Are you leaving your military career voluntarily, say after acquired years of service, or departing because of an injury? Whatever the circumstances, it is necessary to examine how your skill sets will appeal to civilian employers. Though it isn’t an easy task to figure out if your military acquired skills are in demand, it is not impossible. Let me share three career trends to help you analyze your transferable skills (obtained by paid experience, unpaid experience, learning and life) and ancillary skills you used in your military service, such as those during a deployment or special mission.
1. Career laddering
Careers are neither linear, nor directed toward an upward progression. While your military career might have seemed that way, when you were promoted to a higher rank, following a PER (performance evaluation report), this is no longer the case in the civilian world. Employers want to see the value of your skill composite. Hence the trend of “career laddering. In order to stay current in the civilian workforce, transitioning military members need to accept the notion of moving sideways, downward and upward, to gain new skills and experience. Let’s take the example of a PSO (personnel selection officer) who enters the civilian workforce. That individual would be well served by learning the latest learning strategies and trends in recruiting, before becoming comfortable enough to work on “civvie street.” The good news is that online learning is exploding. The latest study from consulting firm Deloitte said that from now until 2020, 10% of learning will be online.
The good news is that you can take all kinds of online courses from Stanford, Harvard and Oxford (for the professionally inclined) to free or low-cost courses on Udemy.com or Coursera.com
Not sure what your existing skills are? Create a Linkedin account, start connecting with inside and outside connections, and take a look at their skills on their LI profile, under the category “skills and expertise.” Here’s a list of top skills from a new LI connection. I’m sure you can identify most of them from your own distinguished military career:
Leadership
Strategic Planning
Management Consulting
Management
Social Entrepreneurship
Proposal Writing
Project Management
International Relations
2. Hyphen careers refers to the multiple career combinations that are available to today’s professionals. Since careers are not one dimensional in the new world of work, you can take advantage of complimenting careers. Let’s say you leave the service to pursue a career in real estate; a hyphenated career could be realtor-mortgage broker, since the skills of both both compliment one another.
3. Freelancer skills The trend of moving from scheduled work to freelance work is catching fire on the global scene. The organizational structures of companies and businesses is always evolving. Experts such as Elisabeth Rees-Johnstone, associate dean at the faculty of continuing and professional studies at Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning in Toronto notes that having “freelancer skills” such as accountability, independence and critical thinking are advantageous to have.
The takeway? If you’re still wondering if your military education will be recognized by civilian employers, diversify your skill sets to remain competitive in today’s work world.
What is my experience? I am a certified educator in English and in French and certified counsellor for 15 years in the career development field.
I would love to hear your feedback. You can email me at melissacynthiamartin@gmail.com
