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With an estimated 185,000 Service Members due to reenter the civilian workforce in 2009, many Internal Recruiters are seeing extremely non-traditional, Veteran resumes hitting their desks.  And while many of these resumes can be rather cryptic, there is a growing body of knowledge in terms of translating military experience into resume-speak.  Furthermore, many hiring organizations have developed their own aptitude in terms of understanding ‘likeness of work’ and some have even instituted customized training programs geared at transferring military knowledge to specific roles within the company.  A perfect example is that of Southern Nuclear, a subsidiary of Southern Company that actively recruits departing Navy members who have graduated from the Navy Nuclear Power Program.  In this regard, significant progress has been made, both on the side of the military as well as private industry.

However, speaking from my own personal experience (gained as a result of leaving Marine Corps active duty in mid-1999, as well as assisting disabled veterans at the VA Hospital in Atlanta, GA with their newfound career searches), I believe the greatest risk a departing Service Member faces is the notion of military bearing.  Marines, in particular, have a difficult time leaving their military bearing at the door, mainly because it is an integral part of what makes a Marine who he or she is.  It is ingrained from the first moment you step on the yellow footprints at Paris Island . . . and throughout your career.

So what exactly is military bearing? The responses would be varied, but most would be in the way of acting with honor, dignity, self-discipline, tact, etc.  A perfect example of military bearing would include the full realm of Kevin Bacon’s conduct through the HBO documentary, “Taking Chance.”  There are moments where we can see Bacon’s internal torment when facing Chance’s family upon escorting his body to them, however he maintains his military bearing as a testament to not only his honor of the Marine Corps, but also to Chance himself, as well as his Mother and Father.  In fact, Bacon is so dedicated to Chance that even cracking a smile is heavily calculated under the circumstances.

The problem is that acting with military bearing during an interview is that it can be interpreted by the untrained eye as a tendency to be “overly robotic” or “personality-less.”  To someone who hasn’t served, this type of behavior can often be judged incorrectly.  The paradox is that the Service Member may be exhibiting the highest level of respect for the interviewer, however the interviewer may perceive this as being disrespectful or “guarded”, “stoic”, or “as if they are hiding something.”

If I can convey anything to my fellow Recruiters today, it’s that education frees the mind . . . and simply digesting the fact, that years of maintaining military bearing in difficult situations is not a quality easily disregarded for a 1-hr interview, will open your mind to what the candidate may be feeling.  Sprinkle in the fact that the candidate is likely quite nervous, and their most natural inclination will be to maintain their military bearing as a way to overcome this emotion.  A way for the interviewer to break down that barrier is to simply state that you would like to get to know the candidate personally, and while it may be difficult, you’d like them to relax their military bearing and open up as best they can.  This simple act takes less than 10 seconds and can shift the entire aura of the conversation into one where you can truly gauge fit.  Good luck!

Editor’s Note - Josh Letourneau is the owner of LG and Associates, a Strategic Sourcing, Executive Search, and Human Capital Intelligence firm based in Atlanta.  Prior to founding LG & Associates, Josh worked as a Sales & Marketing professional in the software biz and was a hard-charging Sergeant in the Marines.  In his spare time, Josh enjoys shooting at other sourcing and search professionals as available in random paintball games.