. The classic case of "Two men enter (the Thunderdome), one man leaves". Guess which candidate looks like Mel Gibson? The quality of the resume just effected how long it takes before our two candidates received a call back. But it doesn’t stop there. The impression of the resume carried into the initial phone interview and then it carries over into the in person interviews. The momentum that Perfectionist Paul generated with the resume can carry over all the way into the offer stage if played well. Sloppy Sam may get an offer, but he will always be compared to Perfectionist Paul. Quality of the job offer: Remember our two openings? Do we think that with all things being equal, both candidates will receive the same offer? While an average looking resume won’t swing a vote one way or another, a great looking resume can add both urgency (quick interview loop) and dollars (stronger offer). A resume that lacks effort will produce the similar results from the hiring company. If two candidates are hired at the same time, the resume was one of the big factors that set expectations of the candidates as they went though the on-boarding and training. The resume set the tone for the interview experience and created momentum. If you are feeling less than 100% about your resume, get a second and third set of eyes on it and ask for feedback. When ever I work with someone on their resume, I always ask them "What do you like and what would you like to consider changing?". I want to know what the candidate is feeling unsure about so we can fix the weakness and their confidence. Invest the effort and your resume will do right by you. How you feel about your resume will directly affect your success in the job interview process. |
Job Search and Job Networking in a New Location© Copyright, 2015, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved. A job seeker recently described a problem that many of us have had, finding a job in a new location far from "home" and her network. Not too surprisingly, she was having difficulty even landing job interviews, much less a new job. Problem: No Local Network Whether you have just graduated from college, followed your spouse or significant other to the new location of their job, or moved for other reasons (e.g., way too much snow this winter), finding a job in a new location can be very challenging. This job seeker had moved to a new state because her employer expanded their business to the new location and wanted an experienced employee to help set up the new office. However, within six months, the new location was closed down, and she lost her job. In this new location, she was running into a new problem. Although she was experienced and well-qualified for the job she wanted, she was having difficulty getting interviews. The main problem she faced was the lack of a good local network. She needed to establish a new network in her new location. Solution 1: Find Local Members of Your Online Network In the age of social media, check with family and friends to see if anyone lives — or has lived in — this new (to you) location. Post this question for your friends on Facebook. Check your LinkedIn Connections. Track down old friends, former neighbors and classmates, etc. with Google. Talk with them — meet with them, if possible — to catch up on what they are doing, their families, and other personal or shared interests. Then, ask them about how they and their local friends found jobs, the best local employers, local organizations that could be helpful for your job search, and anything else that could help with your job search. At a minimum, you will renew old friendships. Best case, you will learn important information and, perhaps, find a connection to that great new job. Solution 2: Expand Your Online Network in the New Location While you are connecting with old friends in your new location, also spend time expanding your network to include new people. With new friends, soon the new location will feel like home (maybe better, if there’s no snow). The Internet provides many opportunities to connect and also to find venues for connecting. LinkedIn is particularly helpful right now. Join the right Groups (see below). Then, very carefully post a question to the Group, or — better! — send a private message to other Group members who seem to be well-connected for your job search. 1.) LinkedIn Groups for Your Location Search for Groups focused on your new location. For example, by simply typing "Omaha" into the search bar at the top of the LinkedIn page, selecting "Groups" from the drop-down in the gray box on the left of the search box, and clicking on the search button, LinkedIn found over 500 results, including: Greater Omaha Young Professionals Omaha Networking Group Omaha Women in Leadership Greater Omaha Chamber (of Commerce) Linked Local Omaha All About Omaha Over 500 more... Do the same search for your location to see what you find. You may need to choose the nearest big city to get a significant number of options. 2.) LinkedIn Groups for Your Profession Search the LinkedIn Groups for your profession. You may find some local organizations and local branches of national organizations. But, regardless of location (or lack), professional organizations expand your network. That expansion may well reach your current location, but you won’t know until you look. 3.) LinkedIn Groups for Your School/College/University Alumni Even if you didn’t attend at the same time, sharing the common experience of attending the same school serves as a conversational starting point, helping you connect with people (and expand your network). Most schools have caught on to the benefits of helping alums as well as recent grads, and they often have a network of alums scattered across the country who help other alums. Contact the alumni office to find those people to ask for advice, preferably from someone in the target industry, profession, and the target employers. Or, get the same help from members of the LinkedIn alumni group for the school. 4.) Employees of Your Target Employers Do an "advanced" search on LinkedIn for people who currently work for your target employers. (Click on the "Advanced" link at the top of a LinkedIn page, to the right of the center search bar.) You may find people in your network — nearby or far away — who can help you connect with that employer. 5.) Company Pages of Your Target Employers Search LinkedIn for the company pages of your target employers. Those pages contain information about the organization as well as other useful information. Bottom Line: People with good networks don’t often find themselves job hunting, because when they are ready to move, they tap into their network for new opportunities (or the new opportunities tap them). If they do need a job, unexpectedly, they land one relatively effortlessly. About the Author… Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 2011, NETability purchased WorkCoachCafe.com, and Susan has been editor and publisher of WorkCoach since then. Susan also edits and publishes Job-Hunt.org, is a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a columnist on HuffingtonPost. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+ |
Conference: 'Licensing barriers' keep skilled veterans out of civilian job markets
By: Heather Druzin WASHINGTON — Navy corpsmen who saved lives under fire but struggle to find work as paramedics; soldiers who navigated bomb-ridden roads in Baghdad but can't drive trucks in the U.S. Troops coming back from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are facing the same problem that skilled veterans have grappled with for decades: What they learn in the military often isn't recognized in the civilian world. A two-day American Legion conference that kicked off Tuesday is bringing together leaders from business, government and the military to find ways to smooth the transition from the military to the civilian workforce. As the military downsizes and a wave of post-9/11 veterans enter the workforce, there's been a renewed focus on helping veterans find jobs and recognizing skills learned in the armed services. According to the latest numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for veterans who served on active duty after 9/11 was 6.5 percent, as opposed to 4.9 percent for all veterans. The unemployment rate for all Americans is 5.5 percent. One problem some veterans face is that specific training they receive in the military does not translate to certificates needed to work the same jobs in the civilian world. Many must take jobs below their skill set or spend money and time on duplicative training. Combat medics are a prime example, with many struggling to get basic health care jobs when they leave the service, despite being highly trained. Addressing the conference, Department of Labor Secretary Tom Perez said the government has overhauled the Department of Defense's job readiness program for troops leaving the military in the past two years, but said "unnecessary licensing barriers" still exist. "We need to do a better job of recognizing the core competencies that our servicemembers bring to the table," he said. In addition to the national responsibility to take care of veterans, speakers at the conference said absorbing servicemembers into the workforce is simply good business. "There's a demand for skilled workers and we've got the supply coming out of the military," said Lisa Lutz, president of the policy and research analysis group Solutions for Information Design. "We can't afford to ignore that." In the past, the military was hesitant to help troops gain skills and certifications that translated to civilian work for fear of losing them. But that has changed greatly, said Steve Gonzalez, the American Legion's assistant director for veterans employment and education. Gonzalez also pointed to the post-WWII GI bill opening up college to more Americans, saying that such job and education programs can have effects well beyond veterans. "What we are creating with veterans, servicemembers and their spouses might also ... be applied to all of society," he said. |
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