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Making the switch from warrior to civilian is never easy, but careful planning and some hard work can help make the transition successful.
| uccess is a double-edged sword. With the Cold War |Won, the United States is taking steps to downsize 'its armed forces. In effect, military personnel have become victims of their own triumph. The combined effect of global political realities, the economy, and other social and environmental issues are terminating many military careers prematurely.
Whether you are retiring on your own terms or having it thrust upon you prematurely, it is extremely important to prepare yourself well in advance. As a rule, preretirement planning should begin at least two years before the big event. Do not underestimate the amount of preparation required. The transition from military person to civilian will be difficult. To get what you desire in terms of a second career will take lots of planning, hard work, and soul searching—and the sooner you begin the better!
By Lieutenant Colonel Gregory Johnson, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)
The first and perhaps most important step you must tatt is to prepare yourself financially. At a minimum, you should be prepared to carry yourself through 12-18 months of unemployment. After a lifetime of regular work and paydays, a gap in employment will be stressful enough without adding financial pressure, too.
Today’s employment market is probably as competitive and volatile as it has ever been. Despite improving eco- nomic forecasts, companies still are reluctant to begi” rehiring. Finding the right job can (and probably will) be a long and arduous process. One of the silver linings of military retirement, however, is the financial edge yoUf retirement pay gives you. Your civilian counterpad5 (and competitors) will not have your flexibility and stay ing power in terms of being able to wait out an opporu1' nity. Timing, as they say, is everything, and the abiliD i to position yourself at the right place at the right time ma) make the difference between taking a bearable job ai^ one you really love. Financial solvency gives you tin- edge. If you don’t secure this advantage through a littk preretirement belt tightening, you may end up jumpier at the first job offer you receive—which may or may no1 be what you really want.
Another factor to consider as a military retiree is tha( you generally are not covered for unemployment bertf' fits unless you are selected for involuntary early retire' ment. If that is the case, you may be eligible for some form of compensation. Check with your state employmen1 office to find out more.
The Move
Another factor to consider as you approach retirenu’111 is your current residence. If you are living in military qua1' ters, your options are going to be reduced in terms of tab' ing advantage of your final government household go0$ move benefit. You will have to move off base when y011 retire, and the government will make that move for you"' but it will be the last one at the taxpayers’ expense.
If you have established location as a primary consider ation in your new civilian career, you should be in rea' sonably good shape. If you are on base at the time of tirement and haven’t been able to determine your civili*1”
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Proceedings / February
career path, you can save your move benefit by renting ‘
place nearby and moving your belongings yourself. This will cause you some personal expense and a lot of work, but it will save the move benefit for when you really need it.
In any case, carefully evaluate your residential situation as you roll into your 18th year of military service. If you don’t, you could squander that benefit or place yourself in a position that forces you to make snap decisions. If you are living off base at the time of retirement, you have one year (and possibly more under specific conditions) to take advantage of your move benefit. After that, any move will be at your expense—which can be financially staggering.
Strategy
Developing strategies is essential to the career transition process. The old adage, “The harder I work, the luckier I get!” really holds true. A good strategy can save you money and increase your opportunities for finding the right job. There are a number of things to keep in mind during your transition from retirement to initial reemployment. If this transition is planned correctly, you will have staying power in terms of positioning yourself for a particular job. Few of us retire on Friday and go to work the following Monday. If retirement arrives and the right job hasn’t, there are a number of things you can do to increase your chances for success, while also reducing the drain on the dollars you will have set aside. In effect, you will be buying yourself more time.
> Substitute Teaching: Substitute teaching in the public school system is available to almost anyone with a college degree. There are states, however, that do require you to have a teaching certificate, although not necessarily from that state. Substitute teaching hours are relatively short (normally 0730-1400), and there are usually one or two free periods within that time that may allow you to conduct research reading or work on employment-related correspondence.
Substitute teaching pays approximately $45 to $50 per day, and it provides lots of flexibility for job or information interviews. It also lets you avoid having employment gaps on your resume. You may even find teaching interesting and rewarding enough to seriously consider it as a possible career path. There currently are tremendous opportunities available in education. The U.S. Department of Education projects the demand for teachers through the year 2000 to be approximately 230,000-240,000 annually. So, if you’re looking for a new challenge, the leadership skills, discipline, sense of purpose, and commitment to values that served you so well in the military may ideally suit you for a career in education.
One of the best places to obtain information on education as a second career is the education center on your base. The center can provide you with information on various state certification requirements. The U.S. Department of Education also funds programs to train educators leaving other careers. General information about these programs can be obtained by calling (202) 219-2187. Most Pending retirees also are Vietnam-era veterans eligible for the GI Bill (unless it has been used up already). Remember that the Veterans Administration pays a rate based
on your family size; if your schooling is cheaper, you can use the difference for living expenses. If you attend a high- cost school, you may not have any “stipend” to bank on for normal living expenses.
Revamping education is probably one of the most significant challenges our nation faces as we move into the 21st century. Your service to country as an educator could equal, or quite possibly surpass, the contributions you made while serving in the armed forces.
► Networking: The three most important things in the job search are networking, networking, and networking. Networking is the avenue you need to pursue with the most energy. Your personal contacts—made professionally through fellow alumni or friends—are invaluable. Credentials, skills, and education are becoming less critical in comparison to the power of a personal referral, solicited through your network. Be leery of spending money on any kind of career/employment assistance offered by an employment or executive search company. Executive headhunting and private employment agencies rarely can match the results your own personal network contacts can produce.
► Volunteer Political Work: Active participation in political functions can lead to excellent networking contacts. You also can gain interesting insights into the political process. Your services will be valued, and that will give rise to higher visibility. Do not underestimate this avenue of approach. If you are assigned in the Washington, D.C., area at the time of retirement, look into volunteer work for a senator or congressman from your home state or from a state in which you might reside. That may open many invaluable doors.
