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 Finding Success In Post-Military Careers

Sandra H. Shichtman
 
 
Veterans transition into the civilian workforce in different ways. They can do it through veteran’s organizations, veteran-friendly companies, or through friends and fellow vets. Profiled below are companies and organizations hiring and helping veterans, as well as veterans who have made the transition from the military into the private sector.
 
CATERPILLAR INC.: Using Military Skills In The Private Sector
 
At age 18, fresh out of high school, Chris Juarez joined the U. S. Air Force, serving for 22 years before retiring as First Sergeant in 2012. During his career, he was stationed overseas in Spain, Japan, and Belgium and, in the U.S. in Georgia, Colorado, and Oklahoma. Juarez earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational management in human resources from Colorado Christian University and a master’s degree in human relations from the University of Oklahoma.
 
Juarez and his family decided that when he retired from the military they would move to Peoria, Illinois, where his wife grew up and where Caterpillar’s worldwide headquarters is located. “I started looking for jobs at Caterpillar as soon as I received the approval that my retirement was official,” Juarez says.
 
Caterpillar hired him into a healthcare benefits supervisory position in its North American Compensation & Benefits Department in December 2012. “My responsibilities were to lead a team of four in designing healthcare and wellness benefits for approximately 80,000 U.S.-based employees,” Juarez remarks. Two years later, he moved into an HR manager position in Caterpillar’s Large Power Systems Division.
 
Juarez finds many similarities between his manager’s position and the rank of First Sergeant in the Air Force. “I am responsible for day-to-day HR issues and the people strategy for our facility, such as engagement, training, communication, hiring, and on-boarding,’ he explains. “This is exactly what I did as First Sergeant in the Air Force.”
 
He enjoys the day-to-day engagement with employees and leaders at the facility. Challenged to learn everyone’s leadership style and decision-making process—always a part of starting a new job – Juarez must keep up with the pace and demands of the office.
 
Juarez recalls his own lack of experience with interviewing techniques when he was looking for a job, since he joined the Air Force right out of high school. Other veterans might face a similar situation as they transition. “The military transition assistance programs help you a great deal,” he says, but “it’s the actual experience of going through the interview that finally gives you an idea of what they’re looking for.”
 
He advises transitioning veterans to become informed about interviewing techniques, such as Targeted Selection Interviewing (TSI) used in the private sector, and learn how to translate military leadership experience into skills valued in the private sector.
 
The best advice he can offer transitioning veterans is “not to be afraid to take credit for what you did.” While humility is a great character trait, it won’t get you the job you’re applying for.
 
“Sell yourself to employers and also what you can bring to the table to ultimately have success in the job you are applying for,” he emphasizes.
 
LA QUINTA INNS & SUITES:
Working With the Federal Government 
 
Headquartered in Dallas, this chain of hotels located across North America and in Mexico employs more than 8,000 people in its locations and corporate offices. Hotel positions range from management to housekeeping to customer service jobs, while corporate positions might include accounting, marketing, and financial analysis.
 
Although the company has always hired veterans and military spouses, it made a “focused effort” to hire them beginning in 2013, according to Liesl Vargas, La Quinta Inns & Suites’ director of talent acquisition. “It ties in very closely with our core values— people, passion, integrity, excellence, and unique,” she says.
 
La Quinta is actively involved with several of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s employment programs, including Hiring Our Heroes, participating in its hiring fairs, job summits, and networking receptions. “We are also founding members of their Military Spouse as well as their Recovering Warrior & Caregiver employment councils,” she says. The company also posts its open positions, both those requiring college degrees and those that don’t, in military magazines—G.I. Jobs and Military Spouse—and, for the past three years has been designated a militaryand military spouse-friendly employer.
 
La Quinta is open to hiring veterans with all backgrounds, military caregivers, and veterans with disabilities.
 
“We have opportunities across the company for both degreed and non-degreed individuals. The bulk of our positions are at our hotels or at our corporate office,” Vargas says. She notes that veterans leave the military with leadership, problem-resolution, and strategic thinking skills, which they can use on a daily basis at La Quinta.
 
The company provides training for all of its employees, regardless of their backgrounds. “Each position has its own training criteria so we can ensure each new employee is set up for success,” Vargas says.
 
La Quinta also works with the U. S. Chamber of Commerce and leading companies such as USAA by participating in the Chamber’s Recovering Warrior and Caregiver Council, helping to drive awareness on hiring veterans who are physically disabled.
 
