How To Convert Your Experience Into A Job Offer

Years ago when you first opted to go into the military service, you may
or may not have considered how your experiences could help you land a
job when you decided to hang up the uniform. Well, it may be that
"time" for you, and there isn't much of a calling for civilians to
drive tanks or jump out of a perfectly good aircraft, so what's next?

Well, during your tenure in the military whether it was for a
short 3-year enlistment or a full 20-year career, you've probably done
more things than you can remember. Yes, many of the skills you've
learned are probably not needed directly in the civilian world, however
many are. The trick is identifying skill sets you have that an employer
could benefit from and showing them how you can be best utilized.

When I finished my career as a helicopter pilot, my resume
included all the different types of aircraft I flew along with the
responsibility I had for all the equipment and soldiers I supervised.
At the time, I wondered why I wasn't getting more interview requests
until I was able to sit in front of one helping hiring manager. He
looked perplexed and wondered why he was interviewing me. He was quite
honest in stating "What can you do for me, I don't own a single
helicopter!"

It was at that moment that the light bulb went off for me, and
I realized that I had many "translatable skills" that I could convert
to the needs of this employer. Before my interview, I observed that the
office I could potentially work in was a "madhouse". I overheard angry
customer calls, listened to flustered employees that felt
powerless to do their jobs, and saw a lot of chaos. I explained to my
interviewer that although I enjoyed my job as a pilot, the skills that
made me a good pilot are directly transferable to the needs of his
group. I then started to make some examples:

1. As a pilot, I always practiced "emergency procedures" so
that in the event of something not going the way I planned, I always
had a back up plan. In his situation, he should never let his customers
"see him sweat". If you have a good backup plan, the chances are you
won't need it, but if you don't, watch out, that's when the worst can
happen.

2. A pilot always develops a good "cross check" of his
instruments. You can't just rely on your airspeed indicator or your
altimeter to keep your plane flying straight and level. Just as in
business, you can't concentrate solely on one customer to keep your
business stable; you have to balance the needs of all of your
customers.

3. No matter how many times I fired up my aircraft, I always
followed a checklist. I could probably recite the starting procedures
from memory to this day, yet, to insure that I didn't miss something
critical; I always followed my checklist. In business, a similar
checklist could be developed and followed, to insure the handling of
its customers is top notch and nothing is overlooked. I could tell his
staff were frustrated because they were being reactive instead of
proactive.

I went on and on trying to pull experiences from my background
that pertained to this hiring manager. The secret being "THAT IT
MATTERED" to the particular hiring manager. I was lucky and was able to
observe some facts that I could use in my interview, but if I was
really smart, I could have done my research ahead of time.

In order to get hired for a position, one of the most important
factors is to insure that you have the skills and personality to fit
the opportunity. Don't think for a second that someone will instantly
hire you just on your good looks and the fact that you showed up for
the interview. It's your responsibility to make it easy for a hiring
manager to see you "in the job" and how your prior experiences will
benefit you, not hold you back.

I suggest that you sit down and tear apart all the things you
did while in the military and analyze HOW you got them accomplished.
That's the secret that you can take to your new employer.

Bill's articles are Copyright 1997-2005, The Destiny Group.