By SMSgt (ret) Tony
Barnes
Retiring from the military and looking for a job can be humbling.
After a highly successful career where I excelled at nearly every junction of
military service, I suddenly was looking for a new place to go every day. When
you have spent your entire adult life contributing to the mission of the US
military, it is quite an adjustment to have to seek out gainful, meaningful
employment.
Lesson in Resume Editing
I found myself applying for everything from emergency management
jobs with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to assistant manager jobs at
ToysRUs. Although I had been taught in the Air Force (AF) Transition Assistance
Program seminar to have a different version of my resume for each job description,
I somehow thought my resume would 'walk on water'. I didn't have the patience
to actually edit my resume to fit each job description. Later I would learn how
much that approach is mistaken.
Networking Versus Job Web Sites
Since I had worked as a part time local radio station deejay for
the last two years of my military career, I figured my first job would come as
a result of networking. I was well known in the community and loved attending
civilian events to promote the radio station. However, all of my leads led to
nowhere. My first job came as a result of using the Careerbuilder website
(www.careerbuilder.com).
Within a short time of hitting the Careerbuilder button for a
recruiting position, I received a call from a recruiter for a job with a defense
contracting firm. As I started my recruiting job, I would soon learn much about
altering resumes to fit job descriptions. Only by doing so can people have a
prayer regarding gaining employment. With a tough economy the competition can
be very intense. Since employers use word searches from job descriptions,
matching the resume with job description is paramount . If a person hasn't
tailored their resume to fit those key words, their resume will likely never be
seen by an actual human being.
Great Fit for a Retired First Sergeant
My current job as a Wounded Warrior Advocate for the US Army came
as a result of networking. A good friend told me about a new program the Air
Force was standing up called the Recovery Care Program. I applied for the US
Air Force Academy Recovery Care Coordinator (RCC) position. After a couple of
interviews I did not get the position and figured I would be staying in the
recruiting job. However, a couple of months later the recruiter from the
contract company with the RCC contract called me and told me she could get me
to Fort Carson if I was interested in doing a similar job with the Army.
Without my knowledge, she had already submitted my resume to the
Army. However, she related that it was turned back due to lack of Army experience.
Being tenacious the recruiter asked me if I had ever done anything with the
Army. I told her I had been stationed at Fort McClellan, Alabama back in the
mid-90s. She asked me to accentuate that experience on my resume and she would
resubmit it through proper channels. I made the adjustments to the resume and
after another interview was hired into an Army Wounded Warrior Advocate
position. In fact, the job is such a great fit for a retired Air Force First
Sergeant that we have managed to get two other retired AF First Sergeants into
positions on Fort Carson. It's ironic to have three retired AF senior
non-commissioned officers working an Army program. However, the job is a
perfect fit and closely resembles the role of an AF First Sergeant.
Summary of Lessons Learned
Transitioning from the military can be tough. It takes effort
while looking for a job. I was naïve to rely upon one version of a resume. It
was important that I took advantage of networking opportunities as well as
using internet job boards to find job opportunities. Finding a job was a job
and persistence paid off. Had I known then what I know now, my search may not
have been near as tough.
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