What is my brand you ask…
I think after some careful consideration, my brand that I showcase to an employer is my discipline and time management skills. One of the biggest things that I highlight on my resume is almost four years of full-time experience in Air Force ROTC. I go into great detail about this because it defines really who I am, it is my brand. One of the things that there is no denying is that military officer training prioritizes deadlines and the concept that “early is on time and on time is late”. Balancing a degree with a four-year military officer preparation program shows my ability to manage multiple tasks at once with effective communication because these skills are required for success in the military and their affects directly translate in the world of business as well. Along with this is that the military operates usually very early and can be physically and mentally challenging. Getting through this program with success requires discipline, something that many employers seek in candidates. One of the weaknesses that occur if this is for a civilian level position is that the military sometimes operates under a very specific manor with habits that don’t always translate to the civilian world. Sometimes these things such as early operation and straight to the point briefing are useful for positions but many times they can conflict with the workflow of a civilian corporation. What I bring to the table that is unique is balance. Along with ROTC I am also a business student at OSU with franchise management experience, this allows for me to have the benefits of military training with additional knowledge on civilian industry.
If I were to have a very specific ad to my current situation, I would tailor it to industries highlighting military management and how it could better the civilian organization. For this situation let’s represent this in a way I could see possible in the future. Let’s say this is twenty-two-Ish years away and I am getting ready to retire from the military and enter the civilian world of business. Ideally, I spent a large amount of this time flying as a pilot but regardless of your job in the Air Force if you are an officer for 10+ years you have absolutely been in charge of managing a team of some sorts. I want the organizations I am trying to get the attention of to see my leadership experience in a simple yet informative way. I think that one way that is creative is through images and publications produced by myself. Those pictures of military leaders commanding a unit are eye catching and show confidence as a manager of people. I would probably find a picture from my career that encompasses this and use a simple one to two sentence line that says who I am to the company. Then to show confidence I would use connections to find outlets to send this personalized ad to companies that I would like to be a part of and. My mom got a job at Nike because she cut up her resume into puzzle pieces and mailed it to the hiring department in Beaverton. Things that make you stand out, even if they are simple if they show confidence then it usually won’t be thrown to the bottom of the pile.
The ad could be simple as: “Twenty years of being a leader the worlds most advanced military, now he’s ready to lead with you”
Attached is a link to an Air Force Ad. This is what I am kind of going for:
U.S. Air Force Commercial – Own the Sky (youtube.com)
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