All
featured
Events
Education
Career
Transitioning
Business
Entertainment
Government
Military Spouse
Lifestyle
Disability
Health
PTSD
Wellness
Finance
Stories
Advocates
military
Resources
STEM
Sports
In Memoriam
Inclusion
environment

How to Successfully Readjust to Civilian Life with a Career in Tech

CareerSTEM

several bubble images representing tech images on a blue background of a city landscape

You volunteered, you served, and now you’re mustering out. What happens next? Returning to civilian life sounds easy on paper, but the reality of leaving the highly-structured, highly-disciplined military environment for one that’s completely open can be frustrating, discouraging and disorienting. Worse is the discovery that all of your practiced military tactics for addressing adversity may not get you anywhere.

In fact, your attention to detail, commitment to teamwork and willingness to go all-in may be received as off-putting, aggressive and overwhelming. What the heck? Add to this the age-old challenge that is finding a job. Or better yet, starting a career. The military promised career skills, and you built many good ones. But how do you apply them to the boggling ecosystem that is the civilian workforce? Where do you start? How do you get your foot in the door?

Funny how that info isn’t readily available.

HOLISTIC HELP FOR TRANSITIONING VETERANS
This is a dilemma that over 200,000 Veterans face every year. It adds enormous stress to their transition process and compounds traumas like PTSD, depression and anxiety. There are myriad U.S.-based organizations dedicated to helping Veterans through this process, but that creates another anxiety-inducing question: Which one to use?

Maurice Wilson, Navy Master Chief Officer (retired), identified this critical conundrum and, in 2010, created a solution: The REBOOT Workshop offered by NVTSI. REBOOT fills a gap that the military’s Transition Assistance Program isn’t designed to address: how to fully prepare exiting military personnel to find meaningful employment and a satisfactory lifestyle in the civilian workforce.

Best known for its three-week REBOOT workshop, NVTSI delivers an insightful and personalized program that equips Veterans with the emotional, psychological, social and professional skills they need to restructure and redefine their lives. The program includes three focus areas: Personal Identity, Lifestyle Transition and Career Transition. It addresses the personal and social aspects of transitioning to civilian life via research-based, outcome-driven methods drawn from career planning best practices and cognitive behavior techniques. NVTSI has a cadre of alumna who have used the REBOOT tools and techniques to craft successful civilian lives for themselves and their families.

A VETERAN-FOCUSED PARTNERSHIP
Even with the soft skills help that NVTSI provides, there’s still the question of getting hired. How do you overcome that hurdle? Every Veteran-focused organization (including NVTSI) has a list of Vet-friendly employers on their website. It’s also easy to find help creating resumes, tips on the interview process and a plethora of Vet-specific job fairs. All this information is helpful, but again, how does it get you in the door?

This problem found a perfect solution in the partnership between NVTSI and CCS Global Tech. NVTSI and CCS Global Tech give Veterans a solid path into the work world: NVTSI focuses on helping Veterans create a holistic vision for their future, while CCS Global Tech offers job placement in the tech sector for Veterans at varying experience levels.

Maybe you don’t know anything about technology or what you need to get into it. Or, maybe you’ve been in the tech industry for several years already and want to move up. How do you make that happen?

PUTTING VETERANS IN TECH JOBS
The ultimate goal of both NVTSI and CCS Global Tech is to help Veterans transition successfully out of the military and into civilian life. For all Veterans, securing a good job is a critical piece of the puzzle.

CCS Global Tech is a staffing company that makes the path to a new technology career more direct via their Veteran placement services. Their dedicated team connects qualified Veterans to positions that CCS Global Tech’s clients – companies like Microsoft, Facebook, the City of San Francisco, and others – need filled.

In other words, CCS Global Tech has the work, and they need people to fill the positions. It’s a matter of matching the right Veteran candidate to the right role.

The strong leadership skills, self-motivation and dedication to teamwork that helped Veterans succeed in the military also make them prime candidates for filling many tech roles, such as system administrators, network technicians and data conversion experts.