► Resumes: A lot of emphasis is being placed on resumes these days. A resume is important, but it does little more than get you an interview, if that. In most situations, whether responding to a job advertisement or sending an unsolicited resume to a potential employer, you will either get a form letter back thanking you for your interest in the company or no acknowledgement at all. Do not take it personally; that’s just the way it is. For that reason, it is not necessary to go to extraordinary lengths to produce a resume. A nice quality off-white paper with clear, professional type is sufficient.
An easy-to-read two-page resume is best, but concentrate carefully on the first page. Employers usually will spend no more than 15-20 seconds on a resume unless they are really impressed by the first page or they know you. The second page is likely to get lost in the shuffle.
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Proceedings / February 1994
Organize your resume logically and avoid military jargon. State your objective clearly, list your education, provide an overview summary, state your experience, and add a brief job chronology. If you have been published, be sure to note that. The ability to communicate effectively in writing is highly valued in the private sector. Keep your personal information brief. Do not disclose your age, marital or family status, or other personal information that does not pertain to the requirements of the job. Noting availability is not necessary. It also is a waste of space to state: “References available upon request.” If references are desired by employers, you will be asked for them. If you know someone important whom you’d like them to know about, it is better to have that person write you a letter of
introduction rather than risk a fumble in the art of name-dropping.
In your resume, do not conceal your military service (as a lot of job assistance organizations and professionals might recommend). You cannot deny that you served for 20 years or more, and to do so is being devious. Rather, you should present your military experience in terms a civilian employer will understand and appreciate. If a company does not want to hire you just because of your previous military background, you probably don’t want to work for them anyway.
Decision Time
Certain considerations are sure to drive your job quest. Primarily, they will be salary, type of job, and location. Some individuals are fortunate enough to obtain the best of all three—but they are the exception. Salary and/or type of job will drive location, or at least a range of locations. If location is your driving force, you will need a different set of strategies to achieve your salary and job demands.
There are a number of things you can do to secure gainful employment. If you do not intend to go into business for yourself, identify desirable companies or organizations in your target location. The Standard & Poor’s Index, found in most libraries, is a very useful reference tool for this. It identifies businesses and industries by location and generally gives a good description of their size and financial health.
Chances are excellent you will have most of the qualifications a particular company desires, but there is often a problem in translation. There is a great misunderstanding about military people by many civilian employers. Breaking stereotypes down is tough, but it can be done effectively once your foot is in the door. How you get your foot in the door, however, is the million dollar question! > Temporary Employment Agencies: One effective approach in securing employment is to go to a temporary employment agency.1 During your interview, tell the agency about companies or organizations where you would like to get a chance to work. They may have something available. Once you are in the door, however, it’s up to you to display your talent. One point of caution: You are no longer an active-duty officer or staff NCO. The minute you start barking orders or telling someone, “This is how we did it in the Marines!” you will be out the door. Brute force didn’t work well in the military, and it certainly won’t cut it in the civilian community.
Be positive, enthusiastic, humble, and a team player in all situations associated with temporary employment! Do anything you can in a forthright manner to establish your credibility. Downplay any personal ambition, especially among your peers. There are many hidden agendas and politics going on in companies that you will not be aware of initially.
You may be a welcome breath of fresh air to a company looking for someone who is willing and capable of
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doing the job correctly withoutj a lot of accompanying baggage You must be careful, however not to bring too much military baggage yourself. You ma)' quickly discover a lack of basic leadership and follower skill5 within the company. This will be to your advantage because you have these assets. Play i* right and you will bring youf- self to the forefront of attention. You also will be surprised how much your fellow etf- ployees will admire your self-discipline, sense of duty- and other desirable attributes.
Another word of caution: There may be employees who feel threatened by your presence and who will work to sabotage you. Remain alert for that possibility and stay' above it. With the right situation and an opportunity to showcase your skills, the company or organization yon are working for may come to value your work and bring you on board permanently.
Lend a Hand!
Retirees who already have successfully traded their uniforms for three-piece suits can help their fellow comrade*' in-arms by keeping their eyes and ears open to employ- ment opportunities. Set up informal job networks through organizations such as the local Marine Corps League, Navy League, and Air Force Association. Do this not only fof new retirees but also for our young warriors who accepted the call to duty and now are beginning to return to their home communities. The word will spread that: “Those military folks really look out for each other!” This perception will do something else. It will foster better re- cruitment in the armed forces at a time when downsizing is scaring off many potential quality recruits.
I hope I have been able to bring some insight into the rigors of career transition—especially from a retiree’s poin1 of view. Changing careers is one of the most stressful ev periences you will ever undergo—particularly if you nevef have had to go through the process before. I’m reminded of an anecdote in a recent Reader's Digest wherein a soon- to-be 30-year veteran filling out an employment ques- tionnaire was asked what his last civilian occupation wa*- He answered “Child.” For a majority of career military people that is the case—and it may explain the intense apprehension you are likely to experience throughout the process. With good planning, however, you can avoid many of the pitfalls.
You possess all the right tools to be a success. Set re" alistic goals, develop plans to attain them, and hang 1,1 there—you can do it!
'Manpower Inc., for example, is the second largest employer in the nation.
Before his retirement in 1991, Colonel Johnson, a naval aviator, vvas Executive Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy f®r Research, Development & Acquisition. He is currently Research A11 ministrator for the National Center for Advanced Gear Manufactur>n-' Technologies, Applied Research Laboratory, Penn State University-
A soon-to-be 30-year veteran filling out an employment questionnaire was asked what his last civilian occupation was. He answered “Child.” For a majority of career military people that is the case—and it may explain your apprehension.
Proceedings / February