Making the Military Transition to PM Easier

Jay Hicks is an author, instructor and consultant with over 30 years of business and government planning and leadership. He advises commercial and federal organizations on the planning, development and leadership of project management organizations, delivering viability and value. With a special kinship for military personnel, Jay provides guidance on successful civilian career transition. He is the co-founder of Gr8Transtions4U.com, where advocating the value of hiring military personnel is the key focus.

  Career Development  

Companies believe there are many benefits to recruiting and hiring you, the veteran. The most commonly noted quality is a sense of responsibility and an ability to see efforts through to completion. Doesn’t this sound like most veterans you know?

In fact, according to the Society for Human Resource Management, an overwhelming 97% of companies surveyed believe the veteran’s strong sense of responsibility is their No. 1 factor in hiring former military service members. Based on your military experience, there are many companies that know you are well suited for commercial work such as project management, IT and logistics. They are eager and willing to hire you.

However, some companies have misconceptions about the risks and challenges associated with hiring employees transitioning from the military. For example, the survey demonstrated a concern for former military employees needing extra time to adapt to new workplace cultures.

You can easily overcome this bias by gravitating toward military-friendly companies who are willing to make accommodations or understand your perspective—many of which are in the information technology and logistics industries, desiring project managers.

There’s plenty of good news, though: There are plenty of military-friendly businesses. Big corporations such as Google, Chase, Amazon and FedEx target veterans, …

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