JMO OPTEMPO and Time to Prepare for a Business Career

As I travel to military bases and meet face-to-face with Junior Military Officers (JMOs), I am finding that the combination of the high military OPTEMPO and the enormous amount of information on business and a career transition is overwhelming some JMOs and causing them to inadequately plan and prepare for a successful transition.  The consequences of poor planning and preparation can lead to a poor career search and not getting in the right industry, company and position to launch a career, which ultimately leads to changing careers one to several times early in the new career.

On average, college graduates change positions 3.1 times in their first 4 years after graduation.  Bad advice and poor goal setting, planning and preparation cause this.  Most college graduates look for a “job” upon graduation.  A job is a task that you routinely perform in return for pay.  Sounds interesting, right?  If that is their focus, they are not thinking about their 5-year career plan and goals, and instead are leaving one job in search of a “better” job.  They never establish themselves in a company and industry and develop a track record of accomplishments and experience.  As a result, companies do not assign them significant real responsibility knowing there is a high likelihood of turnover.  For the first 4 years or so, these recent college graduates have done little to improve their marketability and develop a track record for a career (the natural progression of one’s professional life, very different from the definition of a job).

How does the college graduate’s experience relate to the JMO with the high OPTEMPO with no time to prepare?  With high OPTEMPO and enormous amount of information available, some JMOs fail to prepare or focus on the wrong information.  Yet, the consequences for JMOs are much higher because the JMOs are older, more mature and have developed significant leadership skills to launch into corporate careers with future opportunity for high-level leadership positions.  Companies expect the JMO to make good decisions resulting from planning and preparation.  Although it is not good for either the JMOs or graduates to change jobs so frequently, companies expect more from the JMO with so much more experience. 

In essence, when JMOs start a career and then change in the first few years, it is a “do over.”  I do not know of one JMO who made a career change in the first few years and it was a significant step up in career opportunity; in fact, it is usually a step back to the types of positions other JMOs are accepting right out of the military.  Therefore, the JMOs who take the “do over” throw away their few years of business experience and start all over. 

Here is my advice to JMOs making the transition and wanting to get it right the first time: 

1. Get current and accurate information.  There is so much information out there, and not all of it applies to JMOs.  An example is the unemployment rate.  In Honolulu recently, one JMO complained to me about the high unemployment rate of 9.4% and his fears.  I asked him, “What would you say if I said the unemployment rate is 5%?  How would you feel?”  He became very positive, and said, “That’s more normal.  It makes me more comfortable.”  I then informed him that although the unemployment rate is 9.4 nationally, it is less than 5% for those with college degrees.  5% is more applicable to him.   How can you get current and accurate information?  I highly recommend a JMO-specific recruiting firm who specifically understands the JMO recruiting market.  They should be able to explain to you their current market, recent career opportunities, and the demand from their clients.  At Cameron-Brooks, we offer webcasts, in-person Information Meetings and Workshops, our blog and our Facebook page as avenues to provide this information.
   
2. Set a goal and develop a plan.  The old saying, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.”  What’s your goal?  In other words, where do you see your career in 5 years?  That’s challenging for some JMOs because they are taught to think in 18-month to 3-year increments.  I had a great example of this today.  I spoke to an Army Intelligence Officer.  She had her resignation in and approved 3 years ago.  She rescinded when the Army offered her a unique assignment in Hawaii and a bonus.  I asked her about her long-term career plan in making that decision, and she said she really did not think about what the impact would be in 3 years after the assignment.  Unfortunately, it did impact her situation and her marketability.  I am not criticizing the decision itself, but rather encouraged her and other JMOs to think/visualize their career 5 years from now and start making decisions and plans to get there.
   
