Paul Garbis ⋅ Towaco , NJ UBS ⋅ 34 years experience

Major, thanks for your service. I worked with a guy leaving the army and getting into the business world. We landed him a job in logistics with McKesson by tightening up his resume and showing his applicability into the business world. It's all about framing and presentation. Would love to help you if I can, just reach out. paul.garbis@ubs.com

Chip Brown ⋅ Durham , NC IBM ⋅ 25 years experience

Hello Kevin, Your background does fit well within a Procurement area of a business. I have been working in Procurement for 19 years and found my way here even though I am a retired Infantry officer (that did all staff level positions and retired as a Div IG) With your FAR/DFAR knowledge you can support companies that do business with GOE's, you can use your logistics background in to support manufacturing, learn various commodity areas, work direct or indirect procurement and since you probably don't have the skill now you can learn contracts and negotiations. Try to get into a Pharma or CRO - those companies are riding the waves and will for many more years. Good luck in your pursuits. Thank you for your service.

James Vickery ⋅ Ogden , UT Northrop Grumman ⋅ 31 years experience

Kevin,

Since you are in Grantsville, have you explored any opportunities with Northrop Grumman? There are a number of open job requisitions for the new missile system, GBSD, and also on the MMIII sustainment contract. There are two immediate fill requisitions in our supply chain management/subcontracts section open now; I know the hiring managers, so if this is of interest to you, get in touch with me ASAP and let's discuss this opportunity.

Jim Vickery

Ashutosh Mehta ⋅ Edison , NJ ⋅ 16 years experience

Thank you for your service Kevin! You have already received good answers. I am going to add few links with straight suggestion that you can find a career in Supply Chain area of Pharmaceutical companies, Retail companies etc. If IT interests you, I would recommend getting in to SAP SCM (Supply Chain Management). That is highly rewarding area.

URL for Supply Chain Management - https://www.prologis.com/what-we-do/resources/top-10-supply-chain-management-certifications

URL for SAP SCM - https://www.sap.com/sea/products/supply-chain-management/supply-chain-planning.html

Good luck!

Ashutosh Mehta

Gary Spearow ⋅ North Kingstown , RI U.S. Army, Colonel ⋅ 27 years served

Kevin,

Congratulations on your transition. I am transitioning as well and there are supply chain management positions out there that you can get certifications for, including the Demonstrated Master Logistician (DML) through the Society of Logisticians and Engineers (SOLE) or the many certifications through the Association of Supply Chain Management (ASCM) to include CLTD, CSCP, and CPIM.

I would also look into positions of RIsk and Opportunity Management (known as Rs &Os). R&O is often what military logisticians do. We identify risks and how to mitigate, accept, and eliminate them while looking for opportunities to improve efficiency and effectiveness. In business, this directly affects the bottom line.

One of the comments in the thread is about project management. Military logisticians are also adept at this, however, if you want to dive into project management, you should take advantage of many of the programs like Onward to Opportunity (O2O) through the University of Syracuse to obtain that certification.

The bottom line is that military logisticians are adaptable to many opportunities available in or out of supply chain/logistics. The key will be molding what you've done in civilian terms so that you can tell your story on your resume, cover letter and in the interviews.

Best wishes.

FRANCIS TEPEDINO, ESQ. ⋅ San Diego , CA THE CONDOR GROUP ⋅ 30 years experience

Sounds like you would fit in Procurement/logistics in the civilian world. Where to start is the question. I might suggest applying for a procurement/logistics job at some entry level and working your way up the chain.

Here is a thought: LAW SCHOOL!

Yes I know you are a senior officer etc etc. etc., but in the civilian world that only counts so much and no further. I went to Law School late in life, etc etc. etc., but it opened doors to senior management that I did not know existed. I am on the Board at a major Law School. Let me know if I can help.
Frank Tepedino

Good luck.

Deanna Corbett ⋅ Winter Garden , FL VMware ⋅ 21 years experience

Hi Kevin,

Some additional avenues to consider include Operations Management, Business Management, Project/Program Management. All of these roles depend on the skillset you have acquired based on your work history; and they could easily be translated into civilian careers that leverage the same.

Search for job descriptions for all of the roles you are curious about - www.indeed.com is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to initial research about the difference in job roles.

If some of these roles pique your interest, then you should get connected with people who do those jobs and ask if you can do an "informational interview" - where you are asking them questions in order to learn about the job: day-to-day life, the qualifications, certifications, and education needed, the "good, bad & ugly" parts of what they love or despise about that role.

