Absolutely American Blog

This is the age-old question.  Everybody knows you need one when you are looking for a job, but what is the resume really supposed to do for you?  What is the right format?  What should you include?  Yikes!  So many questions!  It all seems so hard!

Well, friends, we’re going to make this a lot easier for you today.  In its simplest form, a resume is a sales document, and that means it’s a piece of marketing material that is used to create interest in a potential buyer for your services.  That is the first thing that you want to remember.  Everybody has received marketing material at some time in their lives—a catalog, a flyer, a letter from a charitable organization or a political candidate.  We’ve all seen them, and depending on the product, they all take on different forms.  But they all have one thing in common:  They are all designed to influence the target audience to take a positive action step that will lead to a sale.  Of course, in the job search process, you are the product, and a job offer is the final goal.  And the review of a resume is usually the first step in the process that leads to a job offer.

So what does are buyer want, and what are his concerns?  Let’s deal with the concerns first because this is usually what gets someone eliminated from consideration early.  When this prospect is looking for solutions, often times there are many choices in this marketplace.  The buyer will first look to eliminate choices that seem more risky.  Think of your own experiences when looking to make a major purchase.  Usually the first thing you are concerned about is whether or not you’re going to get ripped off.  Well, guess what?  Your prospective employer is first concerned about that, too.  If the person he employs can’t live up to the expectations of the position or what the person has put into his resume, then he may view that person as a risk to his investment.  When an employer looks at a stack of resumes, the first goal is usually to eliminate the ones that are clearly not a fit or provide a cause for concern.  So what causes a resume to be eliminated?  Let’s take a look at them one by one.

1. Not having the right experience or skills.  This one probably gives the transitioning military member the most trouble and may be the most obvious.  After all, you’re coming from a government entity and trying to move into the “for profit” world.  There are some things that are going to be different, but in any organization, there are going to be many things that are the same.  So your first key is to learn something about the environment you want to enter.  Whether you are going into a manufacturing setting, field service, sales, operational supervision, distribution/warehousing, power generation, health care, or anything else, the environment you want to enter requires you to understand things you don’t currently know.  So try to find out what those things are.  There are many ways to do this that we will have to cover later in a separate post, but be creative.  Google is a wonderful thing, and job descriptions can be of some help.  Once you understand the environment, you want to use terms in your resume that speak to the environment you’re looking to enter.  Speak their language; don’t expect them to speak yours.  Most of the things that your prospective employer does are similar to what you have already done, and the burden is on you to show them how you’re a fit.  (By the way, rarely does an employer find the person with the exact experience they want, and if they do, you can beat that person for the job by having better character traits, more likability, and a tool bag full of other “bonus” skills.)  This gives your target audience confidence that you are more of an “insider” and hence someone capable of quickly addressing the challenges that employer is facing.

2. Red flags that indicate character flaws.  Continuity of employment is the big one here.  If you change jobs frequently, then you are setting yourself up to be a risky hire.  Employers like to see a minimum of two years with a company before a person goes somewhere else.  If you have made company changes in less than two years, it can be helpful to address the reason for the change in your resume if you have a legitimately good reason for the change.  To make that determination, try looking at your situation from the other side of the table as if you were spending your money to hire someone from your resume.  Would you risk tens of thousands of dollars on the reason you gave, or would you look elsewhere?  Even if you don’t include this information on your resume, you need to be ready to discuss it in an interview.  It will come up.  So what are good reasons to leave in less than two years? 

§         A clear promotion for position and responsibility.  This can actually build your resume and mark you as someone on the fast track especially if you mention that you weren’t looking.  A simple increase in pay is NOT a good reason. 

§         A move to a company and role where your past experience makes more logical sense.  Sometimes economic conditions drive you to take a job that is a little outside of your field.  Most people understand that, and they understand the desire to get a career back on track—as long as the job you’re seeking still makes sense for your career track, then this can be a good reason to make a change.  You still need a record of accomplishment in the job you left.

§         An improvement in working conditions (like moving from night shift to day shift) that compares favorably to the job you’re seeking.  In other words if you left a company in less than 2 years because you could move to a day shift job elsewhere, the job you are currently seeking had better be day shift.

§         Failure of the company by closure, lay-offs, etc. assuming that you can document your track record of accomplishments with this employer.  Otherwise, you may have been the “dead wood that companies tend to cut in a down market. 

Reasons other than these will be warning signs that you have “issues” and may prove to be bad hire.

3. Gaps in Employment.  This is a biggie that points back to #2.  Continuous employment is generally considered gaps of 3 months or less so you don’t have to worry about day-for-day coverage of your employment history.  If you’ve recently been laid-off, using an end date of “present” is still appropriate as long as it’s within 3 months of the date of your termination.  Make sure you include month and year for each employer, and with military resumes, I always recommend that you list your time in the service as one period of employment.  You can always break out specific periods of employment underneath if the changing of commands or jobs places you in a favorable light from the research you’ve done on the company and/or environment you’re trying to enter. 

