#MilitaryTransitionKlues

Hey yall! Each week I plan on sharing a #MilitaryTransitionKlue with transitioning military and jobseekers. This is where I will post previously shared Klues for reference. The subject of each week will likely be driven by themes I see during conversations with #transitioningservicemembers each week. Feel free to like, follow and comment on the weekly posts and let me know if there are any specific topics we should explore in more detail. These thoughts are my own and come from my personal experiences and conversations with other veterans.

4/7/21

Don't treat the military transition as a simple Job Hunt. It is a full-blown life changing event that many people will not understand or have to experience.

Very few people will go through a career change, relocation, job search, healthcare system change, home buying/selling, self-identity change, support network loss, and family change stress all in the same few months. Its a lot and?#transitioningmilitary?need to go into their transition with eyes wide open of all that it entails. Good news is that there are a lot of free programs you can get involved in early to help with this. Check out?American Corporate Partners (ACP),?Hiring Our Heroes,?Hire Heroes USA,?USO?and others I didn't mention to set yourself up for success.

4/16/21

Prioritize your energy towards efforts that will actually get you results.

That's a pretty broad statement, but many?#transitioningservicemembers?spend too much energy on resumes and certifications and not enough on real?#networking?and?#interview?prep. (We will revisit this in future posts.) I definitely fell in this trap during my transition.

A lot of?#veterans?spend ~80% of their time crafting the 'perfect resume', with the other 20% divided between certifications, networking, and interview skills. This should be adjusted to something around 70% networking, 20% interviews, and 10% resume. I heard a VP for another large company say: "The resume is your ticket to a free concert." Necessary, but not valuable

The perfect sheet of paper won't help if no one reads it. It can't overcome a bad informal or formal interview.

BUT a good brand, strong network that fuels recommendations, or solid informational interviews will move you forward, despite an 'ok' resume.

4/23/21

Overloading on certifications is probably a waste of time.

This one will probably get some raised eyebrows, but over the past few years I have see many veteran resumes with nearly a paragraph of certifications cross my inbox. Many great programs now offer free certifications to veterans, but the time spent on a dozen different certs to fluff up a resume could likely be used elsewhere. When do you need a certification? 1) When a job says it is required, not preferred. 2) When a trusted contact in an industry or company says its a major differentiator 3) When careers require licensing

Going through classes do have some advantages though: learning career terminology, building networks, and gaining confidence. Most project managers I know don't have a PMP, most HR professionals don't have HR certs, IT managers don't have to be scrum masters etc... but all of them know their craft and can articulate it. Your energy will be better spent networking and learning from professionals in the industry than grinding through online classes each day.

4/30/21

Make your numbers matter!

This week, I was speaking with a #transitioningmilitary member about their #resume and they had the standard "oversaw equipment valued at $XXX."

I also had this on my resume when I was getting out of the Army, mostly because someone at ACAP told me to. But the real question is 'so what?' Ensure your bullets and 'numbers' are correlated with the job requirements. If you are applying to be a maintenance manager, the number of vehicles you oversaw probably matters more than the value. Also, for the military, your equipment value typically really over-inflates our level of responsibility, confusing recruiters. Ex: an M1 Abrams costs around ~$9mil, that's more than a lot of warehouses. Are we saying that a tank driver signed for that equipment can oversee an entire warehouse?

Numbers should be used to show results and outcomes (improved inventory on hands from 60% to 90%/ rated in top 10% of associates out of 30/ reduced budget overage by 25%, saving $X for the org) This numbers show what you can DO for your new team, not how much the government spent on your gear.

5/7/21

Best advice for a veteran starting a new job: FIND OTHER VETERANS!

Most #transitioningmilitary members tackle the job hunt with an extreme focus but don't realize that landing a job is not the magical golden ticket to a good military transition. In today's job market, getting a job might be one of the easier parts.

#Veterans who have successfully found employment will later tell you that the confusion of navigating civilian culture, lack of community, or feelings of not having a 'purpose' are just as bad or worse than the job hunt. Last week, I spoke with a veteran who has a great job with a great team/company that she loves, but she shared that even in that great situation, the newness and unknowns of her new environment made her wonder if getting out of the military was a mistake. After a while, those doubts reduce.

I was lucky and met a fellow veteran (also infantry) on my second day, and he became my confidant and mentor for the transition. To this day, we are good friends and support each other and other veterans. So best advice for a new veteran employee: FIND OTHER VETERANS!!!

5/14/21

Conduct your PCCs and PCIs before each interview.