Veterans with security clearances are particularly well-positioned for cybersecurity roles, which are in high demand in today’s business environment.

HELPING VETERANS SUCCEED
But what if you don’t know anything about the tech sector? How do you get started? Or, what if you’re in an IT job and want to move up? CCS Global Tech has those contingencies covered. Its affiliate company, CCS Learning Academy (CCSLA), offers hands-on IT training that leverages military experience to equip individuals with a knowledge base and skillset that today’s top employers are looking for.

CCSLA was born out of what CCS Global Tech professionals were seeing in the marketplace, i.e., the growing need for well-trained, fully prepared technology professionals in the current workforce. Created by tech professionals for tech professionals, CCSLA carefully curates its course catalog to reflect current technology trends, in-demand applications and cornerstone IT know-how. The CCSLA team offers Veterans career advice and real-world information on how to map out successful career paths, what employers are looking for and how to position themselves for vibrant, lucrative, forward-focused employment.

The CCSLA team also keeps abreast of DoD Directives as well as other learning trends that help Veterans leverage their military backgrounds. They know how to help you leverage your military-specific experience to transition into today’s most in-demand tech careers. From cybersecurity and system administration to business intelligence and cloud computing, CCSLA’s focus is developing hire-worthy IT experts.

Both CCS Global Tech and CCSLA recognize the wealth of talent that transitioning Veterans can bring to the table. Many Vets hold security clearances and classifications required by city, state and federal entities, as well as big tech companies like Microsoft, Google, Facebook, and others. CCS Global Tech and CCSLA connect you to them.

CONTACT US!
After serving your country, taking off the uniform and returning to civilian life shouldn’t be a harrowing experience. NVTSI, CCS Global Tech, and CCSLA recognize the difficulties associated with this life change and its unique challenges. All three organizations are committed to helping Veterans maximize the skills, training and knowledge to create a forward-focused career that will carry them into the future. We want to see you succeed. We want to see you thrive.

CBS GLOBAL
If you’re looking for work in the technology sector, contact CCS Global Tech’s Veteran Placement team at veterans@ccsglobaltech.com. We’ll get to work finding your perfect position! If you need help mapping out your learning pathway in tech, email us or check out ccslearningacademy.com to get started.

It’s Time to Serve Our Veterans

CareerTransitioning

James Banks of SHRM standing behind chair

By Kimberly Gladden-Eversley

It takes unprecedented bravery to serve in the U.S. military. It also takes courage to walk away from the commitment to sacrifice, service and the only life you may have ever known. Transitioning into the civilian world means removing the camouflage uniform to enter the uncertainties of the civilian workforce. Fighting for freedom, with the opportunity to finally experience freedom, makes this transition sound like a moment of a lifetime. Instead, for many of our active-duty members, this transition is quite daunting.

As countless programs surface in support of veteran transitions, vets continue to face exasperating fear. According to military-transition.org, 48% of veterans found their transition from the military community into the civilian workforce more difficult than expected, 52% found their transition confusing, and 76% found it extremely stressful. Thankfully, veterans who have successfully transitioned have not ended their commitment to serve their country.

James L. Banks, (pictured) a veteran who serves as SHRM’s (Society for Human Resource Management) General Counsel, key lawyer and legal advisor, continues to offer his unwavering dedication to serve without a uniform. During SHRM’s Diversity and Inclusion conference, Banks shared his expertise on transitioning vets and accessibility. “When you want to get out of the military, you’re back in your home, but you feel like you’re not…because so many people around you don’t quite get it,” said James L. Banks. “What you’ve been through and what your perspective is, and what you can bring to the table in this new civilian environment,” he continued.

Military members are not walking away empty-handed; they walk away with valuable skills that can enhance the civilian workplace. “When I was on active duty, it was only afterward that I began to understand the analytical abilities and skills that I picked up,” said Banks. “I can tell you from having both been in the military and lots of different jobs in the civilian sector, how much we would pay to have an employee go through leadership, training, management and develop those skills,” he continued. “Like almost everybody coming out of the military already has… you’ve been practicing every single day…we would spend good money, in the civilian world to put somebody through that.

