The Veteran's WORK Book

How to Transition Out of the Military and Get Hired!

Kevin Lacz, Bill Hobbs, Lindsey Lacz

• Publisher: La Plata Press
• Year: 2021
• ISBN:
  9780985845681
• Topic: Personal Development
• Subtopic: Careers

Kevin "Dauber" Lacz is a former Navy SEAL sniper, breacher, combat medic and co-author of The Veteran's WORK Book.

When Lacz read The WORK Book, by Bill Hobbs, he immediately realized the need for a version for veterans transitioning out of the military and into a new civilian career. ? Lacz shared, "Veterans with military experience can be valuable assets in the business world.

In addition to job skills, they have experience leading, being led, and performing under pressure. However, it's necessary for veterans to learn how to function in their new environment." ?

This book is unlike any other book on the market: ?

-Shows readers how to plan for and transition to the right career

-Teaches readers how to create a strong personal brand

-Offers keen insights on creating an effective resume, preparing for interviews, and negotiating with companies

-Facilitates immediate process application through worksheets that accompany text

-Can be read in less than two hours and applied immediately

CHAPTER ONE

PERSONAL BRANDING

MANY RESOURCES EXIST TO aid in the transition from active duty service member to member of the civilian community. As you prepare to complete your time of service, you will attend Transition Assistance Program (TAP) courses. Your TAP manual, the staff at the Military Services transition office, and the staff you are assigned to at the VA center are valuable resources you should be prepared to take advantage of. If you are a recently separated veteran, the same resources will be useful to you as you adjust to your new life. Attending TAPs may feel like just another mandatory training the military sends you through or the last stop before you are released from Active Duty, but consider it the bare minimum amount of preparation you should do before going out into the civilian workforce. If you want to get ahead, you should take advantage of every opportunity afforded to you, and that includes TAPs.

Although the DoD and the VA have provided you with some resources, in The WORK Book we take a holistic approach to your new life in the civilian labor force. One important aspect of this transition is your personal brand. Think of your personal brand as simply a reflection of the way you are viewed by others in the market. Right now, several of your peers in the military possess many of the same skills and qualifications as you. As you enter the private sector, however, you will find that those same skills and experiences make you distinct and separate you from others without military experience who are competing for the same job. Successful transition involves utilizing the valuable components of your past in order to sell your personal brand to prospective employers in the civilian world.

Take a few minutes to think about your military experience. What training and skills differentiate you from your competition in the marketplace, particularly those without military experience?

The following questions may also be useful when considering and expanding on the elements of your current personal brand:

What job experiences have you had?

What schools or training have you attended in the military?

Are you a member of any clubs outside of work?

Are you active in the community as a coach or volunteer?

Have you been involved in sports or academic competitions?

Have you ever held any leadership roles?

Have you won any awards or recognition?

Have you attended any school outside of the military?

Compile any paperwork that documents any of the above (DD-214, Training Record, Service Record, DD Form 2586, any diplomas or transcripts, etc.). Think about how these experiences help shape who you are today. Later we will talk about how to package these unique qualities to increase your brand value to a potential employer.

The process of building an effective personal brand works much like the process of building an effective product brand. In the case of a product brand, the market has a perception of the value of that brand, what it’s “known for,” and consumers make buying decisions based on that perceived value. Some of the best brand marketing companies in the world are currently employed by energy drinks. Many energy drinks build brands around their products that make us think of excitement, extreme sports, amazing music, and real people pushing the limits of time and space. These marketers create incredible content around their companies’ brands. They constantly manage the message of the brand and shape that message to connect with the intended audience.

Like these top products, developing your personal brand is a similar process. It may not require the same level of investment, but it does require you to consider the same elements of your brand. That is, just as these energy drinks’ marketers create content around their brand and constantly manage and shape their message, you can fuel your personal brand by continually creating relevant content and frequently monitoring and shaping the message of your brand. In the SEAL Teams we used to say, “Plan your dive and dive your plan.” A successful transition out of the military and into the workforce is the same. You need to begin the process of building a personal brand for your civilian life now to ensure success in your post-military life.

The following pages contain exercises and information that can be used to help shape your personal brand as you embark on your new life post military. Use the resources available to you, in addition to your TAP Manual, transition counselor, or VA case manager to mold your brand into something attractive enough to sell to your future employer. As a member of the military, you have become accustomed to a certain level of conformity and anonymity. However, as you rejoin the civilian world, you will need to sell your individuality.

You may have spent your entire military career trying to be a gray man, but when it comes to your résumé on a hiring manager’s desk, you need to stand out. Hiring managers are often pressed for time when reviewing résumés, so you need to stand out as uniquely valuable. Statistically, only 26% of US employers see veterans as a strategic asset to the team,¹ so it’s important you sell yourself as a qualified candidate who also has military experience rather than an out of work veteran. Your military service will often earn you a handshake and a “thank you for your service,” but you will still need to compete with everyone else when it comes to the actual hiring process.

