Your Military experience translates to real value in corporate America... But it's up to you to explain why.

Whether it's after four years or fourty, eventually we all, as military veterans, leave the service. When that time comes it can be a difficult transition for even the most prepared to handle. Can you relate? For the time you were in, you lived a life of structure paired with rapidly changing demands on your time. You learned to "adapt and overcome" in the most chaotic of circumstances in and out of deployment and were given responsibility that far outweighed your experience level to handle. As a 20 year old you may have learned how to effectively manage human capital, leading teams of four to twenty, or more. You've served your country in keeping with the highest traditions of the Military service and now it's time to transition to a new life. You still have to work for a living, and what you'll find in the corporate job market is that while most employers are eager to show appreciation for your service, they don't readily know how your skill set fits into their workforce. My message for you today is: Your experience is unique and invaluable, but it's up to you to interpret and communicate how your experience translates to real value to employers.

I'm writing this article for Military Veterans, possibly recently transitioning, to share my story of how I'm interpreting my seemingly mundane experience as a leader of peers my last year in the Marine Corps. My hope is that you find parallels with your own time in the service and invite you to consider (and share) your experiences with others. Understanding how to talk about what I've done has proven to open plenty of doors for me. I know that it will do the same for you.

In July of 2016 I was just a few months back from a sea deployment with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. After taking some extended vacation time to spend needed time with my family, I rejoined my parent unit, 10th Marines, just in time for the infamous and grueling Field Supply and Maintenance Analysis Office (FSMAO) inspection.

If you're unfamiliar with FSMAO. I'll quote Corporal Jacob A. Singsank, online:

"FSMAO is a 3rd party inspections organization that enforces equipment accountability through gear inventory, inspections and classes. The FSMAO staff overlooks the entire unit's gear to ensure they have an accurate count of equipment that the unit has on its records.” In preparation for this inspection units typically spend 16+ hours days for months prepping." - Corporal Jacob A. Singsank

What this means for a Marine Unit like mine best described as a revolving door, personnel and equipment come in and out from deployments globally all year long, is that we were facing a major accountability challenge. We had equipment in Afghanistan, Japan, at Sea and across the country. Inspectors were coming to audit our records for our controlled cryptographic items (CCI) and fire support assets, over $1M of equipment. Accountability for this equipment was a job for a Communication Section Chief, someone with 10+ years of experience, a Staff Sergeant (E-6), someone with the technical knowledge, executive presence and know-how on navigating Marine Corps' complicated bureaucracy for acquiring missing gear. We had no such luxury.

What we did have was a group seven Corporals, peers, who had just come back from deployment together. We were the same rank and beyond that, friends. No one was equipped for the challenge but pressure from higher up forced someone to step up to the plate and lead this team of reluctant and inexperienced workers to take on the task. That burden fell unto me and the challenge was learning to navigate the administrative processes and human capital management to achieve the objective of reconciling years of accountability backlog. This would mean I had to learn a new inventory/ maintenance system, Global Combat Support System (GCSS), report to authorities on discrepancies and author subsequent remediation reports. Before I could do that, I had to get my peers to work.

In order to lead my team, my first challenge was to outline and communicate what our goal was and why they should buy in. I needed my team to understand that participation in the prep for inspection was important and furthermore nonnegotiable. It’s important to understand that in the last year of a Marine’s initial four-year contract tradition dictated that people don’t generally do a lot of work barring any actual deployments. We were all “short termers” and by tradition very little was typically expected of us, except this was FSMAO. I began with addressing my peers that I’d now be taking reins as Communications Chief but in a way that didn’t threaten their ego. I was still one of them but I needed their help. I was being charged by higher-up to carry out the preparation for the inspection. Leveraging emotional intelligence, and by communicating the larger goal and vision, I succeeded in winning the loyalty of my peers and obtaining their buy-in for the task at hand.