SHRM has created a military job translator that will interpret veteran service skills for job opportunities nationwide. Active-duty members can translate the skills they’ve gathered during their mission-based commitment to the armed forces easier now than ever before. This tool also provides a candidate database for employers who are looking for qualified veterans actively searching for jobs. “We’ve got lots of excellent toolboxes that will help employers in that regard; the SHRM foundation is sort of leading the effort in that,” said Banks. “One of which is as simple as…a translator for military specialties… it will also help to identify some of the soft skills that that person has,” he continued.

Internships and various informal job opportunities are also available to military personnel as they complete their final years of service. Providing opportunities for active-duty and civilian employers to collaborate, bridge the gap, increase familiarity and ease the transition. Although entering the unknown is part of the challenge, Banks suggests changing the focus and lens through which employers and military members see themselves as the greater obstacle to overcome.

The military community has received continuous praise for their hard skills, but it’s time to recognize their exceptional soft skills too. “They look at a military infantry officer; what can he do here at this company?” said Banks. “What he can do is lead your workforce and manage your workforce in a way that you’ve been spending thousands of dollars to send frontline leaders to courses and classes about how to lead,” he continued.

Removing barriers to improve accessibility takes recognizing the skills and values only a veteran who has carried the country on their shoulders can possess. “I think of the…barrier to access as sort of a thin curtain in front of all of these great abilities and talents…so our job is to understand that thin curtain is there and find a way to move it to the side,” said Banks. “When you’ve gone through training that is required for any length of any tour of duty…you can do almost anything, there’s nothing that’s beyond you, there’s no limit.”

Photo Credit: KIMBERLY GLADDEN-EVERSLEY

Leveraging Honor and Respect to Improve Recruitment and Retention

BusinessCareer

Larry Broughton in business suit arms folded and smiling

By Larry Broughton

Leaders struggle with securing, maintaining and exporting one product more than any other: respect. This is due in no small part to our current cultural mindset, which is counter industrious.

Our media declares the “little guy,” the marginalized majority, to be the constant victim of tyrannical bosses, teachers, owners and basically anyone else in a leadership role. The modern American distrusts leadership, at best, and resents leadership, at worst. So, how does a leader actually recruit, retain and lead people who consider themselves victims? The answer is found in the core values of honor and respect. Leaders, not employees, are responsible for setting the standard and the pace of the values.

In setting the standard, leaders must recognize and respect the time, energy and effort of those around them. This requires listening, thinking and approaching people as if they are just that — people. Most bad leadership comes from a soured mindset toward followership. Many in management positions have had enough of trying to be kind, supportive and considerate; eventually, they just want results: productivity, plain and simple. The problem with that mindset is evident: people are not cogs in the machines of a leader’s choosing. They are individuals with strengths and weaknesses, good days and bad, dreams and limitations. They cannot be demoted to the level of a cog — that logic is just as faulty as the aforementioned “little guy syndrome.”

Those in management and leadership positions must look at their followers and realize their own job is to optimize their employees’ potential to succeed, not simply fume as they seem to maximize their ability to fail. Many resistant followers have never shared respect with a leader in their lifetime and are not properly equipped to start any time soon. This is the first challenge of leadership: see “employees” as “team members” and draw the potential out of them. Do this by taking the first step. Establishing a standard of respect will not only enable your followers to fulfill their potential, but it will also cause the majority of them to respond in kind.

Regarding pace, leaders have to acknowledge that the process of gaining, sustaining and expanding respect and converting that into a productive and tenured team member is usually lengthy and arduous. To unwrap a pessimistic employee from their cynical cocoon is no small feat. Again, the antidote is simple, free and readily available: respect. It begins at the top and works its way down, not the other way around.

