Odd comment during recent interview....whats your take?

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Originally Posted by Belmont31R

Sure...there are people who dislike the military and others who don't necessarily dislike the military but have envy over having never served themselves. =.

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Or perhaps he is one of those people who think that Al Gore won the 2000 election...

I am on the same sheet of music as Irish. I've been the subject of deliberately hostile interviews, just to see how I handled the situation. These were not sales positions, but dealt with stressful internal matters inside the organization.

And it's entirely probable that your first instinct was correct. The guy is just a jerk. ;)

You don't need him, and living well is always the best revenge.

Play Taps and drive on.

What kind of gig are you looking for?

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Originally Posted by Belmont31R

Got interviewed by a guy who said he was in the Navy so a vet also...I had a binder with my military records, education, blah blah blah. He saw I had my awards and such from across the table but never looked at them, and said, "Everyone who's been in the military has the same crap." Never met the guy before, this was maybe 2 minutes into the interview, and at this point he doesn't know much about me. Not saying I really do have anything special as far as awards or anything but he doesn't know me from anyone else. There are a lot of people out there with higher awards, purple hearts, not everyone has deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan (Iraq only for me X2)....my last 1SG I had never deployed when he took over my company in 2007. So, no, not everyone has the 'same crap', and even though I didn't do anything special compared to what other recent Iraq/Afghan vets have earned that comment still rubbed me the wrong way. Obviously still bugging me 2 weeks later...I guess I should just take everything I earned and throw it in the trash if everyone has the same shit right? :D


Didn't go to well otherwise. Everything I said he shot down in some way. He asked if I handle stress well, and I half jokingly said I've got twin 4 year old boys at home. He then went on a minute long lecture about how that wasn't stressful. Oh ok I guess its not....:(


Guess its a good thing I never heard back from them...:cool:

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tl;dr.

Just kidding. **** him. You didn't want to work for that guy anyway.

I've had some interesting interviews in the years since I've been out of the Corps.

I’ve had to explain some pretty basic stuff to interviewers. Keep in mind interviewing with an HR type Vs the hiring manager are 2 different animals.
Regarding civilian skills, I was grunt and I’ve transferred a good number of skills. Take your basic OP order planning steps, it’s project management plain and simple.
The Marines expected 20 year olds to deliver, civilians twice their age have never had to stand and deliver. Focus on the ‘soft skills’ you leaned in the Navy.
Regarding the interview and second guessing this guy, like others have said put it in your rear view mirror unless you think you can learn something. Next mission.

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Originally Posted by Belmont31R

He... said, "Everyone who's been in the military has the same crap." Never met the guy before, this was maybe 2 minutes into the interview...

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"I'm sorry but, there's apparently been a misunderstanding here. I'll be leaving now".

If it's really stuck in your craw, call or write to the president of the company and tell them how you were treated.

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Originally Posted by RWK

"...If it's really stuck in your craw, call or write to the president of the company and tell them how you were treated.

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Excellent advice.

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Originally Posted by RWK

If it's really stuck in your craw, call or write to the president of the company and tell them how you were treated.

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That was my first impression when I read the OP couple of days ago.

Situations like this can eat at you for days (or longer), playing around with all the "I shoulda's" and "if only's". Sit down, compose a letter, and tell 'em how you felt about the interview. Hell, ya might not even feel the need to mail it once you get it off your chest (although it might not hurt the guy's boss to know he's got a douche bag working for him).

I was first interviewed by the general manager, and then the supervisor/manager of the section the job I was applying for so this guy Im talking about would be directly over me as far as chain of command goes. The GM was really nice, though.


Oh and I was Army not Navy....the guy Im talking about was in the Navy previously so we are both vets.


I handled it fine and didn't let off it bothered me but I was ready to go by the end. I wouldn't see the need for a hostile interview of this position. It was basically just testing equipment by myself all day. No customer interaction, and minor interaction with other employees to report testing results. No real stress involved other than just working at a pace to keep up with production.

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Originally Posted by rob_s

What sort of job was this for?

I have come across more than a few vets looking for work in the civilian sector that seem surprised that their service isn't seen as more of an asset. I'm not sure if the military is mis-representing things to new recruits and those about to be discharged or what, but IME with bosses and hiring folks they may pay lip service to caring about military service at most and dismiss it after that. If it's someone completely ignorant of military people and recent discharges they start thinking about media reports of PTSD, possible re-activation taking away their new hire, etc.

Not saying I agree with their attitude, just saying that it seems like someone is giving people a false impression of their perceived "worth".

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There's a lot of truth here. Many transitioning service members may have unrealistic expectations about the value of their military time and experience to the civilian world. Recruiters contribute to it, as do commands, as well as the career ed/transition folks troops often see when they ETS. Pumping troop full of "you're a shoe in for...", or "this will carry over directly to..." can be quite common. Then there are always those that have an over-inflated sense of self and accomplishment. (Plenty of those on the civilian side, too.)

On the flip side, there are plenty of employers who don't know how to properly review and evaluate an applicant's military service. There will be applicants who have highly specialized mil experience that obviously ties in with a civilian industry. There will be those mil jobs that troops earn credentials or regulatory licenses that will obviously carry over. Those applicants are fairly easy to consider. More difficult will be the troops that have other jobs without a direct counterpart on the civilian side, or who are trying to translate a skill set to a new job. It then becomes easy and too common for an employer to dismiss someone like an 11B as just another grunt that brings nothing to table. Employers should try harder. They can miss a lot of good applicants if they only consider MOS/AFSC/etc.

To mitigate these issues, troops need to do several things:

• Keep meticulous track of their careers, duties, acquired experience, specific examples and accomplishments for later marketing.
  
• Excel at everything presented to them, being anything but average, mediocre, or minimal.
  
• Identify and obtain any state/local/industry license, certification, or regulatory credential for their occupation.
  
• Assemble their credential file/resume/credential file/vitae with the help of an expert, preferably someone in the industry they're seeking employment in.
  
• Have that cred file reviewed in advance by someone in that industry.
  
• Don't load that file with military fluff, as many applicants often do. Make it about you, stressing significant and specific abilities you have. Not your unit, unit history and accolades, etc, unless you were a significant and specific part of them. (I think this is where the "everyone has that stuff" comments come from.)
  
• Be familiar with your civilian counterparts (where applicable), comparative experience and education, and what your intended job/industry is looking for.
  
• Market yourself. An 11B can indeed be a jughead with a rifle, or he can be an applicant with exceptional attention to detail, an ability to multi-task, supervise others, and meet company goals under significant and sustained stress while staying on schedule.
  
• Be realistic. If you're the jughead, or fell short, accept it, fix it, and try again.

When I give advice to new public safety recruits or students, I always tell them to spend their time in service preparing for life after the job. Most don't make it a career for one reason or another, and even when they do it's a comparatively short career. There's lots of life and opportunity to prepare for afterward. I think the same can be said for the mil folks.

Sorry to have a burr under my saddle about this, but it makes me sick to see how some of the private sector treats vets.