Tag: retiring

What do You want to be when you get out?

I don’t know why, but so few of you actually ask yourselves about what career you want to get into before you ETS.  It baffles me how many of you get out without a plan.  It’s like someone pissed you off so you said: Now what?

If you get out without a plan you’re going to end up going to school on your GI bill to get some criminal justice degree, or you’ll end up on some .gov jobs site trying to get employment doing your MOS as a civilian. If you don’t like our MOS, if it’s not your dream to be an S6 for the rest of your short time on this planet, then you don’t have to do that ok?  Seriously, you can do something else.

When I got out, I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I knew I didn’t want to work with the government.  I talk about this in detail in the book, but I got to interview with a ton of different companies that make products I use every day like Unilever, and Fidelity, and Diageo.  I finally decided to start my career with John Deere and it has been an awesome ride!

I had a chance to learn all about factory operations, work alongside the United Auto Workers union and learn how to weld. I got to run agriculture equipment all over the US and Canada.  I got to visit factories in Mexico and farmers in California, Arizona, Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania and more.  I also got to lead the team to bring out the new 459E baler and create the intro videos for it.  Now i’m the lead guy for Tweels and i’ve gotten to work closely with Michelin. That’s a far cry from being a platoon leader and an intel analyst!

I’m not the only one, there are many other veterans with successful careers in companies and organizations all around the world.  Other guys have started their own companies like RangerUp, Warrior Soul, Crossfit Sua Sponte, and Southern Pines Brewery.  Some guys have started charitable organizations like Warrior 360 and 22kill.

Look, the point is that if you get out without a plan like the dude above, you’re going to end up having to go back to what you were doing before.  If you make a plan and think about shit for five fucking seconds, you can do a lot of really awesome stuff.

This is not to disparage the guys who actually WANT to do their MOS as a civilian, i’m talking about the guys who run out of options because they weren’t prepared.

If you are getting ready to ETS and don’t know what you’re doing and don’t know what to expect, get a copy of the book.  There are a ton of details on how to get interviews and other challenges you’ll face when you ETS.  If you’re too cheap, I want to help you anyway, so check out the 4 big questions and read through that at least.

If you’ve already gotten out and realized this was you, please share this post so your buddies maybe won’t make the same career mistake.  Seriously, it takes two seconds and will make a big difference to the guy who needs it.

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ETS Points of Performance

Do you know the points of performance for when you ETS?

As soon as the light turned green the anchor line cable began to hop up and down as troopers jumped from the C-130 Aircraft.  I was in the middle of the stick, so I really couldn’t see much except the parachute of the guy in front of me.  The whooshing of the cold winter air was already enveloping the plane and I could hear the distinct roar of the planes engines.  Finally we started to move forward.

I had my fist firmly in the pack of the guy in front of me as we shuffled towards the back of the plane.  Even though we were in the dead of winter, being rigged up for so long, I had beads of sweat collecting around my eyes.  I blinked furiously to keep the salty water out of my eyes since one hand held my static line and the other was on my reserve.

I was already looking past the guy in front of me at the safety when he stopped.  I tripped and bumped into him, feeling the tug of my ruck on my waist as the rhythm I had going was halted.  It had been a while since this guy jumped, and apparently he had a last minute second thought…didn’t last long though, only about a second and he jumped.

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As I handed my static line, I shot a fleeting glance to my left as I turned to my right and jumped out the door.

“Shit.”

I jumped almost at the same time as the other door.  As soon as I buried my chin into my chest, my helmet fell forward and covered my eyes.

“Shit.”

Any of you familiar with the ACH helmet know that the pads are hard as a rock when it’s cold, then as you warm them up they get soft.  My chin strap was no longer tight, and my dumbass didn’t fix it in the plane.

“One Thousand…Two thousand…Three thous…”

I felt the opening shock and lifted up my helmet to quickly check my chute.  All I saw was canopy in my face.  I was directly on top of another guy’s parachute.

“Shit.”

I tried to stand up and run off his chute, but I couldn’t get my footing with my ruck and I began to slide off the center towards the edge of his chute.  Then his canopy began to taco around me.

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“Shit.”

I reached frantically for the edges of his parachute and pushed myself off.  He was already pulling slip as I got under canopy again.  I looked up and realized quickly that I was drifting backwards towards him again.