Leadership requires us to control the flow of respect and to drive it into every hour and corner of our organization. Once it does, it breeds a culture of honor, and anyone who enters it will either rise due to its effects or leave quickly. Many leaders will see this step as futile and counterintuitive. “Employees respect me because I am the boss. If they earn my respect, then so be it.” That mindset may have worked well enough in generations past; however, modern followers do not subscribe to this logic, so it simply won’t work today. Respect them first and farthest; then coach them up or coach them out if they do not meet the standard. By taking the first and farthest step, a good leader will completely eliminate excuses and tolerable failures — followers, will either meet the pace of respect set by the leader or find another placement.

Many view leadership as passionless and visionless. They see managers as the ultimate cogs in an even larger machine. To reverse this mindset, leaders must seek to see the value of every team member and offer honor, respect and understanding even before it’s deserved or earned. Some followers will buck this treatment and run — their presence is undesirable anyway. Some will respond almost instantly with loyalty and trust — these people were most likely conditioned for work by whoever reared them and will make excellent team members. Most will come around slowly but treat their leaders more fairly because they recognize the goodwill the leader has extended them first. This style of leadership does require considerable effort at first; nevertheless, working smarter and accomplishing more is certainly preferable to leading a group of maligned, untrusting misfits to merely adequate performance.

Now, take rapid action and go do something significant today.

Larry Broughton is a former U.S. Army Green Beret, best-selling author, award-winning entrepreneur, keynote speaker and leadership mentor. TheLarryBroughton.com

Photo credit: Westover Photography

The “Stable Job” Myth

CareerTransitioning

veteran standing outside convention center wearing a suit carrying a briefcase

By Paul Peng

We all want predictability and stability in our lives; who doesn’t? The sad truth is that we are not living in the post-boom period of World War II, where individuals can work in the same job for 40 years and then retire with a company-sponsored pension and a Rolex.

In our modern-day environment, we live in a fast-paced society where corporate job security is a thing of the past. There is no such thing as a “stable job” in corporate America; here’s why.

Placing Your Faith in Your Employer

Let’s get something straight right out of the gate. Businesses are just that, businesses. They are run by people that must juggle all the complexities of the entrepreneurial machine and the mistakes (sometimes massive ones) that the owners and C-suite executives can make. You may have done nothing wrong but may be laid off out of necessity due to poor decision(s) made by your employer. Remember that the number one goal is the survival of the company, not the people that work for them.

Tenure Doesn’t Mean What It Used To

Tenure in corporate America is essentially dead. Why? Tenured employees are usually the highest paid, and during recessions, employers start asking if the salary they are paying these tenured employees is worth it. Are these employees still providing good value for the money they are being paid? Or can I bring in a younger, higher-energy but perhaps an inexperienced person with half the salary and train them up? According to an article published by Indeed in February of 2021, one of the most common tenure traps is performance complacency, meaning you do just enough to get by, and the quality of your work diminishes. So, reinventing yourself or being consistently engaged with the company’s goals will help you get away from the chopping block.

Job Insecurity

We have all been there. If your company is acquired by another, depending on your position, your role (especially in mid to upper management) may be eliminated as new companies generally like to bring on their own people. Or perhaps your boss with whom you have a good working relationship leaves, thus taking away any protection you had, leaving you vulnerable to a new boss. Don’t you just love office politics?

Adapt or Die

In the era of employment fluidity, our natural ability to respond to our changing environment allows us to succeed. You must be aware of making the necessary adjustments. Start with the mindset that you are a free agent. By promoting yourself and making yourself more valuable to your employer and potential future opportunities, you may find yourself in a better position with a higher salary. Another tip is to become an expert in the next wave of technology. As we continue to evolve as a civilization, staying current with the latest technology trends can only help you.

So, get after it!

Tips for Transitioning to a Fulfilling Civilian Career

CareerTransitioning

Todd Stiles talking with soldiers next to semi truck

By Todd Skiles

My service in the military was rewarding and invaluable to my development not only as a professional but as a man and an American. It gave me life lessons, a support system and an inner strength that few experiences could replicate.