3. Prepare.  I know Cameron-Brooks sounds like a broken record on preparation, but it is that important.  You will only get one chance in your life to resign from an organization months to a year in advance and interview with multiple companies in one location.  It will never happen again.  Take advantage of it and be prepared to take advantage of the opportunities.  Also, most importantly, the knowledge you will gain from preparation will increase your decision making abilities and reduce the variability in your career search result, ensuring you successfully launch a career, and not end up a “do over.”
   
4. Learn how to prepare.  Again, I recommend a JMO recruiting firm that will spend time meeting with you personally, face-to-face, and get to know you and tailor a preparation program to help you reach those goals.  At Cameron-Brooks, we are able to do that with our Reading Program©, online Resource Center, Podcasts, Webcasts, in-person Information Meetings, Workshops, one-on-one sessions at military bases, and phone and Skype video calls.
   
5. Conduct a broad career search.  I highly recommend candidates interview for all opportunities for which they are qualified and in which they are interested.  As I mentioned previously, you will only have one chance to do a career search like this.  No company is going to let you resign months in advance and interview with 10+ companies.  Therefore, interview with a variety of industries, companies and positions.  I compare it to a buffet.  You get to taste a little bit of everything (your initial interviews), then fill your plate with what your really like (your follow-up interviews), and then figure out the course you liked the most (final career decision).  You can be like my daughter Leah and taste everything first and then spit it out if you don’t like it, or you can be like my son Elijah who asks what’s for dinner, and without looking, smelling or tasting, makes his mind up if he likes it or not.  I know who the healthier eater is in my house.

 Cameron-Brooks is an expert in career searches.  With numerous clients from a broad range of industries representing many types of positions, our candidates have the opportunity to conduct a broad career search.

Joel Junker

Never Write E-mails When You are Angry

If the Golden Rule is to treat others the way you want to be treated, then the Silver Rule should be never write/send an e-mail in anger. 

Writing e-mails when you are angry is a quick way to ruin a work relationship, friendship, customer account, etc.  Over the course of my career, I have fired off my share of angry e-mails.  However, I cannot think of a single time when this had a positive effect. Usually, the e-mails only served to escalate the conflict and alienate the recipient.

Steven Covey writes in his book 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, that there is a space between stimulus and response.  He says that what makes humans different from animals is that we have the choice—the freedom—to chose how we will respond to any situation (good and bad).  Unfortunately, blackberries, i-phones, and other technology make it way too easy to react quickly to a stimulus with a bad response.  We all know the situation.  Stimulus- someone at work does something that offends you.  Maybe they send you the first angry e-mail that hits you when you are pressed for time.  Response- you react and fire off a terse e-mail in “response” to the offense.  The result is almost always the same- the relationship going forward is strained and awkward.  It really does not matter who is “technically” right or wrong.  The bottom line is that when you write an angry e-mail, you are “relationally” wrong, which never leads to anything positive.

Written communication carries about 100% more power than words spoken verbally.  This works great in thank you notes, but not so well in anything negative.  Why is this?  The first answer is that verbal communication has the context of taking place during a conversation.  That means two-way dialogue, voice inflection, body language, listening, etc.  None of this happens with written communication.  Another reason is that written communication can be read over and over, which magnifies the message.  If the message is negative with the first read, it will get more and more negative with every read.  Lastly, written e-mails can be forwarded and read by others who have even less context on the “offense.”  This can exacerbate the ripple effects of an angry e-mail. 

Over the course of a career with many work relationships, you are going to experience countless situations when you will feel angry or slighted.  When it happens to you, consider doing the following before you react negatively (especially digitally). 

