Civilian Career Options for Women Veterans

Civilian Career Options for Women VeteransCivilian Career Options for Women VeteransAbout 1.6 million U.S. veterans are women, according to the Department of Veteran Affairs. Female vets are different from civilian women and from their male counterparts who have also left the military. As compared to otherbei women, female veterans attain higher levels of education. Both male and female veterans find long-term opportunities in certain sectors and they leave the military with skills that make them well-suited for particular occupations. Female Vets Are Highly Educated Women veterans are typically better educated than their civilian counterparts. A high school diploma is the minimum educational requirement for military enlistees, but most go beyond that either before serving or after completing their service. Twenty-one percent of female veterans have a bachelors degree versus 18 percent of non-veteran women, and 14 percent have an advanced degree while only 10 percent of non-veter an women do. Not every female vet completes her college education- 44 percent of women veterans had some college as their highest level of education compared with 32 percent of non-veteran women- but it is possible that many women veterans took advantage of tuition assistance offered during their service but did not finish their degrees. Female veterans typically wait a bit longer to earn their degrees than those who do not serve. Seventy-one percent attain their bachelors or advanced degrees between 35 and 64 years of age. Women Veterans and Career Choice Female veterans make different career choices than other women. More than twice as many choose to work in government jobs- 34 percent of veterans versus 16 percent of non-veterans. Included in this sector are local, state, and government employment. At least some of this may be attributed to initiatives in place that actively recruit veterans for government jobs. The government has instituted initiatives like the Veterans Oppo rtunity to Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act, which President Barack Obama signed into law in 2011. This law requires Federal agencies to treat active service members as veterans, giving them preference when making hiring decisions. It allows active service members to begin their job searches in anticipation of leaving the armed forces. It can smooth the transition to civilian life. Companies in the private sector also have programs that increase their hiring of veterans. There are some differences in the types of work women veterans choose. Forty-nine percent work in management and professional occupations, while only 40 percent of other women do. But more non-veterans than veterans work in service fields (22 percent vs. 15 percent) or office and sales (30 percent vs. 29 percent) occupations. When choosing an occupation after serving in the armed forces, veterans should consider the unique qualities they bring to the civilian workforce, in particular, leadership, discipline, and teamwo rk. Among the soft skills that allow them to do their jobs, vets develop, through their service, excellent relationship-building and problem-solving skills. These make them particularly well-suited for operations research analysis and sales careers. Depending on their specific military jobs, vets also bring specific hard skills to their civilian careers. Training that emphasizes technological skills directly translates to jobs in the IT field. Vets with nursing experience can apply that to civilian certification requirements. A background in mathematics and finance, along with personal knowledge of military life, can make a veteranparticularly well-suited for jobs that involve helping military families protect their investments and savings. The 8 Best Careers for Women Veterans CareerCast.coms Jobs Rated Report lists the top eight careers for veterans. They are Financial AdvisorFinancial advisors help people plan for their short and long-term financial goals. Minimum Educational Requirements Bachelors Degree (Suggested Majors finance, business, accounting) zentralwert Annual Salary (2017)$90,640 Number of People Employed (2016) 271,900 Projected Job Growth (2016-2026)15percent (much faster than the average for all occupations) Projected Job Openings (2016-2026)40,400 Information Security AnalystInformation security analysts develop and implement plans to safeguard an organizations computer networks and systems. Minimum Educational Requirements Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, Information Assurance, and Programming Median Annual Salary (2017)$95,510 Number of People Employed (2016) 100,000 Projected Job Growth (2016-2026)28percent (much faster than the average for all occupations) Projected Job Openings (2016-2026)28,500 Management ConsultantManagement consultants work with organizations to help them become more efficient or profitable. Minimum Educational Requirements Bachelors Degree Median Annual Salary (2017)$82,450 Number of People Employed (2016) 806,400 Projected Job Growth (2016-2026)14percent (faster than the average for all occupations) Projected Job Openings (2016-2026)115,200 Nurse PractitionerNurse practitioners provide primary and specialty care to patients, consulting with doctors and other healthcare professionals as needed. Minimum Educational Requirements Nurse Practitioner Masters Degree and Registered Nurse (RN) License Median Annual Salary (2017)$103,880 Number of People Employed (2016) 155,500 Projected Job Growth (2016-2026)36percent (much faster than the average