Returning from active duty can feel a bit like starting back at square one. But if you understand how your time in the military sets you ahead of the pack, you can go from strength to strength in your transition to civilian life. In the corporate world, veterans have the skills that are needed across different fields and industries.

When I first stepped into a management trainee role with Ryder System, Inc., I never expected it would evolve into a successful career in logistics and transportation solutions spanning decades at the company. Over the years, I’ve learned tips and strategies that I believe each transitioning serviceman or -woman can use to set them on the path to success.

Plans are useless, but planning is indispensable

No plan survives first contact with the enemy. But in civilian life, no plan survives the opportunities and challenges of finding a job, a house, a car or obtaining further education. That’s why preparation — learning about your options and taking stock of your military career — can position you to handle whatever life throws at you.

Before you even begin to think about signing your discharge papers, you should familiarize yourself with the vast array of resources for transitioning servicemen and -women. One example is the Transition Assistance Program the Department of Veterans Affairs offers. Your post-military support system is extensive. From the Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program to the hundreds of private sector initiatives that recruit and train veterans to the totality of your VA education and training benefits, understanding your unique opportunities is the first step toward success.

Ryder’s Pathway Home program is another great example: The 12-week technician training course gives participating soldiers hands-on diesel technician training during their final days of service. Service members who complete the program are offered employment.

Next, you should take the time to lay out everything you’ve accomplished in your service career — basic training, any courses and certificates, your awards or recognition, plus any deployments or missions you’ve been a part of. It may be helpful to put each experience on its own notecard. On the back, write the names of commanders or teammates you worked alongside, their contact information and a list of the skills or qualities you demonstrated in that experience.

Taking stock of your service career can help you determine your strengths, weaknesses, interests and skills. It may also help you understand where you can provide unique value in the civilian workforce. Most importantly, it may help you tell your story to prospective employers. Watch how quickly your cover letters write themselves!

Know your worth and your values

As you begin your job search, do not underestimate the qualities you convey through your military service. Even values as fundamental as honor and trustworthiness can be worth their weight in gold to prospective employers. In my role in sales and solutions, for instance, my military service translated to confidence in my ability to engage with people honestly, in good faith and with my full commitment to their success.

With sought-after attributes like loyalty, dependability, leadership, teamwork, attention to deadlines and detail, and the ability to make critical decisions under pressure, employers recognize that veterans are an immense asset to their teams. And for veterans, I also think it’s essential to search for and find the right culture that values the same things we value.

My military training served as a springboard in my development as a leader, enabling me to rise through sales and sales leadership positions within Ryder over the past 34 years. Today, I report directly to the president of our division and our chief sales officer with sales goals of just under half a billion dollars and a team of 100 sales professionals and support staff in three countries.

The key is understanding your unique value and the tangible and intangible skills you can leverage in the next phase of your life. That’s why I always urge veterans to think outside the borders of their military occupational specialty (MOS) beyond their direct experience and help their prospective employer understand their immeasurable worth as part of their team.

The only easy day was yesterday

Taking that first job, that first class, that first mentorship opportunity after your service can be daunting. Will the opportunity meet your expectations? Will people relate to you?

The unity and camaraderie of military service do not have to end when you step into civilian life: I encourage you to seek out opportunities where you can have a shared sense of purpose with your team and your employer. Many companies have veterans-only resource groups, trainee classes, as well as group chats and Slack channels where you can ask questions and get advice. Ryder, for instance, has a Veteran Buddy program that pairs veterans already employed at the company with new veteran hires. This adds a layer of support that can help ease the onboarding process and transition to civilian life.

When I was 26 and serving in Desert Storm as a company commander in a war zone, I was ordered to pull together resources from all five units in my battalion and lead a convoy of over 200 transportation assets through Iraq. Although I look more like a PowerPoint Ranger these days, traveling between warehouses, customer locations and Ryder logistics centers, my fundamental mission to serve people hasn’t wavered. You may find that you, too, can carry that purpose into civilian life.