“Shit.”

I spread eagled as wide as I could and bounced off of his risers.  It worked!  I bounced off and was about to be on my merry way when it felt like someone cut my chute off.  When I bounced off, I lost all my air and began to free fall again.

“Shit.”

Instantly I went from spread eagle back to tight body position and wrapped my hand around my reserve handle.  A millisecond before I pulled it I felt a second shock.  Without letting go of the reserve handle I looked up and saw I was under a good canopy.  The other guy was more than 100 feet above me vigorously pulling slip when he yelled down, “You ok?”  I responded, “Yeah, you?”  “Yeah, get the fuck away from me.”  I smiled as I looked down, the ground was already less than 50 feet away, I released my ruck and realized I was hauling ass backwards.

“Shit.”

 

When I jumped that day, a lot of shit went wrong, but I was trained and prepared for every scenario.  All of that happened in probably less than 30 seconds; I needed almost no time to react.  I can also guarantee that probably every paratrooper that read this knew exactly what to do as he read the story as well.

Being prepared is the difference between life and death.

Knowing that, you still have no fucking plan on what you are going to do when you get out?

You need to have your finances in order, know why you’re getting out, know where you want to live, and know what you want to do, and you need to do that at least six months out.

I’ve seen far too many soldiers think that getting out of the military is going to magically solve all their problems, it’s not.  You need to get yourself ready before you become another statistic…you need to be prepared for that shitty jump.

-LJF




Veteran Profile: Ed Jasper

In this first installment of Veteran Profiles, listen to Ed talk about his 20 years with the Army and more than 14 years with John Deere.

Ed Jasper
Military Experience

United States Army – 1981 – 2001 – (MOS 67N/67T/67Z)

In the early years, I was a UH-1H (Huey) Crew Chief, Section Sergeant, Instructor, and Quality Control NCOIC. In the later years, I was a Production Control NCOIC, Squadron S3 NCOIC, and Retired as a 1SG of a UH-60 (Blackhawk) Troop

Current Position and Civilian Work Experience

Manager of Program Management Office, John Deere – Cary, NC

I have worked for John Deere for 14.5 year and had multiple assignments in Factory Operations, Project Management, Quality Engineering, and Program Management

 

The Big 4 Questions:

  1. Were you financially ready to get out? What steps did you take?

No, I was not financially ready to get out!

I was a 1SG with 3 kids in High School, and one kid was getting ready to start college. I was fortunate that I found a good job with a great company and literally left the Army on Thursday, drove across country and started with John Deere on Monday.

I tried to be as debt free as possible, ensured my credit report was clean and accurate, and bought a house that was below what we were approved for to help control expenses.

Stetson 4-3 ACR

  1. Why did you want to get out?

I loved the Army, but it was time.

I loved working with soldiers and spent my entire career in Army Aviation and was still crewing helicopters occasionally as a 1SG. It may sound funny, but I was not interested in becoming a CSM and what that rank would entail at that point in my career. I had been a 1SG for 3 years, and the family was ready to have me home more. In 2001, to become a CSM, I would have had to go to the academy, spend a year at Ft. Bliss, and then be subject to an assignment worldwide. I had three kids in high school, and that level of uncertainty did not seem like the right thing to drag them through. Based on what I thought my next step in the Army was, and the needs of my family, it was time to go.

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  1. Did you know where you wanted to live?

I have a funny story about where “we wanted to live”. We had lived all over the world, and our last duty station we were stationed at Ft. Carson, CO which is an awesome assignment. My wife and I were discussing the whole retirement plan, when a commercial for Colonial Williamsburg came on the TV. We had lived in the area previously for a few years when I was stationed at Ft. Eustis. We both thought going back to the Tidewater Area of Virginia would be a good choice if we did not stay in Colorado. The following day, I got a call from a previous commander of mine that said he had someone from John Deere where he was working in Williamsburg, VA that wanted to talk to me about a job! How is that for karma!

Honestly, I was willing to relocate to any location for the right job. I had seen a number of former coworkers in Army make what I thought was a mistake and limit themselves to a geographic region. This really limited the types of jobs they were getting interviews for.