for all occupations) Projected Job Openings (2016-2026)56,100 Operations Research AnalystOperations research analysts use mathematical expertise to help businesses and other organizations solve problems. Minimum Educational Requirements Bachelors Degree in Operations Research, Engineering, Math, Computer Science, or Analytics Median Annual Salary (2017)$81,390 Number of People Employed (2016) 114,000 Projected Job Growth (2016-2026)27percent (much faster than the average for all occupations) Projected Job Openings (2016-2026)31,300 Registered Nurse (RN)Registered Nurses (RNs) treat patients and advise them and their families. Minimum Educational Requirements Bachelor of Science (Preferred) or Associate in Nursing or Diploma from an Approved Nursing Program Median Annual Salary (2017)$70,000 Number of People Employed (2016) 2,955,200 Projected Job Growth (2016-2026)15 percent (much faster than the average for all occupations) Projected Job Openings (2016-2026)438,100 Sales ManagerSales managers oversee companies sales teams including hiring and training employees, assigning territories, setting sales goals, and analyzing statistics. Minimum Educational Requirements Bachelors Degree Median Annual Salary (2017)$121,060 Number of People Employed (2016) 385,500 Projected Job Growth (2016-2026)7percent (as fast as the average for all occupations) Projected Job Openings (2016-2026)28,900 Software EngineerSoftware engineers develop s oftware, applying engineering principles. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports information about this occupation under the occupational title of Software Developer, and, therefore, that is the data laid out below. However, according to some sources, these jobs are related but not the same. Software developers are not necessarily engineers (SoftwareDevelopment vs. Software Engineering. Software Engineer Insider). Minimum Educational Requirements Bachelors Degree in Computer Science Median Annual Salary (2017)$101,790 Number of People Employed (2016) 1,256,200 Projected Job Growth (2016-2026)24percent (much faster than the average for all occupations) Projected Job Openings (2016-2026)302,500 Sources Profile of American Veterans 2016. National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics. 2017Women Veterans Report. Department of Veterans Affairs National Center for Veterans Analysis and Statistics. February 2017Great Jobs for Military Veterans in 2017 CareerCastVeterans NetworkEducat ion and Statistical data from Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor,Occupational Outlook Handbook Employment and Training Administration, U.S. Department of Labor,O*NETOnline

Why Managers Should Care About Employee Loyalty

Why Managers Should Care About Employee LoyaltyWhy Managers Should Care About Employee LoyaltyWhy Managers Should Care About Employee LoyaltyBy Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan AksoyThe long-term success of any company depends heavily upon the quality of its workersand worker loyalty. Few corporate executives would disagree with this idea conceptually. But it is also true that most treat the economic value of employees in enhancing customer relationships and company profits as soft numbers, unlike the hard numbers they use to manage their operations, such as the cost of labor.The herausforderung with this is that when the going gets tough, managers focus on the hard numbers. And the reality is that at some point every company will go through tough times. That is the nature of business cycles.The result is that today, we are overwhelmed with downsizings and restructurings. Layoffs make the front pages of ur newspapers regularly. And while Wall Street often rewards layoffs by treating the m as a sign that management is serious about getting a companys financial house in order, the reality is quite different. Most organizations that downsize fail to realize any long-term cost savings or efficiencies, which necessitates even more recession staffing strategies and employee layoffs.Disloyalty Is a Two-Way StreetAlthough the cost benefits of downsizing tend to be mirages, the corresponding pain to customers and employees is all too real. Research using the American Customer Satisfaction Index found that those firms that engaged in substantial downsizing experienced large declines in customer satisfaction. Unfortunately for those firms, the datenbankindex has proven to be a good predictor of future earnings. The studys authors note that the current trend toward downsizing in US firms may increase productivity in the short term, but the downsized firms future financial performance will suffer if repeat business is dependent on labor-intensive customized service.The impact o n the organizations culture is also severe. Downsizings result in a rumor-filled paranoia. When Coca-Cola instituted a restructuring that resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs, the company became so awelchesh in far-fetched stories that executives were forced to take the unusual step of intervening to quash them.Worse still, motivating employees that remain after a restructuringoften find themselves jaded. It isnt hard to find employees who feel exactly like Dan after his companys layoffs in Mitchell Lee Marks Charging Back Up the HillThere is no loyalty here no one is going the extra mile after this. Two years ago, we worked sixty-five-hour weeks. People were willing to do it, because it was a great place to work and we were doing something that mattered. . . . From here on in, its just a job for me. Ill put in my forty hours and thats