4. No Accomplishments.  Most candidates I meet are poor resume writers because their resumes read more of a description of duties and responsibilities with little or no attention to accomplishments.  Being responsible for $XX million worth of equipment means nothing unless you did something significant with that responsibility.  If you claimed to lead a group of X people, then you need to list accomplishments that fit with your level of leadership.  Meeting your organizations goals are always the first responsibility of a leader.  After that, you need to be able to discuss how you reduced turnover, developed the people in your charge, reduced costs while meeting your goals, developed/improved processes, etc.  All of these are things that a civilian employer faces on a daily basis.  If you are a technician or other type of individual contributor, then you need to highlight difficult problems you’ve solved with people, systems, etc. that were better than your peers.  All of these highlights should have happy endings. 

5. Irrelevant Education or Goals.  Avoid putting education or goals on a resume that don’t relate to what your employer wants for their environment.  If you are applying for an engineering position, then your goal or education in human resources would not be immediately beneficial to the hiring manager.  The company as a whole may not have an issue with that, but the hiring manager is concerned about his own situation.  He doesn’t want to have to replace you in a short period of time because you really want to work in a different area.  Again, how would you pare down a big group of candidates to a small group you can interview? 

6. Poor Spelling and Grammar.  Most resumes are viewed as MS Word documents, and your spelling and grammar errors will show up when the employer opens your resume.  This is not good.  Some terrible grammar and spelling errors can be missed or auto-corrected by MS Word.  Take the time to proof your document, and if these areas aren’t strong for you, seek out help.  It’s available on base for free.  Why would you want to look illiterate to a prospective employer?  How could that ever be good? 

7. Poor Formatting or General Appearance.  Appearance does matter, and it reflects on you.  Your resume needs to look sharp and flow in a logical manner.  Your words are the substance, but you need to package them in a way that is appealing to they eye.  A Christmas gift wrapped in newspaper doesn’t create as much excitement as the box wrapped in decorative paper with a big shiny bow.  Set these two gifts in front of a child, and you’ll see which one is opened first.  It’s just human nature to like packaging, and that’s why companies spend so much money on the way their product looks.  You would be wise to do the same. 

By avoiding these pitfalls you’ll be well on your way to making sure your resume makes the cut when you apply for a position.  In my next post, we’ll talk about taking the next step in understanding what to put in the resume and cover letter that will help you get to an interview.

As a happily married man, I understand the peril of coming home after a couple of days travelling away from home and announcing to your wife on arrival, “I’ve just met the most incredible woman!”  But that is exactly what I did this past Sunday.  I couldn’t help it.  You see in addition to my work in recruiting, I am also a high school football referree, and this past weekend was the 15th Annual PA officials’ convention.  I attended the conference this year because my crew chief was being honored at a banquet on Saturday evening for his 35 years of service as a football official.  At the dinner, there were 9 of us seated at a 10-person table, and just before dinner was to begin, a woman asked if the remaining seat was taken-the one beside me.  Of course, we said it was not, and she immediately sat down.  At first, we didn’t know what to make of this woman.  She didn’t introduce herself when she sat down so we didn’t know anything about her, but we knew she was bold and that she definitely was definitely in the “unexpected” category of person.  Though this was a banquet honoring officials with considerable seniority, my feeling was that this woman must have been there for someone else–perhaps a son or grandson who was being honored.  When you looked at her face, you knew that she was of advanced age, and at first, I found myself feeling a little offended by this woman’s boldness with our group and some of her mannerisms.  But it quickly became clear that she was there alone, and that was why she preferred sitting at a table with a lot of people.  Finally, I remembered something one of the elders at church said about how to avoid prejudging people.  He said, “Remember that everyone you encounter was created by God and is loved by God,” and at that moment I made up my mind to make this woman feel welcome. 

I introduced myself to her and asked her name.  She said, “Aggie,” and I led her on a series of questions to learn about her.  After a few minutes, I introduced everyone around the large round table to her working clockwise from me so everyone would feel comfortable, and that is when the excitement began.  You see, Aggie wasn’t there for someone else; she was there for herself.  Thanks to the internet, I found out that Aggie is 86 years old.  She still serves as an active official in field hockey though she admits she can only do junior high level now, but she also serves her local chapter as their rules interpreter.  She was a teacher for 33 years in Philadelphia, and she is still currently an adjunct professor at Temple University serving as an advisor to student teachers who are younger than her grandchildren.  And that’s just the beginning.  Her list of accomplishments in sports is unprecedented.  Google her name, and you’ll see what I mean.  Aggie has been officiating sports since she was in college, and she has officiated 5 sports throughout her career including multiple times at the World Cup of Field Hockey.  (By the way, Aggied told me that field hockey is the world’s 2nd most popular sport.)  Remember, she is 86 years old, and she graduated from high school in 1941.  The world was different then.