When you settle on what role(s) to pursue, be sure you have tweaked versions of your resume for each. Look up the kind of questions asked in interviews for those roles, and practice how you would answer them. Per prior comments - be sure your resume and interview answers are clear to a civilian.

If your informational interviews or job search uncover a good certification to hold, look into obtaining it - or at least starting the process so you can list it as a credential on your resume (or note that you are a candidate that has an "Expected Date" to receive it.)

Then network and start your job search in earnest. Investigate whether the target companies you want to apply at have Veterans Hiring Programs. If there are local chapters of professional associations, join for networking opportunities and to learn about the profession or industry.

Best of luck to you!

Kindly,
Deanna

Tim Feemster ⋅ Dallas , TX Foremost Quality Logistics ⋅ 40 years experience

Henry, Jerry, and George all give excellent feedback. I have to admit that Henry is the first HR person "I know" that has a military background. One thing I have found is that I can't grasp most military vet resumes because they use military jargon. Most of the private sector does not speak "military". You have to work on getting the business community equivalent to your levels. Use the terms like vice president, director, manager, supervisor when telling your stories. Example- When I was stationed in xx, I had a director level position with several managers reporting to me. I reported to the base commander who was like a senior vice president of operations. These words the person interviewing you will understand as they translate to his/her company terms. Also make sure you tone down certain elements/terms of the jobs that reflect life or death situations. Many of these situations are very good stories to tell about planning, risk management, quality control, brainstorming, teamwork, etc. but without the darkness of what you had to endure protecting our country for which we are exceptionally proud of you.

George Hernandez ⋅ La Porte , TX International Cooling Tower ⋅ 20 years experience

Major, thank you for serving this great country, and the great sacrifices that no one will ever really understand except you, your family and God.

As a Navy retiree and HR/ Recruiting professional for over 25 years, I would research exactly the types of positions you are passionate about through Linked In, Career Builder and write your resume for that.

How your resume is written is key. Be crystal clear about the position your targeting, recruiters and hiring managers won't do that for you in the civilian sector. If you are in a non-military city such as Houston, Tx, it's even worse due to the high level of competition out here and 75% of those moving into the workforce/ leadership positions across the country in ALL industries.

If you need more help in your strategy, call my office cell 832-763-0928.
International Cooling Tower, Recruiting Mgr

Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville , MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

Kevin,
In reviewing your LinkedIn profile, first I would recommend connecting to Micheal Quinn and seeing if you can sign up for his LI profile workshop(virtual/free). This is very helpful in putting out what recruiters look for. Keep in most of the search takes place in the TAG line(line after your name and the "about" section). I would highly recommend some Informational Interviews at different levels with in the supply chain to determine 1) your interest level and/or 2) your qualification level. Another area to look would be to preview openings on Indeed, to get a flavor for the language used and the metrics used on the commercial. There is no general translation from military to the corporate sector. My son in law was in charge of all of the metal purchases for the entire John Deere corporation and he was a lower level director. It all is depending up the size of the corporation. It is imperative to start speaking the language, but to learn that language you need to learn and network. Join some logistics/supply chain groups both on LI and Facebook professional-both have active groups for all careers. Mentioned earlier, reach out and conduct Information Interviews, seek information not a job, this is key to doors opening. Job seekers are sent to the net for an application, helping a veteran find out about his/her career transfer people like to help service members. Pick up a mentor via ACP, they are great and you can learn a ton. Establish the where and how much equation, with realistic expectations. Use Glassdoor and other salary search engines to determine rough salary ranges, keep in mind you have 10+ years military experience, you need to learn how much of that transfers over-your interaction with bio/nuclear may not transfer, leave it out. 5-7 years of solid experience is a higher lever position. Keep in you are competing with people that have corporate supply chain experience. Remember that you are part of the 0.5% of Americans who serve their country. You are very well respected, but the chance civilians have been part of the 0.5% simply means they will not understand your language or experiences-without translation. Thank you for your support and sacrifices. God Bless https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/come-prepared-transition-process-gap-between-civilian-jerry-welsh/
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/when-more-right-jerry-welsh/

Henry ("Dr. Hank") Stevens ⋅ Fort Lauderdale , FL Human Resources Quality Assurance, LLC (Now Retired) ⋅ 50 years experience

Hello Major! First, thank you for your valuable service. Second, and I will be brief here, given what you describe, I suggest you EXPLORE just what it would mean to be a "Hospital Purchasing Agent."

Much of what they do is as you describe, what you do now. I suggest you make contact with your local hospital purchasing agent and conduct an information interview. I think you will be surprised at just how diverse, challenging, and satisfying that role can be!