Gloria25 Posted September 28, 2015 Posted September 28, 2015 Ok, not sure what I'm doing wrong here... Since I left the military, it's kinda been hard for me to find "professional" work and think I'm doing something wrong. When you go to the state Dept of Labor, there's nothing but blue collar jobs that barely pay above minimum wage. I've dealt with the head-hunters that seek out separating military - and you usually start out with a great salary and benefits, along with a track to promotion, etc. BUT, they want you to pack up and move to "middle of nowhere in Iowa" or something. Then, want you to move around a few more times before you make it and most positions they offer are management. I've managed/lead people in the military and quickly decided I did not want to "babysit" anyone and I'm not a "yes" person (usually what managers, supervisors, leaders have to deal with). So, federal and/or state govt jobs pay pretty well w/benefits and seems that with military preference you can sorta get your foot in. But right now the federal thing isn't going my way. Oh, I've also done temp agencies - which pay pretty well. But again, they are "temp" agencies and I took a lot of time off to search for better jobs and don't think that went well with the agencies. Also, at one job where I did well, they still ended up hiring someone else cuz I think they gotta pay the temp agency a certain fee if they try to bring me on permanently. So, anyone can give some advice here to a woman with a graduate degree, years experience - who is sorta trying to get into the private sector w/o having to go through all the headaches mentioned above ^^. Thanks
BlueIris Posted September 28, 2015 Posted September 28, 2015 What are your grad degree and experience in? What field do you want to work in?
Author Gloria25 Posted September 28, 2015 Author Posted September 28, 2015 What are your grad degree and experience in? What field do you want to work in? My Masters is in management with minor in information systems. My Bachelors is information systems administration. Thing is, beyond my degree, I never got a start off in the IT field. I can do little things here and there, but no certifications and/or OJT experience. I have some accounting and bookkeeping under my belt too, but just started working in that field recently. In the military I did some time as an engineer and mostly administrative support (secretary, process HR, personnel actions, etc.) I would like to stay in the admin field (of course), but it's like I need to specialize in something in the admin field (i.e. HR, medical), but if I try to go into HR, again, I need certifications and experience on the civilian side. Thanks for asking
BlueIris Posted September 28, 2015 Posted September 28, 2015 HR does seem like a good fit. Another thing you might consider is small companies or professional offices, maybe like 5-15 employees, looking for a general office administrator or office manager. Small law firms, for instance, need administrators who can do many things. They don’t use the most sophisticated software, and usually don’t have complex problems to solve but have too much administrative work to manage themselves. Maybe think about working on contract P/T for a couple of them. Just an idea. 1
Got it Posted September 29, 2015 Posted September 29, 2015 Have you looked into defense contractors? The Washington DC area is riddled with military individuals in both the public and private sector. The problem is, you have no real applicable work experience outside of your military training. Dabbling in different areas like that will only open the door for entry level positions. So since you have bounced around in administrative roles you haven't advanced to mid level yet. I would find one area to get your foot in the door and then concentrate in that area. I disagree on the HR advice unless you really understand what HR entails and start getting training on employment law, etc. Successful HR people need a certain mindset and if you want to advance beyond some mom and pop "personnel" style, need to understand what it takes. I agree on the law office idea, as I did two internships in law offices and many of the secretaries kind of fell into those roles. You can also pursue office manager positions as well. I would recommend using recruiters but don't do temp to perm, do direct placement. You aren't going to have the same experience of being passed over like you did. I will clue you in, for temp to perm there is a conversion fee but it is if you onboard them in shorter than x amount of time. To be honest, if we had a temp in place and then onboarded someone else it is most likely because the person in the temp role was not measuring up and we were deciding to pass on them. If we have already trained them why would we want to train someone else? Where is the ROI on that? The only time is because they weren't up to snuff. What do you want to do? What are you passionate/interested in? What price point are you needing/wanting? Any other requirements? If you are interested in HR, join SHRM and search their boards for positions. I do not agree on needing certifications like PHR and SPHR and while, yes, some companies require them, they are pointless certifications. Your business degree is actually a much better fit for a "new age" HR person as it is shifting from personnel to "strategic partner". My best advice, for HR, is to understand employment law and how to align with Operations/Company goals. You want to be a game changer on how you can manage human capital to help the company meet their goals and objectives.
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