PCC/PCIs were the pre-combat checks/ inspections we would conduct before going out on missions. No matter how many times we had done that type of operation, we always conducted radio checks, made sure the mags were full and turned down, and everyone had their IFAK and water. Getting a job is your new mission, and you should apply the same preparation.

Its hard to make a good first impression when an interviewer has to watch you mess around with Teams or Webex for 10 minutes because its your first time using that tool. A lot of interviewers will cut you a lot of slack, but you want to put the best foot forward. I have also seen disastrous tech blunders where the hiring team opted to not pursue a candidate because they doubted that they would be able to successfully handle their technology. If you have an interview on a new program, computer, or phone, do a dry run with a friend. Call your mom and chat on that app. Anything to get the kinks out before its showtime.

Post-Military Salary Negotiation Step One- Know how much you are making now.

This will be the first of a 4 part discussion on post-military salary negotiation. This overall process will help you figure out what's the right level of salary for you and if a job offer is a good one or one to pass on. Step One is knowing how much you are making now so we can make informed decisions down the road. Grab that calculator:

1. 1) Take your bi-monthly or monthly CASH amount hitting your bank account and multiply it by 24 or 12 to get the annual amount of CASH you are making each year.
2. 2) Multiply that cashflow by 1.30 to get an estimated accounting of your total after taxes, social security, state taxes etc... this is an estimate since everywhere is a little different. You can get more specific by searching local tax levels etc.
3. 3) Make adjustments based on standard of living differences. You can google these ratios. example: Atlanta is ~32% less than Washington DC so you will need to make more in DC to maintain the same standard of living vs. Atl.

Tip- Don't try to get crazy with calculating jump pay, hazard pay and all that stuff. This is why we start with CASH amounts and stick with that. CASH is what will pay your bills, more on that in Post 2.

Military Salary Negotiation Step Two- Know how much you NEED.

This will be the 2nd of a 4 part discussion on post-military salary negotiation. Step Two is knowing how much you NEED so we can make informed decisions down the road.

1) Take the time to analyze your monthly budget and identify how much you spend each month on essentials. (rent, utilities, food, HBO Max subscription? )

2) Are you anticipating any changes to your monthly needs? Going back to school, buying a house, buying that post military car? Will you need to start paying for your healthcare?

3) What are your retire plans? Are you going to start contributing to a 401(k) or other type of savings?

4) Are you anticipating any guaranteed additional income: VA, retirement etc? Do you have a 'nestegg?'

After doing the math of what you need and the apply your anticipated guaranteed income against that number, then you have your minimum salary/ income requirement which should be the bottom of you acceptable salary range. I would recommend NOT sharing this in the interview process (more to come on that convo), and I would also recommend avoiding any role that does not GUARANTEE compensation that will meet this minimum. Some roles like commissioned based roles have high potential earnings, but they take time to build up that income. Make sure you are capable of taking care of yourself and your family first and foremost. Next week we will get into assessing how much the market will pay for your skills and whether its a good idea to sometimes take a step back to propel yourself forward.

Post-Military Salary Negotiation Step Three- How much can you make?

This will be the 3rd of a 4 part discussion on post-military salary negotiation. Today we will cover how much you can make and next week we will tie it all together and cover the negotiation/ counter.

In the last two sessions we figured out what we made or needed, now we need to figure out what a company will pay. For this you have some tools at your disposal such as linkedin premium/ glassdoor, job boards, and your NETWORK!!! Sometimes this can be hard since companies are not always forthcoming on this info and it can vary greatly by industry, company, and role scope. Your best source of info will be ESTABLISHED,?#trusted?network connections in the sector (typically dont ask this in your first conversation). Some companies have bonuses, stock equity, and other incentives to learn about and consider as well.

Also, dont forget that companies dont actually have an endless supply of money. Some roles might have set?#pay?(ie contract work) and some have large negotiable ranges but when they give more to one employee, it reduces what they have for say, a second employee, or slush funds to support the team. Since every company is different, that trusted?#network?is CRITICAL. Nothing hurts more than a military?#veteran?walking into an?#interview?with overblown expectations, and then being let down over and over again because someone steered them wrong early on and they didnt do the research. Having good intelligence about what companies pay for your background or the?#job?you are pursuing is the final piece to setting up the right ask, negotiation, and counter

Post-Military Salary Negotiation Step Four- Combining it all and negotiating.

This is the final part of our 4-part salary discussion. a quick recap of steps 1-3:

1. How much are you making now
2. How much do you NEED- It is HIGHLY recommended that you not take a role where the guaranteed income does not meet this.
3. How much a company will pay- this should be close to your 'target' salary when looking at roles.

