November 2016 |
Transition-e-news Volume 4 Issue 124 |
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Be Your Own Boss?© 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. During my 30-year career assisting military service members in career transition I developed a wealth of knowledge and experienced many surprises. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was discovering that many of those people end up working for companies about which they had no knowledge and/or in positions with which they were unfamiliar at the start of the transition process. Does that surprise you too? When civilians change jobs, they already have a manual, a road map, and the standard operating procedures. They know the terminology, the titles, the language, the rules-of-the-road, and the appropriate game plan to get to the desired result. Military personnel are at a disadvantage. They have to become familiar with those best practices and rules of engagement before they can even launch the primary mission—finding the right job, the first time. How are you supposed to do that when you may not even be aware of your options? And even if you are aware of some of those options, what about those that are available to you that fall into that unknown category? Throughout my career my advice to my candidates, and my advice to you now, is to treat your career transition, at least at the initial stage, as more of an information gathering process and less as a job search. Interview for everything for which you are qualified or trainable, regardless of your initial level of interest, knowledge, or awareness. This approach allows you to discover new options, comparison shop, narrow down the field, and eventually elevate those for which you are not only qualified, but in which you also have a high degree of interest. You just might find yourself focusing on one of those surprise opportunities I mentioned in the first paragraph. Have any of these thoughts ever crossed your mind? When I leave the military and start my civilian career, I would like to:
If many or all of those bullets apply to you, then ask yourself how many of the following traits and attributes apply to you: Risk-tolerant, Self-motivated, Customer-focused, Strong work ethic, Financial savvy, Highly organized, Resilient, Independent, Competitive, Can-do attitude. If you are still with me, then the BYOB option might just be for you. However, before you get too excited about going down that path, there is more to consider. In my book, Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition, I dedicate an entire chapter to the BYOB option. The following includes excerpts from that chapter. Before considering self-employment, whether as a small business owner or as a franchisee, you must first take an honest look in the mirror and have the self-awareness to know how you measure up against the following factors. Expertise What do you bring to the table? Will you be able to produce a product or provide a service for a price that the customer is willing to pay, while also maintaining quality, reliability, and service? Are you already the subject-matter-expert or is training necessary? How steep is the learning curve? Where does that training come from? Risk The Small Business Administration reports that 70 percent of self-employment business ventures fail in the first two years. Can you afford the risk? Accountability There is a scoreboard up there with only one name on it—yours. The numbers next to your name are your numbers. Yes, nobody can take credit for your success but nobody will cover up your failures either. Investment/financing/credit/cash flow Starting your own business requires seed money. Do you have it? If you have to borrow it, how is your credit rating? Some franchising opportunities require an up-front investment of $5000 to $100,000. Many business failures can be attributed to running out of cash in the first year. Time off How important is it to you? Have you been using those 30 days of annual leave? Being off work on those federal holidays is nice. Guess what? Self-employment often means no vacation, no holidays, and no weekends. This can be true until your business is well established and you can hand the keys to trusted employees when you are out of town. Working hours Your military experience has you very familiar with 12 to 14 hour days. Were you thinking about cutting back a little? Forget it. BYOB is 24/7/365. Employees As much as you relish the thought of not having a boss, do you really want to be one? If so, how many employees and what kind of talent will you need? Will you be able to find them? Most business owners will tell you that their number one problem is finding and retaining good employees. Preparation Although your management expertise may be impressive in the areas of personnel, administration and materiel resources, you have little or no direct business management experience. You are used to the bottom line called readiness or war fighting but you will succeed or fail in business based on one called profit? Do you know how to write a business plan, specifically one that will pass muster with a lending officer or a franchisor? Have you taken an accounting course? You may need professional guidance from accountants and lawyers. Are those fees in your budget? Your paycheck How much will you make? When you work for