Todd Skiles is the Senior Vice President of Sales for Supply Chain Solutions (SCS) and Dedicated Transportation Solutions (DTS) at Ryder System, Inc., focused on matching Ryder’s solutions with the real and vital needs of customers. Todd is responsible for overseeing the sales and solutions team for SCS and DTS. Under his leadership, sales revenue has grown by more than 130% and sales productivity has doubled.

OPERATION H.I.T.–Heroes in Transition

CareerTransitioning

There are thousands of people leaving active duty every month, and those people are looking for a new career that allows them to fulfill their own purpose.

The Data Center industry is projecting a shortage of over 250,000 professionals by 2025.

The MISSION of Operation HIT is to bring the transitioning veterans that are looking for a new purpose together with the data center companies that have demands for selfless leaders to contribute to culture and execution.

When we can align talented veterans with businesses that see their value, we can solve the threat of labor shortages in the data center industry while simultaneously reducing the suicide rate among veterans by giving them meaningful careers that have significance and purpose.

West Coast Tour
Golf Tournament & Hiring Conference
March 28th & 29th, 2023
San Diego, CA

EAST Coast Tour
Norfolk, Virginia, Date: TBD
South Tour – Austin, TX, Date: TBD

For more information visit, https://operationhit.com/

Job Hunting Strategies as a Seasoned Veteran

Career

Does it sometimes seem like your age or experience is working against you in your job search? Some employers may have reservations, but many see that hiring and retaining older workers will be vital to staying competitive, especially if you’re a veteran. Whether you’re considering a new job in the same field or looking to make a career switch, here are some tips to keep in mind:

Don’t Let the Bias Stop You

Many older workers perceive that they are passed up for jobs, promotions or pay raises because of their age. This practice is not only illegal but simply untrue. As a veteran, you are a hot commodity on the job market. Often, veterans are considered valuable employees in the workplace as they tend to hold advanced skills in management, organization, task fulfillment, punctuality, adaptability, commitment and team-building.

You likely have plenty of skills, knowledge and work experience that employers seek. You also may have a mature sense of what you value — and don’t value — in your career. Remember that you have an essential skillset and are entitled to help from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission if you face such discrimination. Take advantage of free in-person assistance.

Update Your Resume

It is imperative for experienced workers to custom-fit their resumes for each job opening. Two decades or more of professional skills is a lot to draw from. When your resume is filled with extensive experience and military service, it can be hard to know what to work on. However, employers won’t sift through it to find the gems. Instead, analyze your skills and emphasize those related to the job you are applying for. Minimize or even drop off minimally related work history. Tips you may want to include in your updated resume include:

Write a combination resume to emphasize skills and accomplishments and downplay the length of your career. Cluster your skills under three or four categories relevant to the open position: leadership, teamwork, innovation, computer skills, communication skills, supervisory skills and so on. Briefly list your employment history for the past 1-15 years, citing two to three significant accomplishments for each job.
List where you went to college or completed job training and any degrees you’ve earned, but not the years you received them.
Leave out irrelevant jobs you’ve held, particularly those from more than 15 years ago.
Include your social media accounts (LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.) in the contact information on your resume. Potential employers and networking contacts increasingly use these to identify and learn about job seekers.

Utilize Veterans Job Search Networks

As a veteran, you have access to the Veterans Employment Center (VEC), the federal government’s single authoritative internet source for connecting transitioning service members, veterans and their families to meaningful career opportunities. The VEC is the first government-wide product that brings together a reputable cadre of public and private employers with real job opportunities. It provides transitioning service members, veterans and their families with the tools to translate their military skills into plain language and build a profile that can be shared — in real-time — with employers who have made a public commitment to hire veterans.

