Hiring Veterans on Veteran's Day
The Challenges of Returning Home?
Originally published in 2014
About 3.3 million Americans have served in uniform since 9/11, and an estimated 200,000 are unemployed, according to government numbers. How do we help returning veterans kick-start successful careers? One source that might be extremely helpful comes from Ancient Greece.?
Homer's Odyssey tells the story of a veteran who is trying to return home to his wife and son after the war. Odysseus's struggles to return still hold the basic truth that soldiers can't simply return home after war, that the journey home can be just as perilous as the war itself.
Nowhere is this more true than when a veteran leaves the military to start a new career. As a career coach and educator, I've helped veterans from three major combat operations (Desert Storm, Enduring Freedom, and Iraqi Freedom) return to civilian work and I've found that Homer's Odyssey still holds relevant lessons to help meet the critical challenges associated with the transition from military to civilian life.?
The Odyssey Begins...?
Challenge #1 -- The Cicones
Odysseus's first stop on the way home is the Island of the Cicones where he continues his warlike ways (plundering, pillaging, taking slaves, wiping out the islands inhabitants), and then the island tribe rallies and pushes Odysseus and his men back into the sea.
Today's Relevance: Your first place of employment upon return is not likely to be your last. Hope for the best of a year or two in that first position. If it's longer, great, but if it lasts six months don't be surprised -- and don't be too hard on yourself as hiring is an inexact science. Even the best organizations, those that get hiring right, only retain just over 80% of new hires after a year (Source: Society of Human Resource Management). Be flexible and be prepared to move around.?
Challenge #2 -- The Lotus Eaters
Odysseus's next stop is the Island of the Lotus Eaters where the inhabitants there are basically strung out on narcotics. Odysseus sends a group of scouts to explore the island, but his men forget their mission (tripping balls as the kids would say) and do not return to the ship. Odysseus eventually sobers up and pulls his men away from this peril.
Today's Relevance: Without question some returning veterans face severe challenges: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, traumatic brain Injuries, amputations and other injuries, drug and alcohol abuse, depression, and risk of suicide. But most returning veterans DO NOT face these severe challenges and are ready to get to work.??
?Even without severe challenges leaving the military and starting a new career can be a daunting task requiring you to develop new skills and resources. You may be tempted to forget your mission and avoid a rigorous job search. But the job market is tight and, even though unemployment numbers are getting better (about 6.1% nationally) it's still a competitive job market. So like Odysseus and his men, you most overcome inaction. Do not become complacent. Apathy, in the face of rejection, is a pernicious nemesis that must be continually uprooted for any job seeker -- but especially for returning vets.
Challenge #3 -- The Cyclops
Odysseus next squares off with a Cyclops (a member of a race of one-eyed giants) and after being trapped in a cave -- and then being placed on the dinner menu -- he and his men manage to blind the giant and escape, disguised as sheep.
Today's Relevance: There's much here in terms of symbolism that could be useful but myopia (singular vision) is definitely a challenge to be overcome when transitioning from military to civilian life. The military does a brilliant job of instilling mental and physical toughness, and yet that often works against a veteran in a job interview.
It's not that business doesn't demand a certain kind of mental and physical toughness. It does, but it's different: it's more figurative. There are "campaigns" but those are marketing campaigns. There are "hostile takeovers" but those are business deals not military coups. People are "disposed of" but those people lose just their jobs not their heads. Control of "territory" is mission critical but it's sales territory not political territory. Everything you've learned about strategy and execution will be immensely useful in your career you just have to realize that it's all contextual.
Challenge #4 -- The Winds
Odysseus is given a boon by the God of Wind (Aeolus), who bags up all the "bad winds" that Odysseus might encounter on the way home, thus ensuring his swift return. Ithaca (home) is in his sights, when his men, unknowingly, open the bag of "bad winds" (thinking it a wine skin) and are blown off course -- way, way off course.
Today's Relevance: We can think of "bad winds" as our reputation. In business reputation matters more than credentials. Business professionals work hard each and every day securing their reputation. I've known professionals who will stay with bad bosses, in bad organizations, just so they can make it past the three-year point on their resume. The challenge for veterans is that you don't have a professional reputation yet and have to contend with what people think they know about military life.
As an exercise, go to your favorite news source and find five articles related to veterans (the first five you see will do) and write down the headlines. That's likely what the people sitting across from you in an interview will think about you. Here were my five:
That's why it's so important to keep a list of five professional references that have absolutely nothing to do with the military: for example, former high school teachers, managers from previous summer jobs, really anybody that knows you in a professional setting outside of the military. Potential employers will feel much more comfortable contacting civilian references and they are more likely to get information about you that is relevant to the civilian world. (Of course, be sure to ask permission to use them as references before providing their contact info to potential employers.)
Challenge #5 -- The Laestrygonians
After being tantalizingly close to home and then blown off course, Odysseus next ends up on the Island of the Laestrygonians that is home to a race of bloodthirsty cannibals who eat the Greeks. Only Odysseus and those on his ship survive the ordeal.
Today's Relevance: There are organizations out there that chew people up and spit them out: organizations that have earned their horrible reputations for how they treat their employees. A good indicator, if you can get it, is the organization's voluntary turnover rate. Talk to recruiters in your area, or area of interest, and the business professors at your closest university. They will know which organizations to avoid.
Challenge #6 -- Circe the Witch
Circe uses magic to turn Odysseus's men into pigs. Odysseus is spared by a tip from Hermes (God of Commerce) who gives Odysseus a drug called Moly (not going to touch that with a ten- foot pole) which protects him from Circe's magic. Odysseus spends a few moments on the island, but once off the island he comes to realize that those moments were actually years.
Today's Relevance: Years lost. Can't think of any executive I've coached or someone's career I've come to know personally that doesn't have a story of "lost years" spent in some dead end job or organization. It happens to the best of us. You may someday experience your years of service in the military as years you didn't spend working on a career: people will be ahead of you in terms of experience, but just know in your heart that everyone has setbacks and lost years. Just focus on your goals, and keep your future in mind.
Challenge #7 -- Tiresias and the Underworld
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The bright spot of hanging out with Circe the Witch and watching his men pig out, is that Circe does eventually cough up a vital piece of information that helps Odysseus reach home: he must travel to the underworld and find the blind prophet Tiresias. So, Odysseus travels to the underworld (not an easy task), finds the blind prophet Tiresias, and asks him for advice on how he can get home. Tiresias acts as his guide to the underworld and here he first finds the spirit of his mother, who has died of grief from Odysseus's long absence. Odysseus makes peace with his mother, then sits down for a few good conversations with the spirits of famous warriors such as Achilles and Agamemnon.
Today's Relevance: You've got to make peace with your past. I wish I could say this has happened just once in my career, but I've coached a number of women who were sexually assaulted in their teens, and who did the work with a therapist as part of recovery, only to encounter a boss or client later in life that triggered the past. It will happen to you as well: events will trigger traumatic responses from your past. When we throw ourselves into stressful situations, we often unconsciously invite the past to rear its ugly head at just the moment of our greatest vulnerability. You can prepare yourself by having a support group, therapist, group of friends outside the organization that can help you cope.
Challenge #8 -- The Sirens' Song
Odysseus and his men must sail past the Island of the Sirens and resist the Sirens' alluring song. This is easier said than done, so Odysseus plugs his men's ears with beeswax and has himself tied to the mast so he can hear the soul satisfying song, but not be tempted to take his ship towards the island only to see it crushed upon the rocks.
Today's Relevance: Never chase an alluring paycheck. If the world of business is good at anything it's identifying deep desire and creating allure. Just look at any luxury car and what you see is 100% allure: The Sirens' Song. I've taken two jobs in my life because of the salary and/or job title and was miserable in both. Just make sure your values are represented in your new position.
Challenge #9 -- Scylla and Charybdis
After avoiding the Sirens' Song, Odysseus is next faced with a choice of the lesser of two evils: either head towards the giant whirlpool Charybdis, and lose all his men, or face the six-headed sea serpent, Scylla, and lose six of his men. Odysseus chooses to sacrifice six of his men and face Scylla.
Today's Relevance: If anybody knows anything about sacrifice it's veterans, who've sacrificed so much. Yet the sticky truth is that life is continual sacrifice. Everyone you'll ever meet in a corporation has sacrificed something for their career... their marriage, their health, a relationship with their children, and/or their deepest desires. This is where an "Esprit de Corps" can be of real service to you. If you are willing to drop the identity of an "elite member of the military" and join a larger, and often deserving, group of brothers and sisters it will be worth the additional sacrifice.