So an interview, or offer is coming your way and you did your research about what you are making, need, what they will pay. Below are common negotiation questions I get and my responses to them:

-Should I negotiate?

• Nearly every offer is negotiable but check your numbers.?
• Our answer: Maybe, does it meet your min, is it close to what you 'should be paid,' are there other negotiable items like vacation, remote opportunities, or bonus?

-How do I turn down a bad offer?

• Sometimes it’s a ‘No,' especially if its more than 10% below your minimum. Most companies won't negotiate much outside of that percentage range for a role. If a company is willing to negotiate up to 30% more, I personally see that as a red flag since the company is trying to lowball their associates that badly at the start.
• If its close or you are in a bind, use your numbers and counter (see below).

-What if I get a good offer?

• My answer: accept it
• You can still negotiate, but don’t forget that you will be working with that team in the future. I am a little reluctant to squeeze or use high pressure negotiation tactics on a team or company I plan on working with for for the next few years, especially if it's already a good offer. If its a short term role, or contract with an expiration date, then maybe.

Here is my 'counteroffer script':

“That number is little lower than I was expecting.?I am really interested in your company, but I (pick one):

a) am currently making $XX.

b)Understand other roles in the market are paying $XX

c)Feel my experience warrants $XX based on peer reviews

Can you match (get closer to) that or should I look into other roles?”

See how we use our numbers? I would insert which ever data point makes your case the best.

-What if a recruiter or company asks about my salary expectations in a pre-interview or screening call?

• This is not uncommon.
• Use your numbers.?

Here are examples of how you can set expectations:

"a)I am currently making $XX market equivalent and would like an amount that allows me to maintain my standard of living.

b)I understand other roles in the market are paying $XX for someone with similar experience.

c)I feel my experience warrants $XX based on peer reviews

Is that within the target range for this role or do you recommend I look into other roles?”

The Elevator Pitch

Have you heard something about an elevator pitch? The idea is that if you got on an elevator with a potential?#hiring?manager/ leader, and you have 20-30 seconds to introduce yourself, establish your?#brand, and secure follow-on?#opportunities, what would you say? Seems kind of far fetched and also maybe a little outdated in our?#virtual?world right?

Well, lets walk it back a little because even in the world of Linkedin, the elevator pitch is still a very relevant and powerful tool.

'Elevator pitches are basically an intro, brand statement, and call to action in a nice little package. They can be used in an 'elevator' (actually happened to me once, story for another time), when introing yourself at a job fair, or as the introduction communication you send to someone in your network via email or linkedin. Its pretty simple:

-Intro- Keep it brief: 'Good morning! My name is Chuck Kluball, and I am a transitioning Army veteran.'

-Brand Statement (aka what you bring to the team)- 'I am transitioning out of the military in 1 month with 7 years experience leading complex project teams, managing logistics pipelines, and coaching associates to success.'

Depending on scenario, you can add more points, but keep it fewer than 4-5 (I like 3) and dont drop your entire resume on the person right there.

-Call to action (What do you want)-

'I would like to learn more about your organization and see if there are opportunities that meet my skills sets.'- asking to discuss jobs

Or

'I would like to ask if I can get a few minutes of your time to learn more about your team (or business)'- asking to add them to your network or an informational interview.

There you have it. 3 simple parts. The next and most important part is: PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!, PRACTICE!!!... and when you have it down, PRACTICE SOME MORE!!!! This should be like a battle drill where its a natural and flowing pitch that comes across as confident and polished.

The Informational Interview

Lets talk about one of the most powerful tools in the #jobhunt. That's right, the secret sauce of the best networkers and job hunters. Its #informationalinterviews! I was first exposed to this concept in Steve Dalton's Book- The Two Hour Job Search. Definitely worth grabbing a copy (I read it and went through its steps while on staff duty between motorpool checks).

I slightly tweak the methodology for veterans and from my experience but its still close.

3 Part Interview (30 Minutes Total)

1. Small Talk 3-5 Mins
2. TIAR(P)A- ~20 Mins
3. The Close/ Next Steps 3-5 Mins

Informational interviews are a two-way conversation.?

Good Interviews:

• Veteran Gains Insights about a company or role
• Veteran creates a point of contact

Great Interviews:

• Establishes strong follow-on relationships, and hiring champions
• Veteran establishes a strong, hirable brand
• Establishes career champions?

How do you make it great?:

-Research before you go

-Provide relevant feedback

-Share your experiences

-Be genuine and confident.