Through the VA, you can access job search tools and career opportunities that may not be available to the rest of the public. Websites you can utilize to help you with your employment search:

The VEC lists upcoming veteran career fairs: va.gov/careers-employment
USAJOBS houses all federal employment listings: usajobs.gov
S. Department of Treasury offers job opportunities and non-paid internship opportunities to wounded warriors and veterans: treasury.gov/careers/Pages/veterans.aspx
VAforVets includes job listings at the Department of Veterans Affairs: vaforvets.va.gov

Remember, you can visit your local VA for more information about job opportunities and career help.

Take Advantage of Free In-Person Assistance

Along with the assistance you can receive through veteran-specific programs, you can get in-person support through programs sponsored by the Department of Labor. You can also access free job search assistance at your local American Job Center.

The Senior Community Service Employment Program (SCSEP) serves low-income, unemployed seniors. It helps subsidize part-time employment and training in community service positions that can lead to unsubsidized, private-sector jobs. There are several locations across the country. Find your closest location at careeronestop.org/LocalHelp/EmploymentAndTraining/find-older-worker-programs.aspx.

Utilize Job Banks for Older Workers

Job banks are websites where job seekers can search and apply for job openings online. They are sometimes called job boards. Some trustworthy job boards available to older job seekers include:

AARP.org
com
com
com
org

Remember, a legitimate job board will never ask for payment to search their database and won’t ask for your social security or national ID number online. Finding work can be difficult, but it is never impossible. Utilize your resources, and good luck!

Sources: CareerOneStop, Department of Veterans Affairs, Military.com

The Navy SEAL Approach to Persistence, Resilience and Success

CareerLifestyle

man at desk giving thumbs up towards computer screen

By Jeff Haden

Success never comes down to just one thing. Intelligence, talent, experience, education and even luck all play their part. But often, what separates success from failure is perseverance. Keep going, and you still have a chance to succeed; quit, and all hope of success is lost.

Even so, when things get difficult, and the odds of success seem bleak, doubt naturally sets in and slowly — although sometimes very quickly — drains away your willpower, determination and motivation.

And then you quit. Which means you failed. (At least in this instance.)

That’s why most people try to push away self-doubt. They know that confidence is key. So, they put their blinders on, stay positive, stay focused…until that moment when a challenge straw breaks the confidence camel’s back, and doubt, as it inevitably does when you try to accomplish something difficult, creeps in.

So how do you avoid self-doubt? You don’t.

Doubt is normal. Doubt is part of the process. We all question whether we will actually accomplish something difficult while we’re doing it.

As retired Navy SEAL Sean Haggerty told me, there’s a big difference between doubt and failure:

“Don’t confuse doubting yourself with accepting failure. The best thing I did was to decide that I was going to go to the absolute extreme, even if I doubted myself. I basically told myself that no matter what, I wouldn’t quit. I doubted myself a number of times, but then I put [it] away and thought, ‘If I fail, I fail…but what I will never do is quit.’”

That attitude pushes you past a limit you think you have…but you really don’t.

Instead, doubt is just a sign of difficulty. Doubt doesn’t mean you can’t do something or won’t do something. Doubt just means you need to figure out a way to keep going.

One way, especially when you feel overwhelmed, is to keep your world small. According to Andy Stumpf, a retired Navy SEAL and SEAL instructor, there are two ways to approach the BUD/S (SEAL training) program:

One is to see it as a 180-day program and, by extension, to see Hell Week — the defining event of the program — as a five-day ordeal. (Hell Week typically starts Sunday evening and ends on Friday afternoon; candidates get about two hours of sleep on Wednesday.)
The other is to just think about your next meal.

As Stumpf says:

“They have to feed you every six hours. So, if I can stack six hours on six hours on six hours and just focus on getting to the next meal, it doesn’t matter how much I’m in pain, doesn’t matter how cold I am. If I can just get to the next meal, get a mental reprieve and mental reset, then I can go on. If you can apply that resilience to setting and approaching your goals from digestible perspectives, you can accomplish an insane amount.”

When you’re in the middle of Hell Week, and you’re cold, exhausted and sleep-deprived, making it through the next few days seems impossible. It’s too long. Too daunting. Too overwhelming. No amount of self-talk can overcome that level of doubt.