BOOZ ALLEN HAMILTON:
Using Acquired Acumen
 
Vincent Valdespino, chief technologist in Booz Allen Hamilton’s Cyber Group, knows that learning is a lifelong activity. His career in the U. S. Air Force spanned 30 years, during which time he served in eight different U.S. states, at the Pentagon, and overseas in Turkey, Iraq, Afghanistan, Germany, and Saudi Arabia. Thanks to the military, he also earned a bachelor’s of science degree in electronic engineering technology and two master’s degrees – in public administration and in natural resource strategy.
 
Five years ago, Valdespino retired from the Air Force to San Antonio, the city of his and his wife’s births, and applied for a position at Booz Allen Hamilton on the recommendation of another veteran with whom Valdespino had served. “They hired me on as a senior associate in the area I had background in – Information Technology – within the chief information officer’s area,” he says. “That was exactly what I was doing in the latter years of my military career.”
 
Responsible for the cyber market in the 24th Air Force in San Antonio, Valdespino performs marketing, new business development, and oversees program management, including supervising about 65 people. His job requires knowing and understanding information technology; no wonder, then, that Valdespino feels that his IT experience, gained in the Air Force, was “100 percent transferrable.”
 
“I’ve always enjoyed information technology and the technology challenges,” he says acknowledging that he enjoyed it while in the military and still enjoys it today. While he finds Booz Allen’s code of conduct and rules of ethics to be very similar to those of the military, what he enjoys most about the company is the professionalism and the expertise of his colleagues.
 
Valdespino works on the side of Booz Allen that supports Department of Defense clients such as the Air Force, Army, and Navy. He is challenged to keep up with the latest technology in order to address and mitigate cyber threats to the United States. “A lot of those challenges are the same as what we had when I was on active duty in the military, helping to support and defend the nation against cyber threats,” he explains.
 
His advice to service members who are transitioning into civilian life: “Now that you’re retired, you don’t have to do what you did with the military anymore if you don’t want to—the choice is yours. Find something that continues to challenge you—a job, volunteer work, or a new career—which you’re going to enjoy and look forward to every day.”
 
Along with the specific IT skills he acquired while in the Air Force, “the military teaches more than just technical skills,” Valdespino explains. “You learn to manage resources and people, to be independent, make decisions, and lead people. These are all transferrable skills and will ensure your success regardless of the career path you choose.”
 
FEDEX: Supporting Transitioning Veterans
In 2012, FedEx, the Memphis, Tennessee-based company that provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services to its clients worldwide, put together its Military Relations Team (MRT), comprised of recruiters representing different areas of the company and veterans from all five branches of the military who worked for the company. Since then, MRT members meet monthly to talk about current projects and how to help transitioning veterans enter the corporate world. MRT also participates in real and virtual military career fairs and hosts informational career sessions for military transition centers across the globe.
 
Through MRT, FedEx partners with many military installations and non-profit military support organizations, according to Alyson Talbot-Funkhouser, a senior recruiter for FedEx Services, one of FedEx’s operating companies. Among the organizations it partners with are Hiring Our Heroes, AMVETS, Heroes 2 Hired Wounded Warrior Project, and Military Officerrs Association of America (MOAA). FedEx hires veterans from all branches of the military. An affinity group is available to veterans across all FedEx operating companies as a way of supporting those who have been hired into the company.
 
“There are many skill sets taught by the military that are valuable to FedEx positions,” says Talbot- Funkhouser. As a help to transitioning veterans, the company has compiled an Experience Map for two of its operating companies, which equates several military specialty fields to FedEx’s most popular career fields. “The Experience Map is one of several veteran- specific recruitment materials provided to service members and veterans at military hiring events,” she adds.
 
Talbot-Funkhouser suggests that transitioning veterans searching for employment opportunities in the private sector think about “customizing their resume each time they apply for a new position, updating objective statements, including key words/skills mentioned in the job description, and keeping the resume focused on relevant experience.”
 
For veterans moving into corporate life, she suggests identifying a mentor. “This is an excellent way to learn about a specific career field, the company’s culture, and how you can continue to grow and improve within the industry,” she says. “Veterans should also take advantage of self-development opportunities provided by their new company, whether online learning or in-person training.”
 
FedEx Corporate, FedEx Services, and FedEx TechConnect are currently exploring the possibility of incorporating a careers landing page specifically for veterans who want to apply for open positions. In the meanwhile, veterans and other potential applications can go to FedEx.com/careers for information, to create an online profile, and to upload their resume.
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