How one Servicemember used Skillset® to secure a civilian career in just three weeks
THE SITUATION
Senior NCO’s career transition
Senior Non Commissioned Officer in the Army, V. Blackwell, was 12 months past transition after retiring with 20 years of service in order to explore other career opportunities.
Blackwell had cultivated 20 years of experience as an Infantryman by mentoring and managing Soldiers. More than half of his career was spent in leadership roles. His desire was to continue similar work in the civilian sector, focusing on construction project management. Mainly, Blackwell did not want to take a step back in his career.
“I had priorities at home, I wasn’t interested in moving for just any job. I preferred to stay within construction management, knowing I had decades of professional experience.”
THE PROBLEM
Lost in translation
Blackwell’s resume aligned to project management roles but hiring employers had trouble translating his military skills to civilian job roles.
Despite being able to identify civilian roles that interested him, he decided to accept a mid-level management position simply due to the lack of employer understanding regarding his Military experience. After some time, he felt this was not the right opportunity for him.
“We’re [Servicemembers are] pretty sheltered when it comes to the typical civilian workplace. It takes a lot to find a position, get that position and stay in it happily.”
SOLUTION
From job interview to job offer in three weeks
AstrumU’s SkillSet, a free app, was able to recommend career pathways based on his own learned and working skills. SkillSet returned a career match that was then mapped to open positions with AstrumU partner companies.
SkillSet’s top job score, Retail Loss and Prevention Manager, was a non-obvious job match but still included skills matching that the company was looking for. Blackwell would not have felt comfortable applying for this position on his own.
“I would have been nervous to apply for a job that didn’t necessarily match up to my education. SkillSet pulled out skills that I didn’t realize would translate to civilian jobs. Seeing my skills listed gave me confidence going into the interview.”
This top job score was then matched to open positions with AstrumU’s veteran hiring network. Blackwell was hired as a project manager with a 30% salary increase from his previous position.
Success with SkillSet
Blackwell learned about SkillSet at a veteran career fair. He created a free account and uploaded his JST to SkillSet.
Within 30 seconds, he received personalized job recommendations. He then filtered out certain careers and locations.
He saw a fitting position with a company within AstrumU’s veteran hiring network. Within three weeks he received an interview and job offer.
QUANTIFYING IMPACT
Blackwell is in a position that is more suited to his interests and experience and skills.
Furthermore, his timeline was three weeks from the time of his first job interview to receiving an offer – with a 30% higher salary.