You may not have ever written a real résumé before. That’s ok. They are important to the hiring process, but we don’t want your résumé to be the only data point that an employer uses to decide whether to hire you. You can find examples of résumé formats in the appendix of this book; however, stylistic elements are constantly changing and résumés, candidate videos, and e-résumés simply represent a medium for delivery rather than the branding elements that are critical from a content standpoint. Ultimately, a résumé should include your contact information, content on your experience, training, awards, and links to portfolios and other media. Your résumé should not be a regurgitation of your entire DD 214 or Training Record. Most recruiters spend 6 seconds or less the first time they view a résumé. Therefore, the general rule is that a résumé should be as short as possible while conveying a candidate’s relevant experience. It’s still generally accepted that most résumés should be one page in length, possibly two if the candidate has extensive experience.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help with your résumé. You can visit www.vets.gov to build a basic résumé if you cannot find help in person from a case manager, friend, or counselor. We, however, will focus on ensuring that the content and experience is representative of your true brand value. The best thing to do may be to show your résumé to a civilian friend and ask for honest advice. Don’t underestimate the importance of having a well-formatted, relevant résumé. It may be the difference between you being called for an interview or not.

Do not assume that being called for an interview means that the hiring managers you will meet have done a lot of research on you. They may only glance at your résumé and do a quick digital search right before meeting with you. The stronger your brand presence, the better chance you have of making a positive impression before you even step into the interview.

A lot of books focus their content on the interview, framing it as the “most important part of the process.” Interviews are critically important, but they are only a small part of the hiring process. You can build your brand in a way that says great things about you long before you ever sit down for an interview, and your unique personal brand can help to accelerate your progress long after you are hired.

Chances are, while you were in the military you were conscious of your online presence because of certain rules and guidelines about what you could or could not post to your social media accounts. When you get out of the military, you may be tempted to use your new freedom to post all of the things you couldn’t post while you were in. Remember that your digital footprint is difficult to erase, so it is very important to understand, shape, and manage your digitally available information and messaging. I have heard a lot of stories about people who have lost opportunities because of the information that a simple search revealed. Be aware that anything you post, write, or comment could be seen by the entire world. The same can be true of the application process for college. Be aware of everything you post, Tweet, share, etc. Your posts could be used as an argument for not hiring or admitting you.

On the other hand, when shaped correctly, a digital presence can actually be a very positive contribution to your brand depending on the career you seek. Social media can be an incredibly helpful tool for showcasing your talents and networking with others in your field of interest. As you create a portfolio of your work, you can grow a following that may potentially lead to other opportunities. It’s important to have patience and remain professional when you are using social media as a tool for personal branding.

Creating your own website is another way to improve your brand. A professional website can become a central point of reference for your personal brand. It allows you to more easily control messaging about who you are professionally, display your work and projects, display your successes and partnerships, and create a single thread to tie together your related professional interests.

From your website, you can link to other sites where you have built elements of your overall brand presence. For example, if you are working toward a career in automotive restoration and you love classic muscle cars, you might begin a blog that links back to a website you have created on car shows you attend. Both sites would showcase your knowledge of cars and build on additional elements of your brand. You may even become a contributor for a digital publisher that already has a great presence and, if permitted, link back to your website.

You can also utilize other elements of your brand that don’t directly relate to your field of interest but illustrate your commitment to learning and growing professionally to display your depth to prospective employers. For example, your skills as a painter, a tutor, or a jewelry designer may not obviously connect to a career in management consulting; however, showing progress in these areas still contribute to your brand. They help to paint a picture of your interests and accomplishments while revealing a fascinating and fun side of your personal brand, thus separating you from other candidates.

The VA Can Be a Great Resource

As you read The Veterans’ WORK Book and transition to civilian life, remember one of your best resources is your VA Case Manager. Make an appointment to meet this person as early as possible and stay in...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Introduction
• Chapter One: Personal Branding
• Chapter Two: The Journey
• Chapter Three: Choices
• Chapter Four: Money Matters
• Chapter Five: Fit First
• Chapter Six: Representative Résumés
• Chapter Seven: Reaching Out
• Chapter Eight: Face to Face
• Chapter Nine: Connecting
• Chapter Ten: So Many Options
• Chapter Eleven: First, Second, and Third Impressions
• Chapter Twelve: Planning for Success
• Chapter Thirteen: Execution
• Chapter Fourteen: Selling Great Ideas
• Chapter Fifteen: Selling Yourself
• Chapter Sixteen: Conclusion
• About The Authors
• Acknowledgements
• Appendix 1: Résumé
• Back Cover