July 29, 2016, by Henry Kingston – Veterans go under some very harsh times in order to serve and protect our nation. The ability to serve is no small thing; service demands a great amount of self-discipline day-in and day-out combined with dedication that few possess.
Many veterans are however often unsure of how exactly can they “sell” their skills and experiences learned during service to the private sector. Veterans have greater skillsets instilled in them that often takes years and years to develop in a civilian employee. We shall list some of the main areas where veterans have an upper-hand-compared to their civilian counterparts.
Handling Oneself in Stressful Situations
One of the greatest asset in the corporate world is to weave in and out of stressful situations while ensuring you get the job done and do not get burned out in the process over time.
Veterans gain an experience that is tremendously empowering. Veterans have a job that has them making strategic decision literally under fire. Take the example of strategic corporals in the marine. A strategic corporal is the lowest-ranking non-commissioned officers, typically the young lot in their early 20s who enlisted right after finishing high school. Even these young people find themselves in command of small teams and heavy leadership responsibilities.
Veterans know well how to keep cool in tense situations while ensuring everything runs smoothly in the moment and everything contributes to the grand plan. This is something that would takes years to develop in a civilian employee. Not only can veterans handle themselves during stressful situations, they can even steer teams in the right direction.
Team Players
Veterans are not lone wolves. From basic training to serving in the field, a veteran’s life revolves around working in a team. And veterans have not just worked in teams, they have undergone life and death scenarios with their teams. Veterans know how to work in teams and run effective teams. Few people better understand the importance of teamwork and how to carry it out.
Veterans make for great supervisors. They know how to bring different people together and how to make them work towards a common goal.
Excellent Work Ethic
Many veterans get beaten at jobs by civilians because their ethos does not allow self-promotion during interviews. What employers should realize is that veterans have a greater work ethic than most people. Also veterans should learn to push this. Veterans have worked in terrible conditions but have ploughed on to achieve something for they considered it their duty. This in civilian life translates to a raw drive to complete the task at hand that few can match.
What all veterans need is an understanding how their unique skillset is something that can benefit the private sector. The private sector needs skilled driven people and that is exactly what veterans are. So what veterans need are good resumes and cover letters that sell their un-parralled skills. Also veterans should take advantage of government backed education schemes to get a college education to further improve their employment chances.