What is TIAR(P)A- Its a framework to help you get the most out of the conversation. Nothing worse than long awkward silences or poor questions messing up your first impression.

Trends- (Some example questions you can ask)

• What trends are impacting your business right now?
• How has your business changed since you started?
• Where do you see your business heading in the next 3-5 years??

Insights

• What is the best lesson you have learned on the job?
• What is a shared trait or skill that is used throughout your organization?
• What skill or trait has contributed the most to your success??

Advice

• What kind of advice would you give someone looking to join your company or area of business.
• What so you know now that you wish you knew when you were in my position?
• How do candidates stand out in your job searches?

Resources/ Programs

• What kind of resources or programs does your team utilize? (good for learning if they use specific programs like SQL, Project, LSS etc.)
• Are there any certifications that are required to succeed

Assignments

• What kind of projects are your teams working on now?
• What projects have you done that added the most value???

Close out the interview with next steps. Maybe ask for a follow up, recommendation, list of other connections you can make.

Why is the informational interview so powerful? You are building a #network, getting the 'answers to the test', and building a #brand all in one. If you are looking for a job with that company or talking to a hiring manager, now you have an idea of what they are working on and can tailor your resume and interview responses to make the most impact.

Going back to school.

Lets take a step back and talk about going back to school after the military. When I talk to most military veterans, the option of going back to school is typically one of the first 'plans' they pitch for their post-military efforts. It can be a good idea, or a waste of time, so lets break down the pros and cons and assess some of the misconceptions.

Misconceptions-

1. 'Advanced degree = getting good job.'- From my experience, the longer you have been working, including military experience, the less the degree matters. I literally had a conversation with a VP of a fortune 20 company last week who got out of the Navy without a degree, and worked his way up.
2. 'Education is a 'knockout' field in ATS systems'- Most companies have a preferred degree level OR a certain number of years experience, but its not a knockout field. There is a reason education is at the (unread) END of a resume
3. Advanced college degrees are the only way to get ahead- This is 100% false and there is growing data that is showing that early in a career, technical and skilled degrees have higher rates of return early that regular college degrees and unnecessary advanced degrees, especially when bringing on debt, hinder personal wealth growth (limit ability to buy homes early, long pay off rates etc.)

Pros of going back to school-

• Soft landing when getting out, allowing veterans to network and acclimate to civilian norms in a lower risk environment
• Building knowledge in areas that they might be interested in or pivoting to new career fields
• Leveraging career counsellors and strong alumni networks that can help break into new areas or establish new networks

Cons:

• Despite what school recruiters tell you, most companies don't hire just because you have their name on the resume
• If you are going for roles beyond entry level roles, you will spend more time talking about your experiences than your degree
• Long periods in school makes your experiences start to 'age.' In today's world, business is changing rapidly. Processes and ideas from two years ago start to lose impact and that experience will be less relevant than someone's experience that is currently working.

So should you go back to school? Potentially, it can be a good or bad move. I would recommend starting with #networking with professionals in fields you are interested in to assess if schooling is needed. Some industries require it, but a lot do not. Also, ask yourself why you want to go back to school, and finally, if you are going back to school, make an actual plan, apply, and do the work to succeed.

Company Culture

Company?#culture, what is it, what does it mean and does it matter?

When I was getting out of the military, I didn't really think too much about culture and, to be honest, lucked into a phenomenal company with a strong?#veteran?and associate focus. Looking back, it should have been towards the top of my list when asking my?#network?and hiring managers about their company, and is one of the main reasons my veteran buddies stick around.

How do you assess a company culture? Thats a tough one, but you can ask a few telling questions beyond asking about their values, focuses, etc:

1. Does your company have associate resource groups or clubs?
2. What kind of events do they have celebrating their associates?
3. How does your company support its associates that are dealing with a health or personal challenges or crisis?
4. How can associates get involved in community events through the company?

When you ask these kinds of questions, you are asking a company to provide examples of how they support their associates instead of making it easy for the recruiters to regurgitate a pre-canned response about their culture. Everyone has something like that these days since company mission statements, 'values,' and positive vibes are the new standard. If the interviewer can't quickly answer these questions easily, or defers to a follow up, I would take that as a warning.

Company culture is also pervasive throughout the organization and isn't isolated to individual teams. Small team leadership matters, but the overall culture shouldn't shift if one person leaves or moves to a new team. That's a micro-culture or bubble. Look for good teams at good companies.