yourself, you pay yourself last. Pay your overhead, service your debt, pay your employees, and give the federal, state, and local government their shares, and you get anything that remains. Considering all of the above, why do people choose self-employment? Independence, self-determination, the life-style associated with picking where you want to live or working out of your home, the possibility of earning a living by doing something about which you are passionate—these are just a few of the reasons. I recommend you gather additional information and seek guidance on this subject. In addition to the resources I have listed below, get out in the field and talk to franchise operators, especially those who also happen to be veterans. Focus on military-friendly franchisors. Where to start? That’s easy—just take a look at the ones who are featured and/or advertise in military-centric publications. They understand the value of a veteran as a potential franchisee and their programs are designed to help mitigate many of the potential pitfalls listed above. Here are additional resources to consider: Entrepreneur www.entrepreneur.com/franchise500 The Small Business Administration: www.sba.gov/starting-business International Franchise Association: www.franchise.org USA Home Business: www.usahomebusiness.com Small Time Operator: How to Start Your Own Business, Keep Your Books, Pay Your Taxes, and Stay Out of Trouble (paperback, 13th edition), by Bernard B. Kamoroff The Prior-Service Entrepreneur: The Fundamentals of Veteran Entrepreneurship, by Michael I. Kaplan © 2016; 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. |
Trump's victory could boost chance for bigger troop pay raises
by
Travis J. Tritten - Stars and Stripes
- Reprinted with permission WASHINGTON — After years of being squeezed, troops and their families are hoping for higher pay raises and the surprise victory of Donald Trump might make that more likely — even before the president-elect takes office in January. Congress has been debating whether to risk President Barack Obama's veto by adding $18 billion to the annual defense budget and giving troops the highest pay raise in years. Trump's election might now embolden Republican lawmakers to press harder this year for that money, or at least a chunk of it, now that it is certain their party has claimed the White House, according to budget experts. Military pay raises have been held to less than 2 percent since 2011, below that of private sector wage growth, while troops and families have been stressed by deployments. The pay issue has become a top concern and the nonprofit National Military Family Association wrote an open letter to Trump after Tuesday's election asking that it be made a priority. Overworked and feeling "nickel-and-dimed," the military wants the president and Congress to provide the 2.1 percent raises that it is supposed to receive under law, said Joyce Wessel-Raezer, executive director of the association. "If a new administration would say, 'We are going to find a way in our budget to give you the full increase that is in law,' that would be a huge message," she said. Congress has been debating for months the possibility of the higher raise as part of the $602-billion defense budget but the raise depends on an additional $18-billion hike. The Armed Services committees in the House and Senate – both controlled by the Republican majority – are split on whether to push ahead with the hike against Obama's veto threat and an insistence by Democrats that each dollar be matched with more domestic spending. But the earlier defense budget calculus by Republicans might have changed Tuesday when Trump pulled off a sweeping victory that shocked many pundits and poll watchers. Election polling had indicated Trump would likely lose to Democrat Hillary Clinton and Democrats could make gains in Congress, meaning an even dimmer political outlook for Republicans next year. "They thought they might lose the Senate and they might as well get the best [budget] deal they could … now I think there is a feeling they could push much harder. I expect them to be more aggressive than they would have been otherwise," said Mark Cancian, senior adviser for the international security program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a bipartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. Obama might now be less likely to follow through with his veto threat and Democrats in Congress might be more willing to make a deal knowing Republicans will have more control and leverage next year when Trump proposes his first defense budget, said Sarah Binder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, D.C. "I think the thing is, this level of spending pales in comparison to the level of challenges coming next year," Binder said. Earlier this year, the Senate Armed Services Committee and its chairman, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., opted to avoid a political fight with the Democrats. It crafted a defense bill that called for the 1.6-percent troop pay raise requested by Obama. But the House Armed Services Committee and its chairman, Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, spearheaded a 2.1-percent raise and the $18-billion hike despite the veto threat. Now, the two committees are set to return to Washington on Monday and continue negotiating a final deal, which could include some or all of the House's hike. Congress has been in recess since September. The Republican lawmakers could be emboldened by the election to push Congress and the president for more, said Justin Johnson, a senior defense budget policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington, D.C. "I think now you have a situation where the Republicans on the committees can almost dare President Obama to veto it," Johnson said. "It certainly it gives them more flexibility." |