I know moving is tough on families, but after John Deere made me job offer,  it was my kids that told me it was ok to change High Schools again, they would adjust and that Mom and I had to do what was right for our long term future. It was tough on them, but they have all made it through college and are working in their chosen career field.

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  1. Did you know what you wanted to do?

No, I had no idea what I really wanted to do. I did have plan, I called it the “5 finger plan” and had a resume that matched each of those paths. They ran the gamut from working for a defense contractor in aviation maintenance to working in public education. The other thing I did when I was in was to finish my degree programs – so I earned an Associate’s Degree while I was still a SPC, earned my  Bachelor’s Degree by the time I was a SFC, and finished a Masters in Education the year before I retired. The degrees did not make me any smarter, but they do open doors that might not be available without them.

I knew I wanted to have a challenging job, with a firm I could grow with, and that would offer a level of pay that would improve my standard of living. So far, John Deere continues to offer me new opportunities – I have moved 6 times in 14 years and had 7 primary jobs in that time period and number of other special projects. Not everyone has to move to advance, but they have offered interesting jobs that I wanted to pursue, so it has been a good fit so far.

 

Quick Tips for Transitioning

  • If you are enlisted – get as much school as you can to include college, certifications and other training applicable to your career path.
  • Officer, Senior NCO, or Enlisted – Be willing to take an entry level job with the right company – your experience and work ethic will lead to other opportunities for promotion.
  • Be willing to relocate to take the right job – go where the work is
  • Contact others you have served with that are already out – they are a great resource
  • Practice Interviewing and using words and language that civilians understand
  • Send your resume to people not in the military to get some feedback – Don’t be offended with the feedback
  • When you get the first job, find a mentor. Most organizations have some former military in the workforce. Find out who they are, and approach them about mentoring you. They will be invaluable to you in helping to connect the dots as you transition.

 

Listen to the full interview now, or take it with you and listen on the go!

I want it on the go: Veteran_Profile_Jasper

Listen now:

 


Do YOU Have a Headhunter?

You need a headhunter, period.  How many of you wrote your resume, posted it on monster.com and waited patiently by the phone expecting calls from potential employers?  Surprised that you didn’t get a phone call?  What if there was a surefire way to get an interview for a job that pays what you are looking for?

Let me put it in a way that you guys will understand.

nightclub[1]

You decide to go to a nightclub to look for a great woman.  When you get there, the line wraps around the block, so you know it’s going to be an awesome club right?  There are nearly a thousand people in that club tonight, but there’s a problem…only four ladies.  There are 250 dudes for each woman in this club!

You’ve got your eye on one particular hottie, her name is Jobelina, and you saw her online profile.  You know what she’s looking for in a man, and you KNOW you’re perfect for her.  The problem is that there are 250 other dudes trying to do the same thing, and you can’t even get a chance to talk to Jobelina to show her how perfect you guys are for each other.  You might get lucky, and she’ll take a look at you, but only for 6 seconds, so you get drunk and go home alone.

Now let’s imagine this scenario a different way.

Jobelina has a good friend that i’ll call Eddie, and she trusts Eddie.  Instead of going to the club and trying to get her attention somehow, you talk to my buddy Eddie, and he gets you a blind date with Jobelina!  You moved to the front of the line and got preferential treatment over all the other deuchebags out there spamming their resumes at companies.

That’s how a headhunter works.  My headhunter’s name was Eddie Commender with Lucas Group.  I never once got an inquiry from any job I applied for on monster or any other job finding site for that matter.  Eddie on the other hand got me 9 interviews in a single day with companies like John Deere (obviously), Fidelity, Diageo, Nestle, Unilever, and Rolls Royce to name a few.  He helped me write my resume (many of those tips I’ve shared with you), he  coached me through interview questions, and then was my advocate after the interviews.

Seven of the nine companies I interviewed with said “yes” and wanted a second interview.  It was then up to me to decide!  I wasn’t even out of the Army yet, but thanks to my headhunter, I had companies waiting in line for me.  It was by far the best decision I made for my career.

You absolutely must get a headhunter, you don’t have to go with Lucas Group, there are others out there, but do not go it alone.  Don’t think that there are employers out there scouring job sites looking for veterans to hire, because they’re not.  You need an advocate who literally feeds his family by getting you a job.

 

-LJF