The Military to Private Sector Transition Challenge

All branches of the military are responsible for recruiting America’s sons and daughters; spending billions of dollars on acquisition and initial training. They take America’s youth as individuals and build teams of men and women capable of performing military missions. No one ever questions why the military performs this important function because the private sector does not understand the rules, regulations, cultural norms, rituals, and physical demands of the military’s unique profession. So too, the civilian sector is itself unique. As such, why does the military believe that it’s capable of preparing those who are leaving military service for life in the private sector; something that it knows very little about?

There is no “reverse basic training” for separating or retiring military personnel. Military transition assistance programs (TAP) are well structured but the content is not up to the task. Many of their facilitators/teachers/coaches cannot relate to their audience. Some lack credibility. Most do not track their graduates’ successes and failures nor collect and analyze feedback to improve the program. It’s a one-size-fits-all approach that attempts to address the needs of military personnel of all ranks from corporal to colonel. Most of these programs are led by former well-meaning individuals who themselves “transitioned” from active military service into their Transition Services Manager (TSM) role as GS employees having never made a real transition to the non-government civilian job market. Because of their lack of personal experience, most are unaware of the challenges their clients face when preparing to research, interview, and negotiate for a job in the private sector—a classic case of the blind leading the blind.

Based upon feedback from personnel who have gone through military transition programs, there are several issues with those who manage these programs. Many are not familiar with current talent acquisition practices and the emerging trends in that field. Many have not schooled themselves in the best practices by reading contemporary books on the subject like What Color is your Parachute, Guerilla Hunting for Job Hunters 3.0, Your Next Mission, or Transitions 2.0, among others. Many TSMs invite civilian “experts” to lecture in their programs, but many of these personnel have never served in the military and have a difficult time relating to the needs of transitioning military personnel. Many, not wishing to offend, tell the transitioning personnel what they want to hear: you’re so highly qualified, you won’t have any problem or, the private sector is beating down the door to hire folks like you. Well, not so much.

With national unemployment (as of this writing) at 4.1 percent, the lowest in 17 years, your chances of getting hired are slim if you don’t have the right qualifications and have not done your research and prepared yourself properly. Most military transition programs only track how many personnel went through their program, not how many found meaningful employment, or how many stay in their job for longer than two years. TSMs don’t ask for additional feedback from those who have transitioned or provide any continued mentoring and support so they don’t know what is working or not working or how to improve their program. Most transition programs are designed to get folks off the unemployment roles as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, once military personnel are out the door, they are no longer tracked unless they return for more support.

Senior military leaders are normally upbeat, positive, and cheerleaders for their respective team or service—as they should be. Their focus is rightly on their assigned mission. They’ll often make statements like, “you’ll do just fine, keep your head up, do your homework and work hard, business leaders on the outside are beating the door down to hire people like you.” These platitudes make you feel good for short time but fail to address the stark reality that most service members are in for a real challenge and need to be prepared to reinvent themselves. The vast majority of my associates say they wish they had started thinking earlier about what they wanted to do and obtained the knowledge they needed to compete for jobs in a tight labor market.

The following is actual feedback from some of my associates:

— Transition is a process that should started earlier than two years out. It should be nurtured with ongoing engagements. Most importantly, it should be supported by the service member’s current organization.

— Do your homework and be prepared to explain your value to an organization. Know your personal brand and be ready to sell yourself.

— Find a coach, someone who has been out for at least seven years and who you trust to be critical and help you improve. Let other people be your cheering squad, and be sure to have one. You’ve learned to “suck it up” in uniform, now you get to have more control so take command of your future.

— It’s more difficult than you think. Start preparing as early as possible. Go to every hiring event available in order to get a feel for the industry.

— You have to be aggressive and responsible for your transition. If you sit back and wait, you will not succeed.

The final point to make is that the services have a big challenge in that about 90 percent of transitioning military personnel are enlisted personnel. As such, most military transition programs are focused on junior enlisted personnel. Executive transition assistance programs are poorly structured and managed. How would you like to take a cooking class from somebody who never cooked before, or take an auto mechanics class from someone who never worked on a car? Why then would you take a class about executive transition from a person who never held an executive level position in the private sector? Sort of like selecting a coach who doesn’t know and has never played the game before.

Unfortunately, military personnel have come to expect everything to be laid out for them in perfect order. For years they have been other-directed. They’ve been told where to go, what to do, when, and in what order. Suddenly they leave military service and they are completely on their own. They quickly realize that everything costs money and that many potential employers are focused on meeting specific job requirements. Most private sector employers know nothing about the military and don’t have time to try to interpret your resume. It’s up to the job seeker to make a compelling case that he/she is a perfect fit for the job and that he/she can fit in with the culture and operating style of the company. Military personnel also find that the organizational structure they have learned to navigate no longer exists outside the military. It’s every man, or woman, for him/herself with no job security, no generous federal holidays, and no 30-days of vacation. For the first time they are faced with decision makers who are driven by the profit motive, a very different mindset from what they experienced in the military. The military and the business world are two separate and distinct cultures. The importance of culture is revealed by the fact that 88 percent of hiring managers rate cultural fit as a key aspect of the hiring decision.

Bottom line, life in the private sector has more personal accountability, less tolerance for BS, and less job security. But, it also has greater freedom to choose what you want to do and for whom and greater opportunity for advancement for those willing to work hard, produce results, and adapt to a new environment.

We in the military are pretty sure of ourselves and think we can do just about anything. I know, that was me nearly 25 years ago when I retired from the Army. I was clueless and experienced a difficult transition. It was a humbling and ego-crushing experience.

There’s an old saying “be smart enough to know what you don’t know.” While wonderfully intentioned, many service-directed transition programs are not up to the task. They simply don’t know what they don’t know, yet most are convinced they are meeting the needs of their respective service. The question remains, “are they meeting the needs of the transitioning service member?”

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Bob Ulin, is a retired Army Colonel, a retired Vice President of an IT corporation, retired CEO of a nonprofit corporation, and founder/president of two businesses. He has two masters’ degrees and is a graduate of an executive management program at Harvard University. He is currently Chairman and CEO of the Center for Transitional Leadership, a nonprofit that helps transitioning military personnel. He’s the author of five books. His latest book is Transitions 2.0: A Field Guide for Mid-Career Professionals Seeking New Challenges in the Business World. It is available in hardback, paperback, and various e-formats on Amazon.com.