GIJOBs

SEP 2017

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22 G.I. JOBS | SEPTEMBER 2017 | GIJOBS.COM Age: 42 Military Service: Lieutenant Colonel (O-5), Army (1997-2017) MOS: Armor Officer (19A) Education: • Bachelor's degree, international strategic history/minor in nuclear engineering, United States Military Academy at West Point, 1997 • Master's degree, political science, Stanford University, 2007 LIEUTENANT COLONEL What do you do? I currently serve as a chief of staff in the finance department. I help ensure organization, communication and synchronization across the staff. What was the most difficult part of transiঞoning into civilian life? There were two main challenges. The first was getting the opportunity to reach the interview stage of the hiring process. Many times, I was very interested in the company and felt that I was a strong fit, but 75 percent of the time, I was unable to ever make it to an interview process. The second challenge was in learning the industry- specific terminology and job roles. Patience and doing additional "homework" was key. Did you use social media in your job search? I utilized LinkedIn quite a lot to assist in building my network and also researching the hiring managers prior to interviews. What was the hardest interview quesঞon you were asked? What was the biggest failure you've experienced in your career and what did you learn from it? NICK AYERS Chief of Staff/Project Manager, Sprint, Kansas City, Mo. SUCCESS Best advice for transitioning service members? Engage in as many informal conversations as you can to understand what different industries, companies and roles do; become comfortable with reaching out to people you don't know directly; build a plan for transition and start early; be open to different sorts of roles and industries; be patient but deliberate; and, finally, smile, and be disarming and engaging. Make an employer really want you to be part of their organization. TELECOM TRANSITION DATE OF HIRE May 2017

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