But with all of these accomplishments, you would have thought that Aggie would be winding things down in her life, and perhaps by her standards, she is.  After all by initial appearance, her face reflects her life of someone who has long ago crossed the threshold of fewer years left than those ahead.  Her hair was kept neatly with thin whisps of ribbon addorning the bun she made on the back of her head which gave testimony to the era when she was raised.  But I was captivated by her speach, her mannerisms, and her enthusiasm for what she did.  Though her face looked weary, her bright blue eyes lit up like school girl in love as she described her career in past, present and future terms.  As I observed her mannerisms during the speaker’s remarks, Aggie sat leaning forward with her elbows on her knees taking hanging on every word the speaker was saying–the same way that I teach candidates how to sit during an interview.  And then during the presentation of awards, I noticed that she would alternate between her forward leaning posture and turning to hang on the back of her chair while she lowered her head to her hands in the same way that my 8 & 10 year-old daughters do.  I was awestruck by what I was witnessing.  Elderly people just don’t act this way.  They supposed to have pains everywhere, move slowly, have trouble seeing and hearing, look forward to meeting at the senior center for a game of checkers, and always make sure their right turn signal is on.  Right?  My maternal grandmother just died in January days short of her 95th birthday.  She lived by herself until 9 months before she died when she moved in with my parents, and though my grandmother was rugged and healthy, she had known for a long time that she was in the twilight of her life and really didn’t have any goals for herself, which I think is the way most people live when they start seeing 80 years old ahead. 

They say that you know the career that is right for you if you’re willing to do it for free, and though that may be true, it’s pretty clear from what I learned from Aggie that it’s the right career for you if you’re still doing it in your 80’s or at least still wanting to do it then.  Aggie didn’t need to work.  She told me that.  She had more than enough money to manage herself through her remaining days, and you can’t really make a living out of officiating unless maybe at the highest professional levels.  But it’s clear that working with young teachers and serving in youth sports is still energizes this 86 year-old woman.  Absolutely American, Inc. strives to help military-experienced individuals find the right career for them so that their spirits can be fulfilled and so they can become all that God wants them to be.  We don’t always succeed in our goal, but it is mark that we try to attain with every placement we make.  I’ve known for a long time that people are happy when they are in pursuit of worthwhile goals and dreams.  So even if your job or career isn’t that perfect fit that you would do for free, keeping yourself in a mode of achievement in all areas of your life is definitely the key to putting more life into your years.  Just ask Aggie.

OK, so here I am at 12:30 am, and I’m in the blogosphere instead of z-land. Normally I don’t have sleep issues, which drives my wife crazy, but that’s a topic for another day. I don’t really know what’s got me up tonight. In spite of the 8.1% unemployment rate announced Friday, I slept well the last two nights, but as I was sitting here tonight, I thought it may be keeping some of you awake. And that means it’s worth addressing. There’s no doubt that recessions are tough on everyone, and it looks like it’s going to be tough sledding out there for a while. If you’re a military member transitioning out of the service now, you’re facing some new realities that the other companies in the business of military placement really don’t want to discuss, but I don’t believe in blowing sunshine up people’s skirts. Giving someone undue confidence in the economic environment we face now can have dire consequences, but I also still believe that there lies opportunity in every adversity. So let’s start with something I learned from Admiral Stockdale that discussed by Jim Collins in his best-selling business book Good to Great. He called it the “Stockdale Paradox.” As the story goes, Mr. Collins was interviewing Admiral Stockdale to learn how he and his fellow prisoners of war survived the hellish conditions for so many years in the Hanoi Hilton–the most infamous of all the North Vietnamese prisoner of war camps. Stockdale said, “You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end–which you can never afford to lose–with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.” So let’s take a look at some of those brutal facts.

1. The party is over, and it’s not coming back anytime soon. Be ready for a pay cut. If you come from an enlisted or junior officer background for the past 15 years with the exception of about 1 year after 9/11, jobs were plentiful for military members heading back to the civilian sector. The economy had largely been expanding since the mid 90’s, and companies had to compete viciously to get exceptionally talented people on board and really hard just to get people who were really only average performers. That led to rapid rises in salaries among the professional work force and a great deal of flexibility on the part of employers. For a while, many could expect pay increases and multiple offers when they got out. Today it will take more time to get fewer offers, and nearly all of those will be at pay rates less than those “equivalency” pay charts you see. There are still exceptions to this rule, but this will be true for 95%+. Your current employer is paying you well because you’re an expert at what you do now, and you have a difficult lifestyle. The cost of turnover is high, and they want you to stay–at least if you’re in the Marines or Army anyway. Your civilian job won’t have those same requirements, and you’re not an expert in your new job yet. So it would be a good idea to modify your expectations accordingly because there is very likely an unemployed civilian in the mix who is an expert in the field your seeking and is willing to accept less. So a word to the wise–live well below your means while you’re still on active duty, and create a savings account that will help to support you during your transition.

