Top 3 Challenges Faced by Ex-Military in Landing Their First Civilian Job

November 09, 2014, by HR à la carte | Recruitment

Tips for both Employers & Candidates on How to Bridge the Gap

In light of the events that took place in Ottawa recently and in honour of all those who have died in serving our country, we thought we would focus our blog this month on saying thank you the  best way we know how, through providing advice on helping veterans find a job on “civvy street”. 

It has been almost 20 years since I left the military and embarked on a civilian career.  It was a culture shock to say the least.  Here are the top 3 challenges faced by our service men and women and how they and potential employers can help bridge the gap:

Challenge #1:  Military jargon

This is a biggie.  Everything in the military is an acronym; and if you’ve been steeped in the culture long enough, the acronym becomes the word in and of itself, even forgetting what it stands for.  So, the first thing to do is to decipher the acronyms and to the extent possible, find the civilian equivalent wording and use that instead.  Simple examples:

OC – Officer Commanding; translation if you reported in to this individual – “my manager”

2IC – Second-in-Command; translation if you were the commander – “my direct report”

Tip for Hiring Managers:

Be prepared for the fact that candidates may sprinkle their interview responses with a large dose of jargon.  If you don’t know what a term means, ask. 

Tip for Ex-Military Candidates:

Practice your interview responses with a non-military friend or relative.  If they are giving you a blank stare, chances are you’ve lost them in translation.  Try again by “civilianizing” your responses until they nod in total comprehension!

Challenge #2:  Command and Control

Yes, the military has a top-down command and control structure.  One of the biggest myths about hiring Canadian military personnel is that they will be too rigid and not be able to “think outside the box”.  This may be true of some larger military organizations that have bottomless resources, but in the Canadian context resources are always at a premium.  Service men and women frequently have to use creative means and methods for getting the job done.  This translates into an entrepreneurial spirit within a structured environment.  Sound familiar?  This is the exact skill set that many of today’s large corporations are seeking; someone who can operate within the structure of an organization, and yet be flexible and creative enough to get the job done with the resources available to them. 

Tip for Hiring Managers: 

Check everything you think you may know about military culture at the door, and be open to the possibility you may be looking at a very driven, entrepreneurial, “can-do” candidate.  Translate the examples they give to problems you are facing in your organization today.  There will never be an exact apples-to-apples comparison but your organization has most likely faced similar challenges such as low morale, constrained resources, trying to do more with less, etc.

Tip for Ex-Military Candidates:  

Be sure to outline your achievements using the STAR methodology (Situation, Task, Action, Result).  For achievements in a military role, context is key; describe the challenges you faced, the context within which you faced them, what task you undertook, what action you took and how.  Then describe the impact your success had, whether at the section, platoon, company, battalion or even brigade level (you may have to explain what each level means so your civilian hiring manager can understand the true impact of your success).  

Challenge #3:  No Comparable Civilian Job

Chances are military candidates will be starting their careers from scratch after leaving the service.  Often there are no comparable civilian jobs that resemble what they used to do in the service.  So in many cases they are starting over.

Tip for Hiring Managers:  Military candidates are going to seem overqualified in some respects, such as leadership skills, and lacking in others, such as actual corporate experience in their chosen career path.  If you are comparing them directly to civilian candidates with the exact background and skills you are looking for, they will come up short.  Recruiters debate the fit versus function equation.  If you had to choose between a candidate who fits perfectly with the culture, vision and commitment to the organization versus a candidate who has the exact skills you are looking for but may not fit the culture, which is more important?  Ideally, you want both, but that’s what is called “the purple squirrel”.  Think about what you are looking for in a candidate and realize that even though you may be taking a chance on the ex-military candidate, it is often a good bet given all their other skills and experiences.

Tip for Ex-Military Candidates:  Jobs for Weapons Technicians, Mobile Support Equipment Operators, etc. may be few and far between in the private sector.  However, you have a ton of transferrable skills that are very valuable on the job market.  Refer to the key skills required in the job posting, and be sure to highlight examples from your past experience where you demonstrated proficiency in those key skills.  

Resources

There are many resources available for both employers and veterans in helping to transition veterans into civilian jobs.  We have posted a few here for ease of reference:

Information for Veterans Seeking Employment

RMC Club of Canada Career Transition

Service Canada Career Transition Services

Hire a Veteran

Canada Company

Networking is also key and sites like LinkedIn have various Groups that are geared towards veterans. There are also grass roots ex-military networking groups such as Treble Victor .

Thank You

As a thank you to our service men and women this Remembrance Day, and our way of giving back, we have created a Successful Interview Checklist for them to use in preparing for civilian job interviews.  Please email us at info@hralacarte.ca to request your free copy today!

Here’s hoping all of our veterans are able to find successful civilian careers!

Other Articles of Interest:

The Do’s and Don’ts of Networking