When I got out of the Army I signed up with four seperate headhunting firms to find me a job. Whats amazing about that was it actually worked. After interviews with about 15 different companies over the course of 3 weeks I had about three competing job offers...which was nice.
There is this constant hunger in some elements of the private sector for military type leaders. I am by no means saying I am complaining but, I see very few of these companies having a good idea of what types of military experience mean what and how to compare one military type experience to another. I am going to list some of the most common misperceptions I have seen and how to avoid them.
1. Know what type of person you want and specifically what type of experiences you require. People come into the Military from all walks of life. There are Ivy Leaguers, Academy Grads, Distance Learners and everything in between. Don't be afreaid to be picky. If you want a technical expert an officer may or may not be your best bet. There are some warrant officers out there that have some excellent technical skills that may fit your needs better.
2. Know the difference between an officer, a Non-Commissioned Officer, a Warrant Officer, and enlisted person. Breifly Officers are 95% of the time managers and develop managerial type skills (the other 5% being pilots of some sort), Non-Commissioned Officers as a rule are experts in frontline supervision and conducting training. Warrant Officers are technical experts in some field for the most part. Enlisted people are the employees, the "Joe's", and the entry level positions.
3. Even some officer's with excellent education just decide to get out of the Army without developing a good plan. There has been a rash of military types waffling in and out of the private sector because they find out that the military wasn't really so bad, and they most likely will take a pay cut when they move to the private sector. Ask specific questions during the interview process designed to reveal how they have prepared for this career change. I can use myself as an example: In the Army, as a Captain, I was making the equivalent of $75k a year with tax bonuses and housing allowances. The job I ended up taking paid $60k (without about $10k relocation bonuses) with an automatic $5k per year raise at the end of the first year of employment. In order to prepare for this I went back to school to get my Master's Degree and socked away as much as I could in savings to ease the transition. It was still extremely difficult to take the cut in pay and my family is still wrestling with the impact. There is a lot of Myths out there that all Military types are barely making it. Officers (at least in my experience) get taken care of pretty well.
4. During my Master's coursework I was shocked to have a professor tell me that military types have a hard time getting a job in HR. Since I was already $5k into a Masters Degree in Human Resources Management I was a little perturbed. There are plenty of different types of leaders in the Military we are not all like R. Lee Ermey (*language warning*, but worth a click if you have never seen "Full Metal Jacket"). I was an infantryman, I earned the Combat Infantry Badge and spent a year long tour in Iraq. I never have acted like a cartoon of a military guy and treated my soldiers like dirt.
5. Ask questions about policy decisions they have had to make or programs that they created and implemented. They should have plenty to discuss. The Military is very good about giving practically free reign to relatively young professionals. They should have experimented a little and have a well defined leadership style do NOT be afraid to ask them these questions.
6. Learn what a DD-214 is, you can't get a reference check from the big Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marines. The DD-214 is in lieu of that. It will tell you everything you need to know about where that person has been, awards recieved, and character of discharge (honorable, other than honorable, dishonorable, etc).
I am sure there are more, but those six are the ones that first come to mind. Let me know what you guys think.
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