Stumpf knew that. He knew he couldn’t imagine making it through five days.

But he could imagine making it to his next meal, which turned a major doubt into a small doubt.

Doubt was just a sign he needed to figure out a way to keep going. And he did.

See self-doubt not as a sign that you should quit but as a natural part of the process. See self-doubt as a sign that you need to adapt, innovate or optimize. Not as a sign that you should consider quitting but as an early warning sign indicating it’s time to figure out a way to keep going before those doubts grow so large that you do quit.

Doubting yourself? That just means you’re trying to accomplish something difficult.

So, see doubt as a good thing because doubt is a natural step on the road to success.

Jeff Haden is a keynote speaker, ghostwriter, LinkedIn Top Voice, contributing editor to Inc., and the author of The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win.

Best Tech Majors for High Paying Jobs

CareerEducationTransitioning

Business man pointing finger towards computer screen with a flash of light surrounding screen and his hands on the keyboard

Your military service has prepared you for a lot. You have a desirable skillset that can be used in any work environment, you’re entitled to generous financial aid, and you have a perspective that can positively contribute to the workforce.

What’s the best career for you to apply your skills?

If you’re one of the many veterans looking to return to school but unsure about what major to pick, consider majoring in a tech field. Tech jobs are not only high-paying, diverse, secure and consistently growing, but these fields have experience in veteran hiring and recruiting practices.

Here are some of the most popular tech majors for veterans:

Computer and Information Technology:
Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve and exchange all kinds of data and information. Employment in computer and information technology occupations is projected to grow 13 percent from 2020 to 2030, faster than the average for all occupations.

Popular Information Technology Careers:
■ IT Analyst
■ IT Technician
■ Data Scientist
■ Systems Analyst
Those in the information technology field make an average salary of about $97,430, which is higher than the median annual wage for all occupations by about $52,000.

Web Development:
Web developers create and maintain websites. They are also responsible for the site’s technical aspects, such as its performance and capacity, which are measures of a website’s speed and how much traffic the site can handle. Web developers may also create content for the site. Jobs in this field are expected to grow by 13 percent, about double the average rate for all other occupations.

Popular Web Development Careers:
■ Digital Design
■ Application Developer
■ Computer Programming
■ Front-End and Back-End Development
■ Webmaster
Web designers make an average of about $77,200 per year.

Database Management:
Database administrators and architects create or organize systems to store and secure a variety of data, such as financial information and customer shipping records. They also make sure that the data is available to authorized users. Most big-name companies utilize database administration, offering employment at companies of all backgrounds and environments. Jobs in this field are growing at a steady rate of about eight percent.

Popular Database Management Careers:
■ Database Engineer
■ Database Manager
■ Cybersecurity
■ Security Engineer
The average salary for database management is about $98,860 per year.

Software Development:
Software developers create computer applications that allow users to do specific tasks and the underlying systems that run devices or control networks. They create, maintain and upgrade software to meet the needs of their clients. Jobs in this field are growing extremely fast at about 22 percent.

Popular Software Development Careers:
■ Software Engineer
■ Full-stack Developer
■ Quality Assurance Analyst
■ App Developer
■ System Software Developer
The average salary for software development is about $110,140 per year.

Sources: Indeed.com, BLS,

Free Resume Guide for Veterans

CareerTransitioning

Switching careers takes courage. And veterans know a thing or two about courage. But when military personnel finish serving their country and look to re-enter civilian life, they need more than just strong nerves to make the transition to a new career. Finding a job demands practical strategies. According to a Pew Research Center study, 95% of veterans seek employment after serving in the military.

26% of veteran respondents, however, found shifting from the military to the civilian lifestyle to be somewhat difficult.

One of the biggest struggles for veterans is creating a compelling military to civilian resume that’s going to help them get a job that’s well-paid and enjoyable.

Learn everything you need to know to create a compelling veteran resume, including: