Ace Your First Civilian Job Interview With These Veteran-Approved Strategies
T-Mobile highlights veteran employment initiatives and interview strategies as part of Veterans Day celebrations. The company successfully completed its 2018 initiative to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses by 2023. Four T-Mobile veteran employees share key insights for military-to-civilian career transitions, including: leveraging AI tools to translate military experience, preparing situation-behavior-impact stories, and utilizing veteran support networks. The company has donated over $2 million to military and veteran initiatives since 2020 and recently announced a $200K donation to The Mission Continues organization.
T-Mobile mette in evidenza le iniziative per l'occupazione dei veterani e le strategie per i colloqui come parte delle celebrazioni per il Giorno dei Veterani. L'azienda ha completato con successo la sua iniziativa del 2018 di assumere 10.000 veterani e coniugi di militari entro il 2023. Quattro dipendenti veterani di T-Mobile condividono importanti spunti per la transizione dalla carriera militare a quella civile, tra cui: sfruttare strumenti di intelligenza artificiale per tradurre l'esperienza militare, preparare storie basate su situazioni-comportamenti-risultati e utilizzare reti di supporto per veterani. L'azienda ha donato oltre 2 milioni di dollari a iniziative militari e per veterani dal 2020 e ha recentemente annunciato una donazione di 200.000 dollari all'organizzazione The Mission Continues.
T-Mobile resalta las iniciativas de empleo para veteranos y las estrategias de entrevista como parte de las celebraciones del Día de los Veteranos. La compañía completó con éxito su iniciativa de 2018 para contratar a 10,000 veteranos y cónyuges de militares para 2023. Cuatro empleados veteranos de T-Mobile comparten ideas clave para la transición de carreras militares a civiles, que incluyen: aprovechar herramientas de inteligencia artificial para traducir la experiencia militar, preparar historias de situación-comportamiento-impacto y utilizar redes de apoyo para veteranos. La compañía ha donado más de 2 millones de dólares a iniciativas militares y de veteranos desde 2020 y recientemente anunció una donación de 200,000 dólares a la organización The Mission Continues.
T-Mobile은 재향 군인 취업 이니셔티브와 인터뷰 전략을 재향 군인의 날 기념행사의 일환으로 강조합니다. 이 회사는 2023년까지 10,000명의 재향 군인과 군인 배우자를 채용하겠다는 2018년 이니셔티브를 성공적으로 완료했습니다. T-Mobile의 재향 군인 직원 4명이 군에서 민간으로의 경력 전환에 대한 주요 통찰력을 공유하며, 여기에는 군 경험을 번역하기 위한 AI 도구 활용, 상황-행동-영향 이야기를 준비하고 재향 군인 지원 네트워크를 활용하는 것이 포함됩니다. 이 회사는 2020년 이후 군과 재향 군인 이니셔티브에 200만 달러 이상을 기부했으며, 최근에는 The Mission Continues 조직에 20만 달러를 기부한다고 발표했습니다.
T-Mobile met en avant les initiatives d'emploi pour les vétérans et les stratégies d'entretien dans le cadre des célébrations de la Journée des Vétérans. L'entreprise a réussi son initiative de 2018 visant à recruter 10 000 vétérans et conjoints de militaires d'ici 2023. Quatre employés vétérans de T-Mobile partagent des conseils clés pour la transition de la carrière militaire à la carrière civile, notamment : l'utilisation d'outils d'IA pour traduire l'expérience militaire, la préparation d'histoires basées sur les situations-comportements-impacts, et l'utilisation des réseaux de soutien pour vétérans. Depuis 2020, l'entreprise a fait don de plus de 2 millions de dollars à des initiatives militaires et vétérans, et a récemment annoncé un don de 200 000 dollars à l'organisation The Mission Continues.
T-Mobile hebt Initiativen zur Beschäftigung von Veteranen und Interviewstrategien im Rahmen der Feierlichkeiten zum Veteranentag hervor. Das Unternehmen hat erfolgreich seine Initiative aus dem Jahr 2018 abgeschlossen, bis 2023 10.000 Veteranen und Angehörige von Militärangehörigen einzustellen. Vier Veteranen-Mitarbeiter von T-Mobile teilen wichtige Einblicke in den Übergang von militärischen zu zivilen Karrieren, darunter: den Einsatz von KI-Tools, um militärische Erfahrungen zu übersetzen, die Vorbereitung von Situations-Verhaltens-Wirkungsgeschichten und die Nutzung von Unterstützungnetzwerken für Veteranen. Das Unternehmen hat seit 2020 über 2 Millionen Dollar für militärische und Veteraneninitiativen gespendet und kürzlich eine Spende von 200.000 Dollar an die Organisation The Mission Continues angekündigt.
- Successfully achieved 10,000 veteran and military spouse hiring goal
- Donated over $2 million to military and veteran initiatives since 2020
- New $200K donation to The Mission Continues organization
- Received gold standard from GI Jobs Magazine and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Military Spouse Employer Award
- None.
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / November 4, 2024 / Transitioning from military to civilian life brings its challenges, but tapping into the wisdom of those who've been there can make all the difference. As we celebrate Veterans Day, four T-Mobile employees share what they've learned since landing their first civilian jobs, and what veterans can do right now to prepare for that first interview
Moving from military to civilian jobs isn't just a career change - it's entering a whole new world.
In honor of Veterans Day, four T-Mobile employees sat down to share their personal stories of chasing a new profession after service. Whether T-Mobile was their first civilian job after a decades-long military career or they held many new jobs since transitioning years ago, these employees agreed on one common challenge: Translating military prowess into civilian speak during interviews.
By the end of 2023, T-Mobile achieved an expansive, company-wide initiative from 2018 to hire 10,000 veterans and military spouses over a five-year period. Now, veteran employees are sharing advice from their lived experiences in hopes it will help fellow veterans who are stepping into their next chapter in the civilian world to walk confidently into their first job interview.
Meet T-Mobile's proud veterans and hear their tips to walk confidently into that first civilian job interview.
Russ Nelson, T-Mobile's Senior Regional Facilitator for Leadership Development, former U.S. Army Combat Reconnaissance Scout.
Stephen Gundrum, T-Mobile Team of Experts Coach, former Nuclear Machinist Mate for the U.S. Navy.
Jeff Rhodes, T-Mobile Group Project Manager for IT Business Development, retired Battalion Commander and 21-year U.S. Army Veteran.
Jessica Cody, T-Mobile's Senior Regional Facilitator for Leadership and Development, eight-year Veteran Chemical Specialist in the Army Reserves.
Tech to the Rescue
Russ Nelson says his biggest tip is to leverage cutting-edge AI to bridge the gap between military jargon and civilian job requirements. The former U.S. Army member and current Senior Regional Facilitator for Leadership Development at T-Mobile says that when he transitioned in 1997, he had difficulty translating his military experience into terms that are meaningful to civilian employers.
"I did not know how to articulate my experience, especially with the military occupational specialty (MOS) I had," he says. "I didn't know how to share the soft skills that I'd learned beyond all of the hard combat skills that came with reconnaissance."
AI tools can help veterans prepare for interviews by listing the soft skills they may not even recognize they've acquired during military service, Nelson says.
"ChatGPT, Copilot and other AI platforms are incredible tools because you can take your military title and figure out the equivalent job description through a more civilian or corporate lens," Nelson explains. "It can help you word things that really will help you connect the dots, especially if you don't know how to do it yourself."
Stephen Gundrum, a former Nuclear Machinist Mate for the United States Navy and current T-Mobile Team of Experts Coach, also says he is excited about how easy it can be to use web tools that allow veterans to input their MOS to find applicable civilian jobs.
"This tool called Military Skills Translator has been available for a couple of years now. You can put in everything that you learned while in service under your MOS and it can give you a list of certain jobs within the civilian field that you would immediately qualify for," he explains.
Craft Your Narrative
Nelson says your stories are your strength. He recommends job applicants prepare three or four key moments from their military experience that they can share during interviews. He also suggests these stories follow a situation-behavior-impact (SBI) format to effectively illustrate the candidate's skills and experiences.
"It's great to prepare for your interview by thinking back to your previous military roles in terms of stories, because we all have key moments or things that we've done that have been impactful and naturally illustrate our skillsets," he says.
Jessica Cody, a former eight-year Veteran Chemical Specialist in the Army Reserves and current T-Mobile Senior Regional Facilitator in Human Resources, says veterans can seem nervous in an interview because it isn't as common a practice in the military.
