Military Veterans: The Value of  Choosing The Right Career Post Retirement

           

             “ Chase your dream; It’s one life”

Many of you think that choosing a job is much like throwing an angle in the water, catching the first fish and going back home for cooking. That’s a disastrous approach when it comes to finding a job. You can’t be just picking any job that comes first in your way even if that pays you as per your expectations. Picking a job post your military retirement is much more than that. Did you ever realized that you have a set way of working, a few needs, a number of likings and disliking and a few choices. What if you have to work in an environment which is totally different from the way you are? You have gone past that age in which you can undergo major overhaul.

 Working in a challenging and dynamic military environment, You have turned into  strong personality and character  over decades, and thus, your skills, interests , and values are an integral part of you, qualities that can’t be ignored or suppressed. Knowing that, You have to look forward to a career that supplements your personality, skills, values, likings, interests and work style and only minimal alterations are required there. Let’s understand that with the help of a few examples. Suppose you are kind of a person who is reserved and likes to work in isolation, in your own space, and you have been put into the shoes of a consultant or a business developer who need to communicate and convince people regularly , Do you think you would be able to use your natural self while performing your duties. Suppose you love field jobs and you simply hate sitting work of office, what if you land up in an environment wherein you need to sit from morning till evening all working days, having no outdoor field task. Don’t you feel uneasy and suffocated in that environment. If we were told to give you only one message from so many mentioned in this blog, then it would be to  “Listen to your heart”.  In our next blog, we will throw more light on this why is it essential to listen to your heart and how one can listen to one's heart. here is the link to it, click here       

For More info, Kindly Visit our website  www.militarytocorporate.net

Follow us on LinkedIn  click here 

Like us on Facebook  click here

 Advantages of An MBA Degree   For Military Leaders

Military veterans while in active service live an adventurous life spread with challenges of varied nature and risk. They have leadership skills acquired through leading their troops in the face of danger and have displayed extreme mental courage while discharging their duties. The diversity of tasks handled by these veterans across geographies and regions makes them one of the most attractive candidates in the B-schools fraternity. The combination of military experience with an MBA degree can turn out to be a powerful tool that guarantees success in the business world.  The various advantages of an MBA degree for military officers include:-

Gaining Business Knowledge

An MBA degree from a top B-school amalgamates your military leadership skills with business acumen and transforms them into a powerful tool that guarantees success in business world. During an MBA you learn to understand the business language and immerse yourself deeply into peer group learning. In a B School , you have the opportunity to learn all aspects about running a business and you also gain much insight to discover which area of business is more suitable to you . Hence, the MBA degree acts as a bridge between military life and corporate world for your smooth transition.

Gateway to a Successful Corporate Career

 An MBA from a top Business school gives you an opportunity to study with and learn from the brightest people from all across the world, enhancing your technical knowledge of various subjects and refining your personality. During MBA, your lack of corporate experience is negated by internships, involving multi month’s projects on a real business plan, offered by the various companies. There are many positions in the corporate world where it is mandatory for a candidate to hold an MBA from a top Business school. Therefore, an MBA degree with military experience can elevate you against overwhelming opportunities in top management positions in different domains.

High Paid Salaries

 Although obtaining an MBA degree from Top B School is considered to be an expensive deal but a military officer with an MBA degree is paid much higher than his or hey civilian counterparts. A number of scholarships are being offered by the B Schools that prefer military candidates because of the vast amount of leadership experience and diversity that they bring to the classroom.

Professionally Enriching and Satisfied Career

The advantage of an MBA degree is that a military officer starts out with important positions having higher responsibilities and major roles to play in the development of the organization. Additionally, a military officer having an MBA degree gets faster promotions and entrusted with challenging tasks as compared to civilian counterparts, Thus, An MBA degree ensures a  professionally enriching and satisfied career.  

The benefits of obtaining an MBA degree post your military career are overwhelming and ensure a successful and satisfied career after retirement.

