It’s been a decade since I started volunteering at the Armed Forces Service Center in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. In these 10 years, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with hundreds of servicemen and women as they’ve used the center between flights and sometimes for overnight stays.
For the most part, the service members are en route to base or training, sometimes after a break, sometimes at the beginning of a new assignment. They might be dressed in fatigues, street clothes, or more rarely, dress uniforms, and they are nearly always lugging duffel bags the size of my first studio apartment.
Whether it’s because of their nature, or simply the fatigue of travel, these are not overly chatty people when they settle into the leather armchairs for a rest. Even so, it’s not unusual for the volunteers to enjoy a conversation with someone waiting for a flight. Having almost no family tradition of military service, I always find the discussions interesting.
In addition to seeing firsthand that our military is staffed by people of nearly all ages, all races and both genders, it’s been fascinating to talk with people for whom service is a career, as well as with those who see it as a steppingstone -- not to mention those who view it as both. There’s an interesting mix of humility and ambition in a population that willingly accepts the assignments they are given while simultaneously seeking promotion and new training.
For some of these travelers, the career journey is just beginning, and time feels like an ally. Others who are closer to exiting the service feel the pressure to make plans, while also juggling their feelings about leaving the military.
Luckily, there are more job search resources available for veterans than ever before -- from websites to books to specially trained counselors.
Among the recent career development books for veterans is Chad Storlie’s “Combat Leader to Corporate Leader: 20 Lessons to Advance Your Civilian Career” (Praeger, 2010, $34.95 in hardcover). I haven’t yet read the book, but I spent an afternoon recently on Storlie’s website, www.CombatToCorporate.com, where I enjoyed downloadable pages from the book as well as podcasts and videos by Storlie.
A retired U.S. Army Reserve Special Forces officer, Storlie includes both job search and career advancement information in his book, which makes it a good tool for veterans at all stages of their careers.
As Storlie and I are both presenting information at a job fair for veterans early in May, I was glad to get his perspective on the “extra” attributes veterans bring to employers, including discipline, teamwork, adaptability and the ability to work under pressure, as well as job-specific skills and experience.
If you or someone you know is a job-seeking veteran, Storlie's website would be a good place to start the process.
Here are other sites with helpful information:
- www.CareerOneStop.org/MilitaryTransition -- sponsored by the U.S. Department of Labor
- www.GIBill.com -- information on education benefits for service members
- www.online.onetcenter.org/crosswalk -- occupation finder linked to military skill sets
- www.acinet.org/acinet/moc -- military-to-civilian occupation translator
- www.turbotap.org -- downloadable job search workshop materials
- www.milspouse.org -- job search assistance for military spouses
- www.servicelocator.org -- to find state-sponsored workforce centers with free job search assistance programs and specially trained Veterans' Employment Representatives
In addition to these job-related websites, you can find a broad array of resources to help with other issues by contacting Military OneSource, www.militaryonesource.com or 1-800-342-9647.
And if you are traveling on military orders through the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, do check out the Armed Forces Service Center on the upper mezzanine. For more information, go to www.mnafsc.org. The volunteers would love to meet you.
Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 626 Armstrong Ave., St. Paul, MN 55102.
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