1. Cool down. Put some space between the stimulus and the response. Any offense looks much bigger the closer you are to it. If you let a little time pass, you will see it in its proper context and respond appropriately.
2. Think like a leader.  Before you respond to negative stimulus, ask yourself what your objective is.  Do you want to merely make a point to make yourself feel better or are you really interested in solving a problem?  Anyone can hurl digital spears at an adversary, but are you accomplishing anything constructive?  Make sure you stop in the heat of the moment (stimulus) and ask yourself these very important questions before you respond.   
3. Talk it out. When you are upset with someone, pick up the phone or go visit the person in their office, and talk it out.  Doing this takes a lot more guts and self control (two traits VITAL to an effective leader) than blasting off an e-mail. There is nothing better for a strained relationship than verbal communication.  I can’t think of one time in my career that I regretted calling someone and talking it through “live”.  Sadly, I can think of a few examples when I should have done it this way, and I chose/reacted otherwise.   
4. Write a response, but don’t send it.  My colleague Joel Junker wrote in another post that President Lincoln used to do this with his Generals and political leaders during and after the Civil War.  He would write a scathing response to someone who had let him down (usually with a lot of justification).  When Lincoln died, they found dozens of these letters that he had never sent.  Maybe he used this as a tool to cool down, but he was wise enough to know that sending an angry letter did nothing to fix a problem. 
5. Try to see it from the other perspective. This is the best part about verbal communication as opposed to e-mail — it is two-way, live communication.  You get to talk and to listen.  While you do this, try to see it from the other person’s perspective.  Stand in their shoes.  Listen completely and let them vent their perspective to you.  Sometimes you think you are right, but upon further two-way conversation, you may discover that you contributed to the problem or aggravated the situation.  Move from being the victim to being an active participant in finding a solution.  This is leadership.
6. Burn it for fuel for the journey.  I’m borrowing this from the Japanese poet Kenji Miyazawa who wrote, “We must embrace anger and pain, and burn it as fuel for our journey.”  The fact is that as long as we have to deal with people, we are going to be disappointed, get frustrated, and react in anger. But as leaders, we have to build and reinforce the habit of channeling these emotions in productive ways. Sending an angry e-mail or writing a negative letter is never the appropriate or most effective way. If you get angry, resist the temptation to respond in anger.  Instead, burn it as fuel for the long trip.

In closing, here is the Silver Rule restated; when you are communicating something positive- write it in an e-mail or letter.  If you are communicating something negative- do it VERBALLY or NOT AT ALL.

Chuck Alvarez

Cameron-Brooks JMO Attitude

Last week, a Cameron-Brooks client company recruiter reminded me that she not only prefers Cameron-Brooks JMOs because of their talent and potential but also because of their attitude.  The Cameron-Brooks JMO brings an attitude of “giving” to the organization, focusing on results, investing in self-development and being a team player. 

This recruiter is a manager at a medical device company and called because she has been trying to fill an opening since August.  Now, just think about that for a minute.  – Ready?  Unemployment has been around the 10% range; the highest since the early 1980’s. There are approximately six applicants for every single opening according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, yet this is a leading medical device company where numerous people want to have a career.  The recruiter explained she initially felt  as if this opening required previous medical device sales experience versus a JMO background because of the territory.  She received numerous resumes and conducted numerous interviews, though the candidates in her words brought “awful” attitudes to the process.

She explained to me that she identified talented sales professionals with a track record of success.  However, during the process and before she ever made an offer, candidates asked about how much time off they would have, if they could take Thursday afternoons off to coach a soccer team, and the possibilities of living two hours away from the territory.  The sales manager recruiter said to me, these questions are okay after a person has an offer AND has been a top performer in the position for at least a year.  She went on to explain that she has a great attitude about work /life balance issues with her top performers, but that’s just it, the person needs to demonstrate he/she can master the position, grow market share, deliver value to customers, and more, BEFORE taking time off to coach, living further away from the territory and expect ing additional time off. 

This recruiter may be giving me extreme examples to prove her point, though our conversation provided me with fodder for this blog.  Roger Cameron has said, “A candidate’s attitude is often more important in determining the outcome of the interview than any other factor. Specifically, it is the attitude of giving versus taking.”  Too often, candidates go into an interview wanting to know what’s in it for them. While attitude is far from the only factor in determining interview success, it is one of the most important.