Because the task was so large, my next objective was to divide the scope of work and delegate roles to my team based on their individual strengths. This required an understanding of each team member as an individual and placing them where I felt they’d be most successful. I conducted one on one counseling sessions to get a better understanding of what individuals felt were their strengths. Example:

• For my introverted, more analytical team member, I assigned the role of Records Manager so that they could focus on records hygiene and I trusted him to get the job done. He didn’t let me down.
• To my more expressive team member, I assigned the job of Inventory Manager because that role would require, per Marine Corps norms, vocal directives to Jr. members on what to do next and when. Imagine a drill instructor yelling at recruit’s instructions on what to do. This played to his strengths.
• To my less invested members I delegated simpler, yet essential, tasks, such as Battery Manager. That individual had only a few months left in and wouldn’t be motivated to do tasks much more complex that, but I’ll reiterate that although simple, this task of ensuring all batteries were functioning correctly was vital to inspection success and operational readiness.

In the end my team put in countless hours of work for months accounting for our inventory. We achieved top marks on the inspection report and I was awarded a Certificate of Commendation from our Battalion commander for my performance. The overarching theme of this peer leadership challenge and what led to my success as Communication Chief was in my communication of our team goal, mutual respect and an understanding of what motives the individual team member as well as what their strengths are suited to. I’m grateful for this experience in the Marines, because I think it has best equipped me for leadership in the private sector.

For me, that experience best parallels the corporate world where there is no rank structure, all are equal in stature, yet some hold more authority/ responsibility than others. It has lent itself well to peer leadership in my current role as an individual contributor and will undoubtedly aid in my future roles as a manager, executive leader, and someday, hopefully, founder of multiple companies.

Cool story, Rick. How can I communicate my experience?

Something that I picked up on quickly after leaving the service is that most employers automatically assign leadership value to your experience. The problem is application. There's preconceived notions and ideas about what leadership in the military means. The fact that you can "light up" a Jr. member has no value outside of maybe coaching a sports team. If you're shooting for a corporate job, you're going to have to leave that persona behind you. Focus instead on soft skills like:

• Emotional Intelligence - Today's workforce management requires a deeper understanding of team members' individual contributions, both culture wise and skillset wise. You've come to know the people in your unit on a personal level and know how to accomplish goals through other people in a way that inspire and creates culture.
• Project Management - You've operated under vague "Commander's Intent" in the military. If you can find a way to communicate your ability to receive a vision/ goal and make it into reality, you'll be the top of any short list of hires.
• Team Player - You know how to be on a team and employers will fall over themselves to hire you if they feel they can trust you to act in a way that supports the team efforts. You're trained in receiving orders.
• Quick Learner - You've been asked to complete tasks that you did not have skills to accomplish. Explaining to your future employer about how adaptable you've been in the past will make you a shoe in for your role.
• Cultural Asset - Corporate managers are responsible for creating a team culture that is productive and attractive to great talent. It might not have occurred to you that your unique experience in the military and your travels make you amongst the most seasoned of professionals. Your cultural contribution and perspectives is not only needed, but desired.

These are just a few examples I've come up with. The list of soft skills you've acquired from the Military is endless. I invite you to join the conversation to benefit your own career as well as support your brothers and sisters in their transition journey. I say again, reflecting on your military successes and translating that to corporate applications is your responsibility. The true value of your experience to corporate America is in what you've actually taken away from it and will implement in future endeavors. Thank you for all you've done for our country. I sincerely wish you best in your future career in the private sector. Semper Fidelis.

About Me

My name is Ricky Joe Gonzalez. I'm a native of Texas living in Milwaukee, WI. I was honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in August 2017 and served with 10th and 6th Marines. Since then I have tapped into the full range of Military Veterans Benefits including GI Bill, VA Loan and VA Disability. Over the years I've taken an interest in helping other veterans access the benefits they've earned and realize their career goals. I'm just like most of you. I went to college after I separated from the Marines and now I work for a living as an Account Executive with AppFolio Investment Management. I'm an Executive MBA Candidate at Baylor '23 and hope to someday make it into corporate leadership, if I don't start my own business first. Please reach out if you're open to connecting. I love meeting new people and hearing their stories. Who knows, we might be able to work together some day.