For?#transitioningservicemembers, many have had experiences with positive and negative cultures or 'command climates' as we called them in the Army. The nice thing about the civilian world is that you have the control to turn down or leave a company where the culture is not good. Dont be scared to use this power to find the best fit for yourself early. A startling number of veterans leave their first role post-transition, and culture is a part of the influencers for that trend. Many people join a company for the role, money, or security it provides, but culture is what helps decide how happy you are or how long you will stick around.

MBAs and ranks- where they fit.

Recently I have had a lot of conversations with?#veterans?about what level of the business their MBA or rank entitles them to join a company at. I can't speak for for all companies, but most that I have experience with don't have rules where MBA= management right out of school or direct correlation of role responsibility to their former rank.

Lets talk about the?#MBA?today. I am proud of my MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, and it has really benefited me. But even with this high quality MBA program, it didn't equal an automatic transition from the Army to the civilian workforce as a mid-level leader in a fortune 20 company.

Why not? Didn't we sit through financial classes? Don't we have case studies under our belt optimizing processes? We earned this, right?

Not so fast!

The biggest gap is still experience: actual experience vs academic experience. Just like how the military doesn't make you a company commander the day you get a masters degree, civilian companies typically aren't that different, especially the larger they are.

Good leaders have the experience to understand the ripple effects of their decisions, and this is normally learned by experiencing those ripples or atleast seeing their results. Each business, market, and company will have different ripples so even general experiences can vary.

Would we take a VP with an MBA from a top logistics company and make them a BSB commander in afghanistan? Could they do it? Maybe, but would you be comfortable putting all those soldiers under that leader? How about being the operations leader waiting on that unit's resupply? What do they know about IED mitigations, ops tempo, vehicle readiness, unit defense/ security? What happens the first time one unit is in contact, another is having a breakdown, and so on.

What do MBA veterans know about labor laws, shrink, P&L, margin pressure, shareholder ROI, SOX compliance? They may know some, but are they experts on how these impact their type of business yet?

So why get the MBA? I like to look at MBAs as an enabler that helps your acceleration rate. As you learn more about the business, gaining that experience, the MBA will enable you to make smarter decisions, maximize your contribution to the org, and build that brand which will translate into more responsibility and potentially raises and promotions.

So what does this mean for veterans? Maybe take that analyst or operator role and build a strong knowledge foundation and then apply that military experience and mba to grow that career. You would be surprised how far a few years industry experience on top of your military/education will take you.

Military Bearing- is it hurting your job search?

One of the most common pieces of simple but effective advice I try to tell all veterans looking for a job is this: SMILE. It sounds simple, but that advice comes from watching a lot of veterans accidentally shoot themselves in the foot for doing something that is culturally encouraged in the military, but is seen as a detractor in the civilian world: our 'military bearing.'

For our non-veterans, military bearing is about 'projecting a commanding presence and confidence, upholding standards, and doing the hard right over the easy wrong' (paraphrased). Sounds like a good quality right?

But it's typically translated into the no-smiling, somewhat rigid positions non-vets attribute to the servicemembers guarding the tomb of the unknown soldier or standing, unemotional, while getting yelled at by a drill sergeant in the movies.

Service members, remember all those command and military photos on the walls in our headquarters? Everyone looked like someone had stolen their coffee or they were about to discipline a child. Don't forget, most non-vets' experience with the military comes from Hollywood, so the first thing that pops in their mind is likely Jack Nicholson from A Few Good Men, or the drill sergeant from Full Metal Jacket.

In the civilian workforce, military bearing comes across as unapproachable, overbearing, rigid, and sometimes intimidating. None of those are words we see in job descriptions!

Let me share some personal experiences: Even today, I am told by my bosses and peers is that I am sometimes hard to read, especially during a high stress situation (plus I have bad RBF).

Once I had an analyst bring me a serious problem, and after listening, I crossed my arms and was pondering the info. This analyst got more and more uncomfortable as I was standing there, looking stern, arms crossed in an unapproachable position, and silent. More context- she didn't know me well, I was probably about twice her size, and she had heard I was in the Army with no military exposure herself. She told me later that she thought I was about to yell at her, which hadn't even crossed my mind. The issue wasn't her fault, and I don't yell at people anyways.

Switch this situation into the military environment, and the posture, stern expression, and mulling over the problem would have been normal, and even positive. We like leaders who are resolute, contemplative, or unphased by the chaos around them.

As part of our?#militarytransition, we need to learn some new cultural norms, including the message our?#bodylanguage?conveys. In?#jobinterviews, the easiest way to counter this is to SMILE! You want to convey to the hiring manager that you are approachable, get along well with others, have a personality that will be a good fit for their team: the intangible things people look for when hiring. Oh and update that Profile Pic!