Recruiters are looking for things such as: work ethic, adaptability, significant accomplishments, understanding of business concepts (Lean Six Sigma, Project Management, Participative Leadership), interpersonal skills, promotable potential, short and long term goals that match the position, and more.  Whereas, candidates with a “taking” attitude will be concerned with issues such as: location, benefits, time off, next promotion, travel, etc.  When this happens, the interview process ends up being an “apples and oranges” conversation because the recruiter who owns the interview has one agenda and the candidate has another.  This typically results in a recruiter ruling out the candidate, as happened with our client company in question.

For those Junior Military Officers (JMOs) preparing for a military to business transition, whether you use a JMO headhunter, JMO recruiter, or conduct your own career search – remember – you must first give, in order to receive.  My advice is to enter every interview with the thoughts, “What can I give this company? How can I convince this recruiter that I am the person to do the job? What proof and evidence can I give?” 

Every candidate has a want list.  You have in your mind the ideal salary, location, benefit package, and other factors that define your perfect career opportunity.  Most everyone has their own list.  Successful candidates,  however, address their list later in the interview process while they are evaluating offers.  Average candidates make the mistake of taking the list with them into the interview.  This want list should be deployed only when you have an offer in hand.  And, some issues are better not brought up in the interview or offer process at all.  They are topics that can be discussed after you have proven your value to a company.

You first must give, in order to receive.

 Joel Junker

Why are you Leaving the Military?

Why are you leaving the military? This single question is typically the most frequently asked question of all junior military officers who choose to leave active duty and pursue a business career. Many JMOs will answer this question dozens of times prior to ever sitting in front of his or her first corporate recruiter in an interview. The question will come from a wide variety of sources: commanders, enlisted members, peers and family. Often, JMOs develop different answers to this question based on different emotions that may include guilt or regret. To a highly-respected senior commander who already faced this point and decided to stay in for 30 years, a JMO develops one answer. There may be a slightly different response to a soldier who reenlisted largely due to the influence of the officer. To a parent who questions why get out in this economy, or a spouse who is concerned about “stability,” there are other responses. All of these answers may be delivered numerous times before the occasion of the first corporate interview when a recruiter asks, “Why are you leaving the military?”

As a JMO recruiter (aka JMO headhunter) for Cameron-Brooks, I have heard hundreds of answers that include frustration with multiple deployments, time away from home, and lack of pay and promotion based on performance. I understand these frustrations, but are they really reason to leave the military? I am sure JMOs recognize these will be part of their military career before they come on active duty. These same frustrations were true when I was an Infantry officer many years ago, and will be true for many years to come. To a JMO reading this I ask, did you leave college because you were tired of pulling all-nighters to get papers turned in on time, and challenging professors who gave exams unrelated to their lectures? Or, was it simply because you graduated and ended that phase of your life?
I encourage candidates applying for leadership positions in Corporate America to take time to consider the underlying question-behind-the-question: “Given your obvious success in the military, why have you decided to apply your leadership in Corporate America?” I doubt it will ever be phrased this way, though I expect this is what the recruiter really wants to know. While there is no “right way” or “approved solution” to answering this question, I do want to offer an approach.

“I have set many goals in my life. I wanted to graduate from high school with a strong enough track record to get into the college of my choice. After graduating college I wanted to serve my country on active duty in the military.  It was an important phase in my life. Now that I have completed my service, I want to find a career where I can use as many of the skills I have developed as possible. I have set my goal to come to Corporate America after weighing different career choices. I want a career in business because…”

An answer using this approach is focused on the future versus the past. It is filled with hopes and goals and dreams; not regrets and guilt. Before interviewing with a company recruiter, develop a well thought out answer to why you are leaving the military that is true to you and reflects your goals for the future. As Roger Cameron says in his guide book to JMOs, PCS to Corporate America, “Use my thoughts not my words” in finding your own unique answer.

Steve Sosland