She hopes preparing these key stories ahead of time instills in every veteran that their experience makes them a unique candidate in the corporate world.
"Think of your skills not just in terms of your MOS but also look at it conceptually. What you've done is extremely valuable even if that specific hard skill listed in the job description is not something you immediately recognize as your expertise," Cody says. "You have a lot to offer because of how you've been able to learn and accomplish prior to transitioning. You don't have to hide what you think you don't have."
Assert Your Value
Jeff Rhodes, T-Mobile Group Project Manager for IT Business Development and who spent 21 years in the U.S. Army, says veterans must be proactive in their civilian interviews. T-Mobile's Veterans and Allies Employee Resource Group has supported his initiative to give presentations to prepare hiring managers before interviewing veterans to understand skill-based hiring practices.
I had to learn to be receptive to feedback and mentorship from those who I might consider my junior in the military. Their support was invaluable.
Jeff Rhodes, T-Mobile Group Project Manager for IT Business Development
"Veterans should know as they transition into civilian roles that they are their own career managers," Rhodes says. "We need to advocate for ourselves and our many hard and soft skills during the interview process. Personally, my main contribution is being able to look at T-Mobile operations through the same lens that I would look at military operations and make suggestions based on my training how I would solve it."
Military experience has equipped Gundrum to lead by building productive, goal oriented programs.
"The nuclear field is very technical and very analytical," Gundrum says. "I've been able to utilize some of the tricks from that time into my coaching and can help locate patterns and analyze what an Expert can be doing to find the one or two things that's going to turn it from an okay experience for the customer to an excellent one."
Cody recommends getting ahead of an interview by connecting those dots early on.
"Organizational skills in supporting and running multiple programs is something that the military trained me to excel at because when you're following a 67-page manual just to get your radio to turn on, you need an attention to detail," Cody says. "T-Mobile doesn't necessarily care about my knowledge of detecting radioactive contamination, but the company cares that I can operate well under pressure during stressful situations."
Veteran Support Networks
Many organizations, including T-Mobile partners Hiring Our Heroes and Blue Star Families, are ready to assist veterans during their transition into civilian life, especially when it comes to preparing for their new career search.
"I am a huge advocate of Hiring our Heroes," says Rhodes. "It's the program that is most responsible for me landing the job here at T-Mobile. The organization pairs separating service members with a Fortune 500 company for a 12-week fellowship, after which they can apply for a full-time job."
Empowering Customers To Get Involved
On Nov. 5, in special recognition of how important this community is to T-Mobile, the company is partnering with The Mission Continues, an organization that empowers veterans in under-resourced communities, and donating
Rhodes also reached out to The Commit Foundation, which provided him a transition coach, Four Block, where he attended classes on how to research for potential roles, and Candorful, which supplied him with real hiring managers who volunteer to help veterans better understand job postings and rehearse before their interviews.
Gundrum says reaching out to these organizations doesn't have to serve an interview prep purpose. They also offer moral support by helping veterans recognize that they are not alone in the transition process.
"These organizations made me realize I'm not the first service member that went from active duty into the civilian world," Gundrum says. "There are so many others that have experienced this, and once you can wrap your head around that, it makes the process just a little less isolating, especially when you encounter letdowns."
Feedback Is A Gift
Rhodes says it's important to be aware that you will have to navigate cultural differences between the military and civilian workplace. He explains how his initial interview interactions, which he believed to be respectful in the military context, were perceived as abrasive.
"The feedback that I got in my interviews showed me that I was putting people off because my formality seemed standoffish," Rhodes explains. "And in my mind, I thought I was being respectful."
He adds that he had to change his mindset to be open to the fact that sometimes those who would be considered junior to him in the military environment could have valuable feedback in his new environment. Gundrum agrees that understanding the importance of feedback and how it functions within a corporate setting can be crucial for a veteran's success after transitioning.
You don't have to hide what you think you don't have.
Jessica Cody, T-Mobile's Senior Regional Facilitator for Leadership and Development
"One of my mentors at T-Mobile told me his favorite sayings is, ‘Feedback is a gift, so get ready to receive it,'" Gundrum explains. "Whether the feedback is praise or whether it's constructive, it's all designed to help you become better so don't just receive it - implement it."
On Veteran's Day and every day, T-Mobile has long been a champion for the military community. Since 2020, T-Mobile has donated and sponsored over
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