Challenge #10 -- The Island of Helios
Odysseus takes refuge on the Island of Helios and, while praying to Athena (Goddess of Wisdom), he falls asleep. His men are hungry and disobey his order to leave the cattle of Helios (Sun God) alone and instead have a massive BBQ. All is good till Helios realizes this and demands that Zeus punish Odysseus and his men for this sacrilege. Zeus agrees and sends a terrible storm to wreck Odysseus's ship, with all hands lost except one, Odysseus himself. Odysseus survives by clinging to a fig tree.
Today's Relevance: The "sacred cow" metaphor is persistent in most cultures because it continually proves true. Every organization has a "sacred cow" and the quicker you learn what it is, the better your career will be.
Challenge #11 -- The Beautiful Calypso
Odysseus finds himself washed upon the Island of Ogygia which is inhabited by beautiful women, and one nymph in particular, Calypso, catches Odysseus's eye. That glance turns into a seven-year affair. It is only after Hermes intercedes that Odysseus is "freed" and allowed to build a new ship and sail towards home.
Today's Relevance: It would be easy to turn this into a lesson about office romances but I think the deeper lesson here is that all "safe havens" eventually turn into prisons. Odysseus must be honest with himself about his goals, which are to return to his home and be with his wife and son. You must also be honest with yourself about your goals. You may never arrive, but your long-term goals will inform your deepest desires, truest values, and deepest loves.
Challenge #12 -- The Island of the Phaeacians
When Odysseus tells the Phaeacians the story of his incredible journey, these gifted mariners are so delighted they agree to sail him home immediately in their magical ships.
Today's Relevance: I'm intrigued by the modern day Phaeacians, the people who can change your career in the blink of an eye. (Make no mistake; they're out there.) With the right conversation, at the right time, with the right person, you can see your career take a leap like you just landed on the square with the longest ladder in a game of "Chutes and Ladders." Magical transportation indeed. There's nothing you can do to force this conversation; it either happens or it doesn't. But when you find yourself in it, just tell your story with as much heart and soul as you can muster.
The Odyssey Concludes
Challenge #13 -- The Suitors
Odysseus arrives home to find a whole host of suitors vying for his wife Penelope's hand in marriage. Basically, he kills all the suitors with the help of his son Telemachus and Athena (Goddess of Wisdom).
Today's Relevance: When you apply for a job, you face fierce competition. First thing, drop the "Sir" or "Ma'am" immediately. I know it's a sign of discipline and respect for the chain of command, but all it does in an interview is demonstrate how different you are from the other candidates. The first round of interviews is about "fitting in" and the later rounds are about "standing out." You don't want to get disqualified because you come across as "too military."
You've also got to watch the intensity level. Veterans have an intensity level that often works against them. I was working on a team once and a veteran joked, "If Josh doesn't get that report to me by tomorrow I'm going to turn him into a lampshade." And as funny as that may be to some, it may be extremely offensive to others. I watched a few people turn pale. The truth is, many people (perhaps unconsciously) are afraid that a veteran may "snap" at any moment, and it'll be helpful to manage that perception.
Challenge #14 -- Penelope
Once the suitors are dispatched, and Odysseus has reconnected with his son Telemachus, he's got to prove to Penelope that he is who he claims to be, as she no longer recognizes him. He does this by describing the bed they've made together, something only he would know. His description fully addresses her concerns, and he's welcomed back home.
Today's Relevance: In corporations, culture is everything. If you were in the Navy, think about how you viewed members of the other military branches. You had perceptions and nicknames to match those perceptions. That's true of every organization you'll ever work for. Each organization has a culture as unique as a fingerprint and it wants you to get in bed with that culture -- to be loyal to that culture.
Case in Point -- When Southwest Airlines started operations they had a large pool of current and former airline workers to draw from, and yet Southwest went out of their way not to hire former United, Continental, Frontier, etc. employees... why? Because of culture. They purposely chose people who had never worked in the airline industry because they wanted culturally neutral employees -- employees that they then could mold into their emerging company culture.
In truth, all organizations would prefer to hire culturally neutral workers. This presents an especially daunting challenge to veterans because you've been "stamped" by the branch of military that you belonged to and often have the tattoos to prove it. The more you can step out of that culture -- and it's hard to do -- the better your chances are of getting hired.
The Tale of Two Professors
There are two combat veterans who are professors in my department. One is military through and through; the other you'd never know unless you asked. Both are successful and liked by students, faculty, and staff alike but they are a reminder that it's your choice of how much you want your military service to be a part of your identity. Whatever you decide, take Odysseus’s lessons with you along your journey and you’ll be more likely to avoid some common pitfalls as you transition to civilian life and a fulfilling new career.
Best of luck out there. -M