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Any active duty servicemember with 3+ years of experience has plenty of transferable civilian skills. While many resources can offer “military to civilian translations,” often, like with any language - nuance is lost.
Although your active duty experience may only be X number of years, there are ways to navigate the minimum required in job postings. Networking calls with MBA graduates and senior managers at large corporations have taught us that extra-curricular activities and higher education programs can count as experience. ROTC, Greek life and volunteering can all count towards minimum experience requirements.
We recommend looking at desired positions to familiarize yourself with the specific language, and then translate your experience into that language.
Entry Level Positions
Entry Level Positions
Entry level typically has a 1-3 years of experience prerequisite. Generally speaking, words like: associate, analyst, coordinator etc… imply entry level. Entry level job openings will also contain language that emphasizes thriving in “fast-paced environments” or “demonstrated work ethic”, and these roles can demand longer work hours. While taking an entry level position may be beneficial (if it is your desired long-term career), you are most likely overqualified for the position, and the associated salary will also match entry level postings (typically will not exceed 50-60k depending on location) which may not match your budget and transition goals.
Examples: Project Coordinator, Project Analyst, Project Management Unit Associate etc...
Project Management
Project Management
Many project manager roles are broken out into levels I, II, and III, with salary “bands” or ranges that match. We recommend you look at Senior Project Manager, or Project Manager II/2 which generally asks for 3-5 years of previous experience. This will be far more in line with your skills and commensurate salary. Think carefully about taking a Project Manager I or entry level role. You may find the hours and expectations are similar to what you experienced in the military, with reduced compensation.
**Some organizations have small teams called project management units (PMUs). These teams normally have an entry level project manager, and some mid level project managers as well. If you work as a PMU associate, you are essentially the task rabbit for that team, and can expect to work longer hours while also gaining rapid experience.
Operations
Operations
Depending on location/schedule a JMO in manufacturing operations field can start at $65-$85k a year. “operations” can generally refer to two things. In a corporate environment, operations comprises contracts, budgets, purchase orders, the day to day operations. It can also refer to the manufacturing industry or any work that involves direct personnel supervision. Tailor your applications for these roles to talk about your experience leading diverse teams (manufacturing teams are frequently multilingual and multicultural), managing risk, incorporating safety considerations, and applying continuous improvement methodologies (special bonus if you are able to earn a lean six certification).
The title “operations supervisor” will adequately convey your experiences as a JMO with direct leadership experience (platoon leader, FDO, FSO, etc…) to someone hiring in the field.
“Operations managers” are generally filling roles equivalent to that of an S3 or XO, and a “plant manager” is a battalion commander.
Operations roles often work unorthodox schedules like Sunday-Thursday, be sure to clarify the times for different shifts as well as they may impact compensation.
Clearances
Clearances
Keep in mind that clearances remain active for three years from your separation date.
3 Types of clearance status for resume:
Active – Present job requires use of a security clearance.
Current – Had a job in the past two years that required use of a clearance.
Expired – More than two years since that person had a job that requires a clearance.
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