2. You are going to have to sell yourself–for real. The facts are clear. There are 1/3 as many jobs available as there were last year, and there are 50% more job seekers. Mathematically, that means the competition for a job is 6 times greater than it was last year at this time. For the last 10 years, the quality of resumes and interviewing skills among transitioning military members has dropped steadily. Weak resumes could be overcome by great personalities in interviews. Proven leadership experience or documented technical skills were good enough to get you through an interview with success. Though these are still important, the most successful candidates will now have to develop a deeper understanding of how their skills can help a company to make more money or save more money than their competition. Zig Ziglar has said for years that a successful sales person clearly articulates the benefits of products and services in a manner that is personal to the customer. This process starts with your resume. A resume is not a job description or outline of responsibilities. It’s a sales document whose sole purpose is to create interest in its target audience. And in this environment, you need to make your value clear. If you don’t know how you can help a company save money or make more money, you had better do your homework in this area. Get this information in your resume, and get yourself ready to present that value during an interview.

3. Make sure you get it right the first time. Again over the past 10 years, job-hopping has been a pretty forgivable sin. Before the bonanza of the last 15 years, employers were a lot more critical of job seekers who changed employers frequently. Those days are coming back because turnover is a cost that is not going to be acceptable when margins are thin. This is important for military members in transition because you want to make sure you find an opportunity that is going to be right you for a minimum of two years but ideally for 4-5 years. This means that you need to do your homework on potential employers. As specific questions about what will be expected of you, what specific tasks you will perform on a daily basis, what criteria will be used to evaluate your success, find out how you can grow with or without formal promotions, etc. Get to know your boss, and get to know your coworkers a little before you start. If you are given an offer, ask for the opportunity to meet with the team informally to make sure the fit is right. The two main reasons I have seen veterans leave their first job are 1) the daily work was more mundane than they expected and 2) the culture of the company wasn’t what it appeared to be during the recruiting process. (By the way, the third is that the speed of promotion was less than expected, but that’s likely to be a reality for the foreseeable future regardless.)

4. It’s going to be harder to differentiate yourself. Not only are more people on the market than there were a year ago, but those who are on the “active” market are higher quality and more motivated to get a new opportunity than they’ve been in a long time. That means generic advantages like “I’m a hard worker” aren’t going to cut it unless you can really prove it because everybody is saying that. Preparation and creativity are the key to being remembered.

5. Your performance had better match your interview. Accomplish the mission every time; arrive early; stay late; look for opportunities to help and add value. Be positive and get along well with others. Add tools to your tool bag through education, certifications, experiences and achievements. Make sure that your new chain of command is aware of what you’re doing. If cuts have to be made, companies will always try to keep the people who are positive influences and are willing do whatever it takes and a little bit more.

6. Be ready for the next time you do this. I know I just got done telling you to plan to stay, but stuff happens. Military placement firms do a great job of helping you cross the threshold to your new career. Once you make that transition, you need to begin preparation for your next job search in case it comes sooner than you plan. Keep good records of your accomplishments, and make sure your resume sells. It is amazing to me how many former military members still can’t write a decent resume or articulate accomplishments after they’ve been out for 5 or more years. Too often I get the same type of poor resume again as when they first left the service. That tells me something about the person. You need to adapt to your new environment. This is the way business is done in Corporate America, and civilian headhunters won’t give you much in the way of resume help. If your resume stinks, they just won’t put you in for the job.

OK, that’s the harsh reality. So where can you place your faith?

1. Jesus Christ. Without trying to be too preachy, I’m learning to rely on Him more than ever. You may be surprised by the peace and comfort you find when you seek Him.

2. Corporate America still wants you. Military experience is more valuable than ever. Most of you who are leaving the service now joined in the post 9/11 world. So not only do you have the same great normal attributes and skills of fellow veterans in the workforce, but you agreed to take a job when the risks of losing your life for your country are higher than they’ve been since Vietnam. That speaks volume about your character and commitment. Understanding the situation I’ve outlined above and preparing yourself in the ways I’ve suggested will make it easier for employers to say “yes” to you.

3. There are a lot of good people out there, but there’s a lot of dead wood, too. Companies who are doing well still take advantage of recessions to eliminate poor performers who might otherwise be difficult to when business is good. A down economy makes personnel reductions easy to justify in lawsuits. Of note, these are usually the types of companies that look to start hiring a short time later for “new initiatives” where they try to upgrade the quality of their employees. So effectively your real competition is thinned down considerably.

4. Companies are hiring. The news would have you believe that nobody is being hired and that there’s only lay-offs happening. You will find a job. Your approach needs to be this simple: If a company is hiring for something you can do well, then they need to hire you. Plan, prepare, execute. Sound familiar?

5. This is an opportunity to elevate your game. As a recruiter, I love recessions. The military placement industry has grown dramatically in the last 10 years, and just like a shrub that hasn’t been pruned for 10 years, the military placement industry is a mess and full of weak players who have made a living just picking up low hanging fruit. There is no low hanging fruit anymore so recessions compel the good recruiters to elevate their game while the weak players fall out. In the end, my company will emerge better than we were when we entered this period, and this will be the case for you if you follow my advice. And it will be the same for

America, too. Learning how to find the right job in a tough market will make it easy for you to accelerate your career in a good economy, and we tend to appreciate things more when they’re difficult to obtain. Taking time to count our blessings is always good for reenergizing the spirit.

