Category: Job Hunt

I Almost Cried in an Interview

“What is your greatest career accomplishment? What are you most proud of?”

Before I even knew it, the words came out, “I brought all my guys home from Afghanistan.”

In an instant my brain flooded me with memories.  Memories of the deployments, memories of the firefights, memories of the years in preparation.  I remembered how seriously I took every event, every run, every class as though my life and the lives of my men depended on it; because they did.  I remembered clawing my way through ranger school, never quitting even though my body begged me to.  I remembered the phone call with Robert Kislow, when he cried that he had lost his leg, when he felt as though he had failed us.  I remembered how I felt that I didn’t do enough for him and years later he took his life.  I remembered all the phone calls I’ve gotten since I left the military and all the friends I’ve buried in the last 14 years.

A knot formed in my throat. My eyes got glassy.  I tried to push that emotion out.  I opened my mouth to speak.  My voice cracked again.  I stopped.

I looked at the perplexed faces of the people interviewing me. They simply didn’t understand, they couldn’t understand.

It was the first time this ever happened to me. I’ve had many interviews since I left the military, and I’ve always been able to talk about my years as an infantry officer with objective detachment.  A surgical approach to my military career, Situation, Task, Action, Result.  For some reason, this question was different.

“What are you most proud of?”

Well, I didn’t get the job.

Nowadays I answer that question very differently and I avoid answers that will stir up all those emotions. I focus on tasks, actions, and results.  I give the interviewer the answer that I know they are looking for.

I prepare.

I know I’m far enough removed from combat now that I can give plenty of examples while avoiding discussions about my 24 months in the desert. While those stories make for great content in a book, they haven’t really helped me stand out in a positive way in interviews.  Honestly, civilians don’t relate well to those experiences (no matter how much they try and say otherwise), and if I’m at risk of another emotional spat by talking about it, then it isn’t elevating my interview either.

If you’ve had a similar experience, or a polar opposite reaction, tell me about it. Send me an email, comment, like, share, whatever.  I want to know what you are going through and what your experiences are.

I never again want to feel like I could have done more.

-LJF

 

For more information on transition, get the highly rated book on Amazon:

How to Fix Your Terrible Resume

Recently I received an email from a reader (we’ll call him Max) asking if I would review his resume.  When I first glanced at the document, I was on my way somewhere with the family and only had a few seconds to take a look.  I didn’t see anything exceptional and as I walked away I tried to recall anything about the person in the resume I just read.  I remember thinking, “wait…was that guy a battalion commander?!”  Here is a copy of that resume, although you can’t fully read my comments, you can see that I had a lot of them (2 pages):

bad max

 

 

Later, when I had more time, I printed it out, marked it up, then prepared to send a very blunt email.  I noticed that Max was a West Point and CGSC grad, had two master’s degrees, and was a battalion commander, so I suspected that this Resume was not his best work.  I sent him some stuff I’ve written on resumes in the past, and I explained the following:

  • Your resume is not the place to be humble
  • Tell me about YOUR accomplishments- focus on the back of your OER not the front
  • Use the STAR format
  • Include KPIs or Key Performance Indicators- numbers, values, objective results
  • Highlight your degree not where you went to school
  • Your society/memberships and military schools (like Basic training) really aren’t as important

With some trepidation, I hit send and waited.

To his credit, Max took the advice and sounded totally energized.  He had plenty of questions and got to work.  He basically scrapped his entire resume, created an outline, and started over.  In one of his emails, he sent me a STAR chart which was a great invention, and something I will be sending out in the future for resume outlines.  It allows you to put a job, your rater and senior rater comments, then several accomplishments in the position.  See the examples below (2 pages):

Star Chart

 

After he filled this out for every job in his 23 year career, a very enthusiastic Max sent me his updated resume which you can see below (2 pages):

good max

It’s clear that Max is a true top 1% performer that is probably ready for executive level leadership positions in the civilian world, but his initial resume didn’t convey that.  As a recruiter, I would have completely dismissed him with that first resume, but that second one puts me in a position where I HAVE to talk to Max further.

Recruiters are only going to spend a few seconds on your resume.  Give them no option to dismiss you.

-LJF

 

For more information on transition, get the highly rated book on Amazon:

Five Reasons to stop and find another headhunter Immediately!

I’ve made it no secret that attempting to get out and find a job without a headhunter is a moronic move.  It’s already incredibly tough when you’re in the marketplace, your resume mirrors job requirements, and you’ve made contacts in the industry (plus you still have a job).  Try and find a job with a military resume, no market knowledge or contacts, and a drop dead date when you will no longer have employment without a recruiter and you are setting yourself up for failure.  That begs another question, however, how do I know my recruiter is any good?  Well, here are 5 things that if your recruiter does, you should probably start looking around for someone else.

1. Requires Exclusivity

If your recruiter is adamant that you cannot work with any other agency and asks you to sign an exclusivity contract, go somewhere else.  A good headhunter knows they are going to find you the best jobs and by allowing you to work with another headhunter, it makes YOU the commodity to be bargained for.  This will push them to listen to YOUR needs and make sure they are delivering what you want so you don’t go with someone else.  These companies that require you to sign exclusively with them for 6 months, when you’re 7 months away from getting out, know that as your ETS date approaches, you’re going to be more willing to accept whatever they throw at you.  They get their commission and you get screwed.  Don’t do it.

