Mission: Civilian Transition
Hexagon US Federal
World class technology and professional services for C5ISR, installation security, GIS, and cyber security.
Hexagon US Federal is proud to employ Veterans from various service branches at all levels of our organization. In honor of Veterans Day, we asked to hear from some of our veterans about how their experiences inform their civilian careers, and what advice they have for current service members.?
Meet the Team
Thank you to the following Hexagon US Federal team members who participated in this interview:
What advice do you have for current service members as they plan their transition to civilian careers?
Getting Started
Chris: “Do not rely solely on the transition centers. Do your homework and invest in your post military career by dedicating the time to find the right job, company, and geographic locations that suits you and your family best.”
Leland: “Narrow down what it is you want to do. It does not have to be the “specific” job, but at least the general area. For example, work in networking and cloud.”
K3: “Look for a job that has the same core values as you had in the military service.”
Rusty: “Work with the personnel in the transition offices of your branch of service. Seek out people who have transitioned before and ask questions. Do what you can to prepare yourself.”
Leland: “Figure out where you want to live. Connect with professionals in that area and scope out potential employment for that area.”
Establish Yourself and Your Network
K3: “Be yourself and try to connect both professionally & personally with your work colleagues.”
Leland: “Find a SkillBridge to participate in during your transition. Network on LinkedIn with professionals like you, project managers, recruiters, and people already in the position you want to be in.”
K3: “Be a change agent and display leadership traits of adaptability & dependability.”
Leland: “Also, ensure that your resume does not read like a yearly military evaluation report. Your resume should clearly depict what did you do, how did you do it, and what were the results.”
Other Considerations
Leland: “Depending on where you plan on living, find out what the cost-of-living difference is to determine what your salary needs to be to maintain your current lifestyle. Factor in taxes where you live, retirement, benefit deductions to determine your take home pay. This number can be significantly different than your gross pay. If your spouse works, consider their career opportunities to factor in the family's overall compensation requirements and potentials in different areas.
Finally, it is never too early to begin your VA disability paperwork (if you have them to claim).”
What skills or lessons from your time in service do you find helpful to you in your role at Hexagon US Federal?
Chris: “Military service provides unmatched life skills. Take those leadership lessons to find a role that is right for you. A civilian career can be equally rewarding but it requires time and effort to find the perfect fit, and often, it’s not the first thing that comes along.”
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Leland: “From a technical perspective, networking and virtualization experience were a key factor in my roles after my military service time. Professionally, working with limited resources in extremely difficult and oftentimes hostile environments made the process of determining a solution to problems second nature. Being able to implement a temporary solution while repairing or replacing the permanent one has been key in maintaining the integrity of the support provided for customers.”
Rusty: “Above the skill sets, is the experience of working as a team. Also, the mindset that hard work as a team accomplishes the mission.”
K3: “Leadership, communication, networking, and teamwork. I use the skills daily in my new role as a Senior Customer Application Engineer, where I coordinate with customers and train dispatchers to use Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) applications for public safety under Hexagon US Federal’s All-Hazards model.”
Leland: “In terms of soft skills, working with dozens of cultures across the globe has made working with various groups and businesses at work smooth. This enabled a higher sense of awareness on how to read the customer and better provide support to them, on items they can express via words or written requests and those that are determined via body language and other non-verbal forms of expressions.”
Thinking of the Hexagon US Federal core values (Customer First, Accountability, Integrity, Innovation, Inclusion), how do these align to your experiences?
Rusty: “I look at these as the ingredients necessary to successfully accomplish assigned task orders. It is very hard to successfully accomplish anything if you fall short on one of these areas. I also believe this has always been the case, thanks to the leadership team for putting it out there for all to follow.”
K3: “These core values directly align with the job I did while serving in the USMC as a Military Policeman. I always had a ‘customer first’ attitude and showed unquestionable integrity in direct support of the installation community that I had to protect and serve.”
Customer First
Leland: “While there are some differences in the customer while you’re a service member versus working on the civilian side, almost everyone is responsible for meeting the requirements by a customer. Whether your customer is supporting a command, sister unit, a collaborative mission, or the branch, there is almost always someone that is representing the entity as a “customer”. Meeting the deliverables established and closely working with the customer ensures positive results. Leveraging my experience in the service has led to clear communication with the customer, project managers, and other stakeholders involved.”
Accountability
Leland: “Anyone who has served can tell you that accountability is taken very seriously. Holding your soldiers as well as your superiors accountable ensures the continuous improvement of whatever it is you’re doing, whether it be accepting criticism for something you did wrong or speaking up when you see/hear something immoral happening.”
Integrity
Chris: “Integrity is foundational in all branches of service. Seek employers whose values match those you have acquired during your military time.”
Leland: “Oftentimes working with classified information, it is always important to refrain from sharing secrets and confidential information with others. It is always crucial to be honest with your team as well.”
Innovation
Leland: “During deployments to the Middle East, I often had to innovate solutions to immediate problems to ensure the successful completion of important missions. I have taken this experience and leverage it daily. Fires always pop up while working in various projects. Being able to calmly react and implement a solution in a short notice has been crucial in the timely completion of work. Being able to introduce new ideas, services, and products into the work environment also ensures continuous improvements and keeping up with newer technologies.”
Inclusion
Leland: “During my time in the service, in every training event and deployment I always ensured that we recognized, appreciated, and utilized the individual skills that everyone brought to the table. To build and keep team cohesion and high morale, it is vital to include everyone equally, regardless of nationality, sex, race, or cultural differences. Respecting these differences and being able to collaborate will directly result in a great workplace environment.”
Find Your Next Mission with Us
We are fortunate to have so many veterans and active-duty personnel on our team, bringing the experiences and knowledge they gain from their service. Their experiences are extremely valuable and the skills they’ve acquired enable us better serve our customers, and to protect those who keep us free. __________________________________________________________________________Learn more about Hexagon US Federal’s commitment to veterans.
This was a great read and very good advice, gentlemen. Thank you all for your service as well.