[April 18, 2015] I’ve personally known many military officers who have failed to make a smooth transition to civilian employment. Why is that? In Part 1 of this 2-part series I addressed those junior military officer mistakes made while serving in uniform. Part 2 is about junior officer mistakes when transitioning to and working in the civilian sector.
They key to understanding why so many military officers fail when they join the private sector is the very strengths that make them so successful in the military. While this may be counterintuitive, it stands in contrast to what is thought of as the benefit of hiring military veterans. The most successful of military officers who made the transition were strong leaders throughout their military career. The least successful officers will carry with them those mistakes as addressed in Part 1.
Here they are, in no particular order of importance, the weaknesses a military officer has that is a barrier to success in the civilian workplace:1
- Lack of Relevant Experience: When entering the civilian workforce for the first time, the newly separated military officer will lack specific work experiences, as well as, organizational bureaucracy knowledge (both formal and informal) comparatively to his peers. In time, this will less significant.
- Inadequate Social-Support Network: The necessary contacts and how to tap them for knowledge, strength, and protection is not yet built. The goal should be to build this fast and this should be a high priority. The network should include other veterans, headhunters, stakeholders in the officer’s new organization, etc.
- Overly Sensitive to Poor Performance: Military officers set and maintain high standards for everyone. In the civilian world, poor performance is often tolerated for a variety of reasons, especially in civilians who work at government agencies. This can generate a serious conflict between organizational leaders and the military officer.
- Misunderstanding of Military Stereotypes and No Plan to Overcome It: Military personnel are often viewed as rigid, uncompromising, and privileged. The military officer will need to rise above the typecasting of them as a person to truly succeed. This is often a long-term process that takes patience.
- Unwarranted Trust and Deference to Senior Civilian Leaders: Senior military officers have repeatedly proven themselves at every level of their career positions. Junior officers who transition to the civilian sector will carry that deference into their civilian positions to their new civilian bosses – often not knowing whether that civilian boss has been tested and proven themselves.
- Insufficient Preparation for the Lifestyle Change: The abrupt shift from a highly structured environment to one much less structured is one of the shocks that often overlooked until it takes a psychological toll on the self-confidence of the officer. While transition assistance is provided and this topic discussed, there is little that can be done to overcome it until experienced.
- Difficulty in Translating Transferable Skills: A very common problem that results from a fast change in work cultures, being able to discuss military skills in civilian speak is difficult but must be mastered quickly.
The military does a disservice to their transitioning personnel because they do not follow their veterans beyond their end of service time. To truly ensure success in the veteran, many of these difficulties identified here will need some amount of oversight. At the very least, the veteran will need to build a social-support network prior to departure from the service.
7 Mistakes Military Officers Make (Part 1): https://www.theleadermaker.com/7-mistakes-military-officers-make-part-1/
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[1] Both parts of this series apply to junior managers from all organizations. This list was developed in concert with several of my friends from the U.S. Army and the list applies to whether the officer has been in combat or not. In the end, any mistakes are mine.