2.  Ask You to Pay

Recruiting services should be free to you.  Companies have a need to be met and they are willing to pay for someone to go out there, sift through the tens of thousands of candidates, and return with who will be the best fit.  It saves them thousands of dollars in infrastructure and Human Resource employees to simply outsource the candidate search to a headhunter agency.  I’ve seen offers out there, and even people emailing me about these companies that “help” veterans write resumes, update their LinkedIn, and find them jobs for a price.  Don’t pay for that crap.  Some of the resumes I’ve seen lately coming out of TAPS are decent and your recruiter knows exactly what the industry standard is at the time of your application.  They also know the jobs you’re going to be applying for, so they can guide you through that process.  Save the money and go out on a date with your spouse instead.

3. They don’t care what’s important to you

At the beginning of your relationship with a headhunter, you should have a long phone conversation where the recruiter gets to know you better.  They should have reviewed your resume and provided some feedback, then they are going to take some time to get to know you and what your needs/wants are.  How much do you want to make, where do you want to live, what do you want to do…sound familiar?  Yeah, it’s a lot like the four big questions.  Generally, you all think that when you get out you’re going to double your salary, which you aren’t, so I expect your recruiter is going to tell you that your expectations there are unrealistic.  The rest of those questions, however, are your personal preferences, and if the recruiter is marginalizing what you want or pressuring you to interview for jobs you don’t want, drop them…they don’t have your best interests in mind.

4. They are critical of your background

This one seemed unbelievable to me, but I have heard guys get told they have the wrong MOS/Rate for the civilian world, or their degree is no good.  If your recruiter is trying to talk you into hiding the fact that you were a grunt because of some civilian perception about infantry, drop them.  They won’t be a good advocate for you.

5. They weren’t in the military

There might be a case where using a recruiter that has never been in the military can be beneficial, like someone who specializes in hiring for a field where you have a degree, but generally civilians don’t understand what you have done and therefore can’t translate your skills effectively.  Because I was an Intelligence officer, I can tell you that the job is very similar to Marketing.  The intel analyst has to put himself in the mind of someone from another culture and look at the world through their eyes to make an assessment about what they are going to do.  Marketing is the exact same thing, except instead of making an assessment about the enemy, you’re looking at a product the same way a customer would and determining what actions that customer is going to take.  A civilian will never put those dots together for you, and that means fewer interviews and a lower salary for you.  A civilian also isn’t going to understand that there’s a vast personality difference between a guy that served in Ranger Battalion and another who was a quartermaster.  One isn’t better than the other, it just means that you come from different cultures and may not fit into the same role.

Stay vigilant and keep an eye out for any of these warning signs.  Good luck and God Bless!

-LJF

 

Click the image below to find out what we’re doing here at CONUS Battle Drills!

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Interviewer: “Do you have any questions for us?”

Recently I’ve been applying for new jobs internally and I was talking with one of my mentors about an interview I had coming up.  He’s a former First Sergeant who I can count on being brutally honest with me yet always gives some sage advice.  Because of this, I value his opinion greatly.  He asked me what questions I had for the end of the interview and I told him I didn’t really have any because I already spent 40 minutes on the phone with the hiring manager and he answered all my questions.  “Well, when I interview a candidate and they don’t have any questions, I think they’re an idiot.”  We laughed together and after a bit of ribbing, he dropped some easy yet insightful options that I’m now going to share with you.  So, here are 6 potential questions that you can ask at the end of an interview that will make you stand out as a candidate:

1. What is the first project/effort that you want me to tackle?

Not only does this question make you look like a forward thinking badass, but it also gives you an idea if the job is something you want to do.  It might have some sexy job title, but you find out that for the first 6 months they have a floor full of records that they want you to help digitize.

2. What are some of the Challenges that I might face?

Here you get some insight into the position, and it may open up an opportunity for you to talk about how you might tackle said challenges, further setting you apart in the candidate pool.  Again, the interview is also for you to get more information about the job to determine if it’s something you want to do.

3. Besides the manager, who should I look to for guidance in the role?

You really don’t want to be going to your boss for every question, you also don’t want to ask advice from the wrong person.  This will also help you identify the people who your future boss thinks are doing a good job and surrounding yourself with them.

4. What are you looking for in a candidate?

This is great if you still have some time in the interview.  Listen carefully, then find ways to show how you fit that description.  This is a way of getting the answer to the test, then having an opportunity to reword and present as your own.

5. What are the keys to success in this job?

This is an opportunity to get a candid answer from your next boss on what he/she is looking for, and it will help you understand what you need to focus on as soon as you start the job.  You’re probably going to have a lot to learn, many questions, and maybe little direction about where to start.  With this question, you will know exactly what you need to focus on and if you need training somewhere, what training you need to ensure your success rapidly.

6.  What does a typical day look like?

This last one is just for you.  Don’t let them get away with something like “every day is different”, hit them with a follow up like “well, what are some of the tasks that you have to do every day?”  You might find out right there that this is NOT something you want to be doing for the next several years.

There you go, you’ve now got 6 different questions that you can use at the end of an interview to get a better understanding of the job and make yourself stand out as a candidate, or as my mentor puts it, “Don’t look like an idiot.”

-LJF

 

Click the image below to find out what we’re doing here at CONUS Battle Drills!

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