Challenges faced by Indian Military Officers During Career Transition From Military to Corporate

   . In this article, we will highlight the various career related problems faced by the military officers of Indian armed forces during their transition from military to corporate. These articles are also published on www.militarytocorporate.net   

 In order to find ways to ensure seamless transition from military to civil, you need to first understand the  peculiar problems related to career transition  faced by the retiring military officers. While some of you, generally Short Service commission officers,  would  be hanging the uniform at the age of 32-36 years with around 10 years of military experience, Most of you would be taking the call  at the age of 41 plus years with 20 plus years of vast military experience under your belt. Irrespective of age bracket you are in and number of years  of experience you have,  Almost all of you military officers will face one or more career related challenges mentioned below:-

§ The single biggest challenge for you related to career post transition  is to find out which industry is most suitable for you. During your career with forces, You have held various appointments such as Staff officer, Company Commander , and other similar appointments. During these appointments you have gained diverse experiences that make you eligible for various industries. Being in Security forces, you not only qualify for the traditional domains such as Administration, Security and Human Resource but also eligible for domains such as Marketing, Logistics, Supply, Hospitality management, Operations, Sales and many more.  You think that you’re fit to be absorbed in anyone of these domains, however, you find yourself caught at the crossroads when it comes to deciding the right path based upon your interests, skills, strengths and weaknesses.

§     Another  common challenge  faced by you, officers of all three services of Indian armed forces,  is how to translate your military skills to corporate job experience.  Unfamiliar with the language prevailing in the business environment, Most of you think that you have the required tools to be successful but are handicapped when it comes to transforming them into corporate job description. Many military friendly companies have informed us  that military veterans don’t convey the skills and expertise  in the ways that are relevant as per their job requirement. Also, Some companies have been candid in admitting the  lack of knowledge and experience their HR recruiters have about the military skills and how to scrutinise them to  identify the best suitable military officer.  Thus lack of awareness on “ how job skills translate from military to corporate” on part of both companies and military persons hinders career avenues for veterans.  The same problem is experienced while writing the job resume. Since you write your resume in military language , HR recruiters don’t understand your skills. Lack of understanding on part of both leaves a lot of scope for compatibility to be achieved

§   Many of you feel that you don’t have the required knowledge to be successful in corporate environment and thus many of you don’t feel ready for the retirement. Some of you feel that you need more time before retirement so that you can either acquire the necessary education(Certified skill centric courses such as 6 Sigma, PMP, Inventory management course etc) or prepare for the GMAT,CATs and other competitive examinations.

§     Many Companies are hesitant in employing an about to be retired or recently retired military leader as these companies are of the opinion that retirement after 20  plus years of military service will take some time for you to adjust and acclimatise from the structural, hierarchical and formal military culture  to the corporate culture, a case felt by many of  you officers too. However, Most of these companies don’t hesitate in employing those who have some  corporate experience post retirement.  Thus, the negative  view point of the HR recruiters of some companies about the  military leaders entering fresh into the market post transition serves as an impediment to your success outside.

§      Many MNCs have informed about the non-availability of a single platform which can help them in finding the suitable military leaders. There are various platforms available online, however, none has been able to provide complete recruitment solutions. When shared with the concept of             M2C( Military to Corporate ), These companies have shown their willingness to recruit veterans through the M2C. Also, lack of awareness about the  opportunities available in the corporate market most suitable to military officers’  profile places you at disadvantage as you are not able to choose from a bigger pool and encash upon the available opportunities . At times, you  apply for positions which are tangent to your profile, channelizing time and effort in a wrong direction. Also, often some of you forward very general resumes for specific skills positions, a practice that leads to rejection and dissatisfaction.

Besides above ,There are many other challenges such as competition with civil candidates having more corporate experience, lack of civil education,  poor economic situation, and lack of military specific resources. All the above challenges in total make the transition process extremely complex and challenging. 

M2C (Military to Corporate )  has been formed with the vision to  provide a common platform for veterans seeking career consultancy and job opportunities and for companies wanting to hire suitable military officers of Indian armed forces. For more info , Kindly visit  www.militarytocorporate.net .