Diversity
Warriors to Workers and the Steps in Between
Recently, my friend who returned from a tour in Iraq and served most of his adult life in the military had decided he wanted to make the switch to civilian life. I was excited by the prospect of helping him out given my years in the recruiting field and experience of reviewing countless applications. I happily took a look at his resume and was really puzzled by what I saw – after reading through his one page, single spaced, short bulled list of accomplishments, it didn’t seem to resemble the person I knew. When I started to do a little research, I found that this isn’t a unique experience. Having started out in the corporate world, I took for granted all the career development workshops I had attended and the resume-writing tips I had picked up along the way. But for those transitioning from the military, it is often hard for people to know that describing their experience as “security detail” would be less desirable than if they said they were actually responsible for safeguarding the lives of 20 children and teachers in a school attack. Of course, they may not go into details for a number of reasons, including not wanting to re-live certain events. But, if you’ve never had to market yourself, it is one of the several challenges you may face when preparing for the civilian workplace.
Of course, after the resume gets you in the door, it’s another thing entirely to stay in the job. There is no doubt that people in the military know how to express true loyalty. But like any employee, the work environment needs to be supportive enough for people to survive and thrive. In the next few months, NOVA SHRM hopes to present you with a number of programs and events highlighting the important concerns of transitioning Veterans. On June 10th we are hosting a session with the Department of Labor’s America’s Heroes at Work initiative to bring attention to Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injuries. Also in June, we are the lead sponsor of RecruitMilitary which is the largest fair of its kind attracting corporate sponsors and recently separated military service members. In the Fall, we will follow up with another information session focused on Veteran employment and a transition event where members and non-members can volunteer in resume-building workshops and mock interviews with Veterans. Finally, we will have a joint-SIG meeting which aims to present some practical tips on how to recruit, develop, engage and retain a transitioning military member within a productive and respectful workforce.
I hope you’re as excited about these programs as we are! Please stay tuned for future updates and if you have any ideas about future diversity programming, feel free to email me directly at novashrm.diveristy@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
Ruchi Jalla
Diversity Leader, NOVA SHRM
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