OK, we’re back after a long period of technical difficulty, but I managed to figure out the problem. It’s a good thing I don’t try to make a living doing software technical work.

In any event, last night I had the opportunity to attend a networking meeting of service academy graduates in Cleveland, OH. The rapid downturn in the economy seems to have created a lot of interest in this subject as many are concerned that they may need to find jobs in the near future. So whether you’re currently serving in the military or already out, this should be a topic of interest.

The hardest thing about building a network for job-seeking purposes is getting over the feeling inside that this is clearly self-serving, and the truth is that it is if this is the way you pursue this task. The problem is that those who are recruited for and choose military service tend to be “task-oriented” people. If you’re a line officer, over 90% of you fall into this category. What that means is that in spite of all of our leadership training and experience, we are more comfortable dealing with tasks, missions, processes, etc. than we are in dealing with people. This doesn’t mean that people aren’t important to us and we can’t deal with them effectively; it just means that we are most comfortable when we are in a mode of accomplishment than when we are in a mode of listening to people. If you don’t believe me, consider this. In marital relationships, opposites do attract, and in this case, opposites are a “people orientation” versus a “task orientation.” So if you’re married, assess who in your relationship is better with that “sympathetic ear” listening to another persons problems or who is the person lights up the room at a social function. Chances are really good that it’s not the person reading this blog. If you’re like me (and most of you are), I can only listen to someone else’s problems for so long (because I want to solve the problem and move on), and though I can be social at a gathering, usually I need to convince myself of a good reason why I should meet new people. (In other words, I need to come up with a mission.) Again, this isn’t always the case, but for military-experienced people, this is the general rule. By the way among the general population, 60% are people-oriented. So what does that mean for building a network? It means that we have to take a genuine interest in people FIRST.

People nowadays can spot a phony a mile away, and nobody is better at that than someone who has been in the military. That’s why the networking-to-find-a-job mindset is hard. We know we’re being phony so we’re naturally conflicted. Scott Love is a former Navy officer and one of the nation’s leading sales and recruiting trainers in the country (www.ScottLove.com), and in developing sales success, Scott teaches that good sales skills are the same as the good influence skills necessary to leadership. And one of the key characteristics of good leadership is AUTHENTICITY. In other words, people will trust you when they believe that you are being truthful and forthright in the way that you interact with them. So the first key to building a successful network is “Develop a genuine interest in people.”

This doesn’t mean that you have to be the life of the party or that you need to subdue that task-oriented personality of yours. What it means is that you need to channel that focus into an approach that shows genuine interest, and the best way to do that is to make your goal MUTUAL BENEFIT.

So if you’ve gotten this far, you probably realize that there isn’t going to be a quick fix to your networking problem, but haven’t you realized in your career to date that there no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to people issues? Of course, you have. Otherwise, anyone could lead by popping out leadership principles like shooting candy out of a Pez dispenser. If that were the case, we could solve all the world’s problems in a few hours. So what can you do to address your problem now? That’s easy. ASK FOR HELP.

Nothing is more genuine and compelling in the human condition than the cry for help. Whether you know someone or not, we just find it difficult to deny the person who asks for our help. Though we may offer varying degrees of commitment to help someone, nearly all people want to help someone in need. We won’t get into the whys of that now, but if you’re looking for a job now and you don’t have a big network built, then here are 7 steps to get things moving in a hurry.

1. Make a list of everyone you know who you think MAY be willing to talk with you. The word “may” is significant because your goal should be to open this list as far as possible. Look at every aspect of your life for options–military/work/business associates, family, friends, fellow alumni, kids’ sports, clubs, etc. This will break your thought process down into simpler components making name generating much easier, and you will be surprised how many people you know who may be willing to talk with you.

2. Develop a CLEAR understanding of what you are able and willing to do that will make a positive impact on an organization. This will take some time to develop because it needs to be easy for someone else who doesn’t do what you do to remember, and that means that it needs to be brief and at least one point needs to be uncommon. Just saying “I’m a really hard worker” isn’t going to get it done. Everyone says that. In other words, you need to develop a statement for YOUR SPECIAL COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. Here’s why: By positioning yourself as someone with special qualifications, you give this person a way to become a hero to somethey he knows. If someone refers you AND you perform as you claim, then this person’s credibility will rise with the person you were referred to, and everybody wants that. And now you’ve established MUTUAL BENEFIT. The reason that people don’t make referrals is that they believe you could damage their reputation by underperforming and that is embarrasing. So your job is to make sure this doesn’t happen. This starts with a good resume and other supporting items, but that is a topic for another day. The bottom line is to make this person confident that referring you will reflect well on him.

3. TALK TO THE PEOPLE ON YOUR LIST. NO EMAIL. Give each person an overview of your situation, what you can do (from #2), and ask for help. If the person is willing to talk in detail with you, that’s great. The more the person is willing to talk, the more likely he is to help you, and you never know how connections will come together. After all, that’s how we got the “seven steps to Kevin Bacon.”

4. BE SPECIFIC. It’s amazing when you say, “Who do you know who may be able to help me?” the answer is a blank stare and “I don’t know.” Though you should avoid the 20-questions approach, you need to develop some questions that will cause the person to think creatively about options for you. If you would like to meet someone they know, ask. If you want them to pass a resume, ask. Always show appreciation even if the person can’t think of anything at the time. You never know what they may come up with later, but you planted a seed. Again, this takes time and planning on your part, but you haven’t built a functional network yet so much of the burden to jump-start growth will fall on you. You have to do the work–no skipping steps. You can’t reap a good harvest unless you prepare the ground, plant the seeds, and tend to the crops.

5. CHANNEL YOUR EFFORTS. I think it’s obvious that networking can take you away from your goal as well as toward your goal. Therefore, you need to be mindful of the direction your heading. This doesn’t mean that you should only work in the direction of your goal. Sometimes the best route isn’t the shortest, but you need to be mindful of your goal at all times so you are using your limited time wisely, but walk the process person-to-person until you reach your goal. Show genuine appreciation at every step with thank-you notes, etc. as appropriate. Nothing will upset a person more than feeling he was taken for granted after he risked his reputation for you.

6. Keep your network posted on what is happening whether they have been helping you or not. Subtle remindersof your special competetive advantages are extremely valuable. Email is a great way to do this, but avoid using mass emails for this. You may be able to use the same message body, but copy/paste the message and address it to these people individually. After all, you approached them individually. Even in the information age, there are few ways that you can be efficient with people. You can only be effective. The reason we do this is that repeating your cause to them keeps your situation on their minds and allows the people in your network to keep thinking about your situation consciously and subconsciously. Make sure you let them know if you’re still looking for opportunities. This sends the message that you’re serious and professional. And from a personal standpoint, people are naturally curious about what’s going on.

7. BUILD IT TO LAST. Now that you’ve reached your short-term goal, it’s time to build your network for the long-haul. There are many great reasons to have a network other than finding a job when you’re in a crisis. At this point, you have laid a foundation you can build upon with minimal effort, but you still need to cultivate that genuine interest in people, and the easiest way to do that is to look for common ground. As people, God created us for relationships, and the quality of our relationships can be directly correlated to our quality of life. Again, you don’t have to be the life of the party or someone who has the knack for talking to anybody. Just take your eyes off yourself a little while and look at other people. Keep your eyes open for opportunities for people in your network and look for opportunities to become acquainted with new people. This could be in the form of introducing friends or business associates, business opportunities, personal referrals, and more. This is how you take your network and make it grow, and it’s the ultimate compliment to the people you know. LinkedIn, Facebook, Plaxo, MySpace and others are actually some great resources for holding your network together and expanding it, and I would recommend anyone reading this blog to join LinkedIn at a minimum.

In poker, the straight flush is the best hand you can get. It requires that the five cards in your playing hand be from the same suit (hearts, diamonds, etc) and that they be in sequential order (like Q,J,10,9,8). Nice, neat and orderly. So with todays much less formal work world, is the conservative business suit still appropriate for an interview? In nearly all cases the answer is–Absolutely!

“What comprises a conservative business suit anyway?” You ask. For the purposes of an interview, it’s a dark blue or gray suit, single breasted (one row of buttons in front), plain or with a faint pinstripe, a crisp white long-sleeved shirt, a medium width tie with some red in it, and dress shoes with matching belt. On the low end for men, it is possible to put something like this together for $350 if you plan ahead and take advantage of sales & discounts when they come available. In any case, you should purchase your suit no less than 2 weeks prior to your need. That will give time for altering the suit for you.

For ladies, a suit with a skirt is still the right way to go with a shoe that has some elevation in the heel but allows for comfort in walking or standing, and of course, you wouldn’t be wearing a tie but a nice blouse instead and nothing that could be considered the least bit revealing. Though I’m not an expert in ladies’ clothing, I suspect that ladies could put this together for about the same $350 on the low end.

“But what if I don’t have 2 weeks to prepare?” Maybe this would work for you instead: If you get a new pair of khaki or gray trousers dress trousers that already come hemmed to your inseam size and a white shirt, tie, nice shoes with matching belt, and a navy blue casual blazer (like a suit coat only more casual) that should be OK. It’s not a suit, but it does give you something for your wardrobe that’s a little more upscale for the times in your life when you’ll need it (weddings, funerals, work holiday parties, etc). Ladies can adjust to a conservative white blouse and skirt in the same way. This isn’t the ideal situation, but it can make the best of the situation. And combined with preparation that leads to a good interview, things can work out just fine. Just remember, this is an emergency back-up and not the standard.

If the blazer is still something you don’t want to invest in, the choice is up to you. After all, it’s your career, and that’s the beauty of being a civilian again. You get to make these choices without fear of captain’s mast, office hours or other NJP, but I make my recommendations to you not because I like suits. Trust me, I prefer shorts, tee shirts and flip-flops at work on any days that we’re not bringing someone into the office, but during interviews (and office visits from clients), people expect more formal attire–right or wrong.

Here’s why: Interviewing is like dating. Couples never treat each other better than they do in the courting phase, and they’re never more concerned about what the other thinks than when they’re serious about making a commitment to each other. It’s the same with the employment relationship. You’re looking for a company to commit to you and vice versa. (By the way in the interview process, trying to impress the other party should work both ways. Even on the initial interview, the company should also be trying to impress you at least a little, too. If by the second interview date the company isn’t starting to sell themselves to you, it may be a warning flag as to what your work environment will be like.) So as the rationale goes, if you don’t care enough to create the right appearance for an interview, then it makes people question how you will approach your work after you have the job. Think about it. It makes sense. You’re a salesman right now, and the product is YOU. You want your product to be as valuable as possible, right?

From the employer’s perspective, interviewing isn’t just about finding someone who can do the job. It’s about eliminating the risk of a bad hire that can cost the company time, money and resources far in excess of the person’s salary. That’s why there are still expectations out there about how people should look for a professional level interview–especially someone coming from the military. Companies expect that military-experienced candidates know how to look sharp and pay attention to the details.

Even if a suit just isn’t possible for your first job out of the service, you should strongly consider owning at least one conservative suit for your professional future’s sake. Trust me when I say it will pay off for you. Your professional appearance may not add to your salary, but it will definitely take away.

Just remember most recruiters don’t get paid for their work unless their candidate goes to work for their client, and that doesn’t happen unless you the candidate get an offer. And you won’t take an offer unless you get one that you like, and you won’t get an offer you like unless the company is impressed by you. What benefits you benefits me, too, and vice versa. So get the suit, get it in order, and win.

There are 2 things that you seem to hear from every employer about military-experienced employees: (1) They are disciplined and (2) They have leadership. Most people think because they have leadership, they should be a supervisor. As each of us progresses through our military careers, we grow through progressively increasing levels of responsiblity that often involve supervising other military members. But what if you have technical skills and a relatively short military career history, say, ten years or less? What is the better path to pursue? I’m often times puzzled by why the technically proficient military member is so immediately focused on wanting a supervisory position in his/her first civilian job. Though I think this comes from some of the indoctrination you receive when you’re in the service about the value of supervising versus the value of individual contribution, let’s talk about some realities.

1. Technical skills are often worth more than supervisory skills. Every high school in America is pushing the concept of higher education. In most cases, it is the bachelors degree that they are trying to encourage every student to pursue. And though the bachelors degree can be a valuable asset to gaining employment and career growth, it’s not the “holy grail” of career happiness. This has created a real problem for America’s employers. Enrollment in hands-on technical education has dropped dramtically over the last 20 years in America, and America’s employers are desperately seeking individuals who have mechanical, electrical and electronics skills. The absence of these skills in the marketplace has driven their price up over the years, and the flood of new graduates with bachelors degrees has forced the value of first-line supervision down. By the way & just like the military, your civilian employer pays you the same whether you work 40 hours or 80 hours a week. Divide your supervisors’ salary by 50 or 60 hours per week for a real comparison of how well you’re trading your time & experience for money.

2. In a technical job, you get paid overtime (OT). Most people hired into a technical position fall into the “nonexempt” employee category. Nonexempt means the job is not exempt from labor laws, and that means that you get paid overtime when you work more than 40 hours each week. In many companies, overtime is predictable week-to-week (especially in field service), which adds signifcantly to your annual earnings.

3. Until you have a bachelors degree, your growth from first line supervisor into management is extremely limited. Very few companies will promote first-line supervisors beyond that level of responsibility (and pay rate) without a bachelors degree. The reason is simple: There are too many equally attractive options that have the degree. And the degree does mean something. A bachelors degree gives credibility to an individual’s ability to think beyond the present and communicate effectively–these are attributes that a position in senior management requires. Hey, this isn’t my plan. It’s just the facts of life.

4. Nearly all failures by newly-transitioned military members are in supervisory or management positions. Supervision in the military has a lot of support from other people & systems because military leaders are responsible for their people 24/7/365 wherever you happen to be. Enlistment contracts, the UCMJ, and standardized operating procedures give military supervisors additional support in the leadership structure. In many civilian organizations, these systems don’t exist, or they exist as concepts in somebody’s head but not as part of the core of the organization. Civilians can leave, not show up for work, or even file a grievance with the union if they don’t like your style. If your military leadership style has relied on your rank at all, your first job as a supervisor of civilians is going to be very challenging. It’s a different world than you know now.

5. First-line supervisors are the bottom of the food chain. Huh? That doesn’t make sense. Ahh, but they are. Remember what I said about “nonexempt” employees. Well, supervisors are “exempt” (from labor laws) employees in most cases. That means that accountability really stops here. You are the responsible person if the goals aren’t met or if their is disharmony in the workplace. It does roll downhill, and when you start in your first supervisory job, you will be back at the bottom.

Now, I’m not saying that taking a supervisory job as your first job out of the military is a bad thing. I only emphasize to my candidates that you need to take that job for the right reasons. Some believe they will make more money. Some believe that it’s the better long-term career move, and others think that being the boss means not working for a living. We weed those people out here. For a supervisory position to work out for you, first make sure you have plan for what the next step will be. You must know what your limitations are based on your education and qualifications. Second, find out what the working hours are of other supervisors, and add 10-20%. That will be a good estimate of what you’re going to be doing to start. And finally, be honest with yourself about why you want to be a supervisor. If you really believe that your ability to get the most out of people over the long term is your strongest skill set, then move forward. Otherwise, you may want to take a closer look at using your technical skills first before taking on the leadership role. It could save you a lot of frustration and actually accelerate your civilian career.

Last week I attended three transition assistance program classes at the Norfolk, VA naval base, and though it is typical that most transitioning military members feel a great deal of apprehension over finding a job, it’s been my experience that a little more thought needs to be paid to what type of employee you’re going to be. Recruiters like me who represent military candidates to Corporate America do so because we know from historical experience that “the average military-experienced candidate performs at a higher level than the average of their civilian peers in the same position.” This is a dangerous statement for recruiters like me to say when selling your merits to a company, and it’s doubly dangerous for people like you who are reading this post. The key word in the quote is “average.” Just because the average of military-experienced candidates perform better than the average of civilian peers doesn’t mean that every individual performs at a higher level than their civilian peers. So what does that mean to your job search? It means that getting your first job out of the military is just the beginning. Whether you are retiring after 30+ years or getting out after your first enlistment, you are entering a new career young enough to build another career. And for some, that may mean rethinking who you are. Throughout my career I have found many military members to be dissatisfied with their career field, and it unfortunately sometimes makes them bitter toward the service and the way they approach their jobs. For example, I was a Surface Warfare Officer (SWO) in the Navy. As far as the watchstanding, tactical and leadership duties were concerned, I was motivated and feel that I performed very well as an officer, but my career had some setbacks. I deployed 5 times in 5-1/2 years, and I was with 3 different commands on 4 different ships. To say that this put a strain on my personal life is an understatement, but I thank God that I stayed married to the same woman through this day. I also hated the relentless drudgery of reports. At my last command, I was a test analyst, and though the title may sound cool, the truth was that my job was to review 300-page test plans that were all written the same way. Oh, I can still feel the pain! In the end, I allowed these circumstances to impact the way that I did my job. I could hardly wait for the end of the work day when I could bolt off the quarterdeck as quickly as possible and try to forget the Navy for the rest of the day. Now, I know that there are some of you who can relate to this. The good news is that this story has a happy ending. You see what I realized is that even though I had been in the Navy for 13 years total, it wasn’t the right career for me. The security of the steady paycheck had a hold on me that was tough to break so I struggled in a career that I no longer wanted bound by my commitments. In the end, I did break away to a career that was exactly what I wanted and exactly where I wanted to be. Since 1999 when I began my career in placing military-experienced individuals into Corporate America, I have never had a day that I did not want to go to work. My work is fulfilling and in line with my life’s mission, and it provides a good living for my family.

So what’s the lesson here? There are actually a couple. First thing as you are leaving the service you need to be honest about your performance. Don’t rely on your evals. I know. I’ve written them in the current form and the old-school form. Everybody’s evals at least show them as “above average” when you compare the writing to the marks, but for every “above average” military member, there has to be a “below average” military member. So ask, “Am I really ‘above average’ in what I am doing?” If not, you may not be in the career field that is right for you, or you may have to take a hard look at your character. Let’s face it. Sometimes we’re just plain lazy about what we do, and the first step to changing that is admitting it. This lesson is so important to you career, but nobody ever talks about it. Just changing your environment will only help you for a little while. You may be excited and motivated for the first couple of months, but after you start to see the faults of your new organization, your dissatisfaction will return.

If either of these scenarios sound like you, I would suggest the following: (1) Figure out if you really like what you are doing. If not, plan a change of career out of the service. Take the time to look into your own heart about what you want to do by looking at what interests you. No shortcuts here. Do the work. Pray, consult experts, and do your own research. Your dissatisfaction with your career field may be God’s way of drawing you toward something else. (2) If character is the issue, you still need to take a hard look at what motivates you. We all have something that we would do for free. That’s a good place to start with what may be the right fit. From there, you need to evaluate whether character is the issue with your past performance. This can be hard to do because it’s scarry to honestly evaluate yourself. Depression may be a real issue that is impacting your character. If you suspect that, seek professional help. A professional can help put together a plan to guide you not only toward what may be your life’s work, but through reaching small goals, you can start to overcome depression and find the energy you once had.

No matter what, both of these require a lot of thought and prayer, but doing this will bring happiness, satisfaction and performance to your work life.