Bad Job Search Habits That Are Making You Fail© Copyright, 2016, Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved. Apply too often to employers, particularly when you are not obviously qualified (keywords!) for the job you want, and you will be categorized as a “resume spammer.” Resume spammers are ignored — even if qualified for the job. Spend 15% (or less) of your time checking job boards, and when you do use a job board, use it smartly. Demonstrate your intelligence, communications skills, and understanding of the recruiting process by applying only for jobs you are qualified for (on average, fewer than 50% of the applications received are actually from people qualified for the job they have applied for). Read Before You Apply: Answer 4 Important Questions and 3 Assumptions You Shouldn’t Make About Job Postings for more information. 4. Break the Bad Habit of Ignoring LinkedInIgnoring, or having a static LinkedIn Profile with no active LinkedIn participation is a very bad job search habit. If your LinkedIn Profile is just a copy of your resume, you are wasting a very big opportunity. Unless you are visiting LinkedIn every day and being active on it (Updates, comments, discussions), you are effectively ignoring it. Particularly if you are unemployed, spend as much time (or more) on LinkedIn as you spend on all the job boards you usually visit every day, combined. If you aren’t visible on LinkedIn, recruiters usually assume that you are either out-of-date (and don’t understand how important LinkedIn is for your career) or that you have something to hide. LinkedIn is important for many reasons including:
LinkedIn offers countless opportunities to demonstrate your intelligence and the quality of your work. So, rather than searching for new job postings on your favorite job board when you begin your daily (or weekly) job search activities, try these options:
Try to create 2 to 5 updates each day to keep you current and to keep your Profile/name “live” in the minds of your network. An update can be something as simple as clicking “Like” on a discussion or comment. Read Why Isn’t LinkedIn Helping My Job Search for more details. 5. Break the Bad Habit of Using a Single Version of Your ResumeThis bad job search habit is an old tradition that seems hard to escape. Many of us have a long history of polishing our resume to perfection, and then submitting that version of our resume for every job we want. That strategy doesn’t work well today. In these days of resume databases, applicant tracking systems, and recruiter keyword searches, only one resume is no longer a useful approach. Today, the best strategy is to have what resume expert and author Susan Ireland calls a “kitchen sink resume” — a multi-page version of your resume which contains all of your accomplishments and work experience (close to the content of your LinkedIn Profile). That resume is used as the foundation for short customized resumes submitted for each opportunity, paying close attention to the keywords included. Read Why Submitting a Resume Isn’t Enough and What to Do Instead and also Resume Keyword Success Secrets and The 25 Best Keywords for You (on Job-Hunt.org) for more details. More About Being Hired TodayTo Be Hired: Be Found Where Recruiters Look To Be Hired: Be Focused and Clear About the Job You Want To Be Hired: Be Found — Your Best Keywords How to Make Employee Referral Programs Work For You Before You Apply: Answer 4 Important Question Why Submitting a Resume Isn’t Enough and What to Do Instead Resume Keyword Success Secrets 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+ |
Reserve and Guard retirees close to becoming 'veterans'By: Tom Philpott - © 2016 Stars and Stripes - Reprinted with permission On the eve of Veterans Day, the Senate passed a bill with language to grant “honorary” veteran status to as many as 200,000 Reserve and National Guard retirees — those not deemed veterans now because they lack a qualifying period of active service under federal orders. The House is expected to adopt similar language soon, either by passing a standalone bill from Rep. Tim Walz, D-Min., the Honor America’s Guard-Reserve Retirees Act (HR 1384), or by mirroring Senate action, that is, adding language to give these retirees veteran status as part of a larger catchall bill of veteran initiatives. Both the Senate-approved language and the House bill would make clear that bestowing veterans’ status on this category of retiree would not in any way expand their benefits beyond what federal law now allows. How states view them for state-provided benefits already varies state-to-state. The Senate approach, as set down in Section 701 of the 21st Century Veterans Benefits Delivery Act (S 1203), seeks to avoid benefit creep from the status change by directing no change to Title 38 of the U.S. Code, the statute that defines all federal veterans’ benefit and individual eligibility. So if the House accepts the Senate language, Guard and Reserve retirees who seek proof that they are veterans won’t find the words in Title 38 itself but instead in its legal “notes” that help explain vet benefit laws. That, at least, is how the general counsel for the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee explained to staff this more cautious approach to granting veteran status to Guard and Reserve retirees who lack active duty time. The House bill, however, would amend Title 38 but with a few added lines of “clarifying” language that the honored retiree “shall not be entitled to any benefit by reason of this section.” Impacted retirees are those who left service without a DD-214 or Certificate of Release or Discharge from Active Duty. Though they had 20 or more “good” years of drill points earned on weekends and through annual training, they were never called to active duty. The cautious approach taken in modifying veteran status here reflects a deep worry held by some lawmakers that Reserve and Guard retirees, once given veterans status and as Congress turns over, will press to win more benefits and, in time, the same benefits as other veterans. Organizations advocating for these retirees have vowed not to lobby for such changes. The intent, they insist, is only to properly honor the contribution career Guard and Reserve personnel make toward defending the nation. Many of these retirees report being surprised to learn they aren’t legally veterans. “I bet there weren’t ten people in America who [knew] these guys weren’t veterans,” said Walz in an interview to discuss progress on his bill. Guard and Reserve members without active duty still do earn some veterans benefits, which might explain why so many are surprised they lack veteran status, said Bob Norton, deputy director of government relations for Military Officers Association of America. Many are eligible for VA home loans, Reserve Montgomery GI Bill and, if entitled to retired pay, also burial in a VA or national cemetery. Military associations and vet organizations have locked arms in supporting the change. Aleks Morosky, deputy legislative director for Veterans of Foreign Wars, told a House subcommittee in June that many retirees now denied vet status supported “deployments of active duty comrades” by ensuring their own units were ready when called. They are entitled to retired pay, TRICARE and other benefits and deserve the recognition still denied them by “the letter of the law,” Morosky testified. But at the same hearing, David R. McLenachen, acting deputy under secretary for VA disability assistance, argued that extending veteran status to all reserve retirees will “confuse” the traditional definition of veteran. Though reserve components “admirably served this country and in recent years have played an important role in our nation’s overseas conflicts,” McLenachen said, the VA opposes extending “veteran status to those who never performed active military, naval or air service, the very circumstance [that] qualifies an individual as a veteran.” The House will pass his bill, Walz said confidently. It did so in previous years with only the Senate blocked the change. Only weeks ago, Senate armed service committee conferees, in negotiating final details of the fiscal 2016 defense authorization bill, rejected a back-door attempt by Walz and House colleagues to enact his bill language as part of that critical legislation. But Sen. John Boozman, R-Ariz., who had introduced a companion bill in the Senate, joined with a few colleagues to find the compromise that would satisfy Senate opponents: allowing honorary veteran status without codifying the change in the veteran benefit statute. Walz doesn’t think that’s necessary to protect against benefit creep. “We have written this thing with the best lawyers to get it as tight as possible,” he said of his bill. “It truly is what I say,” a show of “respect for those people who get their 20 years.” Lack of veteran status, he said, is a frustration for these retirees. “I have older friends who fall into this and they’re embarrassed. I’ve seen some of them, when they are called veterans, they find they need to do the honorable thing [and say] no, they’re retired Army but not veterans.” Walz is a retired Army National Guard command sergeant major. He also served overseas in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and is a veteran. Many retirees who aren’t veterans, he said, would have had more opportunity to deploy if they had served in a different era. “I had some of the best soldiers, the most honorable people, the best trainers. They would have gone anywhere their country asked, and I am sure would have served heroically. They trained us! Then they didn’t get deployed and now they have gone to this category, and I feel for them.” The Senate vote, Norton said, is “a very nice win after years of pushing” by retirees, military associations and veteran groups. The House now only has to pass the Walz bill, again, or toss it into an omnibus bill of vet initiatives, and then be ready to reconcile its language with the more cautious approach the Senate embraced. To comment, write Military Update, P.O. Box 231111, Centreville, VA, 20120 or email: milupdate@aol.com or Twitter: @Military_Update |
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