it.Lets be clear. No CEO relishes the thought of layoffs. It means that their companies are floundering. Furthermore, history has shown us that the pain often outweighs any long-term financial gains.If companies are going to grow their way out of difficult times (and excel in good times), they need two things (1) for their customers to stick with them, and (2) to improve their productivity. But this only happens through an organization of committed, loyal employees.Finding the Link between Employee Loyalty and ProfitabilityBenjamin Schneider, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland, has shown conclusively that the employees loyalty-related attitudes precede a firms financial and market performance. And there is a much greater payoff in working on improving the human factor than people think. Researchers at University of Pennsylvania found that spending 10 percent of a companys revenue on capital improvements increased productivity by 3.9 percent. But investing that same amount in developing the employee capital more than doubles that amount, to a whopping 8.5 percent.It is one thing to believe that employee loyalty results in positive financial outcomes, it is quite another to quantify those outcomes. But if we are going to be able to resist our natural inclinations to focus exclusively on the short-term in difficult times, then we need to get very good at understanding what the real implications to the long-term health of our business is of employee loyalty.The place to begin at your company is by asking, How loyal are our employees really? Doing this requires that you meaningfully solicit feedback from all employees (management included). And you have to be willing to ask tough questions. For exampleHow do our managers relationship styles impact the organizations service climate and employee loyalty?Does the company provide the necessary tools and training for employees to perform their jobs well?Is a commitment to serve customers rewarded and encouraged by the organization?Does the company demonstrate that it deserves the loyalty of its employees?There will of course be other dimensions th at are of concern for your particular organization or industry. The key is to identify those few, vital dimensions that are most essential for your success. Once you have identified behauptung dimensions, you must measure them in a clear, objective, and rigorous manner.Once you know where you stand visvis employee loyalty, next you need to tie this information to the performance drivers of your business. Typically, these come down to four things productivity, employee turnover, customer loyalty, and revenue.The ability to statistically link each of these measures to employee loyalty is relatively straightforward. The key is to aggregate employee data into groups that meaningfully link to turnover, customer loyalty, and revenue. For example, a retail chain might find store level analysis to be the most relevant unit, since customer loyalty and revenue are tracked at this level, and stores typically have semi-independent management.The correlation between employee-loyalty-related atti tudes and business outcomes is always meaningful from a practical, managerially relevant perspective, so it is worth the effort. In fact, a large-scale study conducted by researchers Harter, Schmidt, and Hayes presented compelling evidence that employee-loyalty-related attitudes were positively linked to each of these performance drivers. Furthermore, managers can learn a great deal by studying the performance of their most loyal business units, and how this is influenced by managers own relationship styles.Despite the ability to pull this information together to gain invaluable managerial insight, most companies do nothing (or next to nothing) in this regard. The number one problem in making the link isnt that this information doesnt exist. It is simply a lack of management will to pull the data contained in various departments together.Why? We dont want to hear bad news. And without question, this kind of company internal examination always yields bad news. The reality is that emp loyees are only as loyal to the company as they believe the company is loyal to them. This is true almost everywhere in the world So in the end, building an organization of committed, loyalty employees ultimately comes down to demonstrating to employees that the company deserves their loyalty.2009 Timothy Keiningham and Lerzan Aksoy, authors of Why Loyalty Matters The Groundbreaking Approach to Rediscovering Happiness, Meaning and Lasting Fulfillment in Your Life and Work.Author BiosTimothy Keiningham is a world-renowned authority in the field of loyalty measurement and management, and Global Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President for Ipsos Loyalty, one of the worlds largest business research organizations.Lerzan Aksoy is an acclaimed expert in the science of loyal management, and Associate Professor of Marketing at Fordham University. They are coauthors of a new book, with Luke Williams, entitled Why Loyalty Matters (BenBella Books, 2009), and creators LoyaltyAdvisor, a web-based tool that analyzes your loyalty across multiple dimensions proven to link to your success. LoyaltyAdvisor is the product of a global effort, the most comprehensive study of loyalty ever conducted.Hold on to top talentA great team is priceless, which makes the cost of turnover extremely high. You want your best employees to feel like the have a stake in the company. Could you use some more help fostering loyalty?Sign up for exclusive https//www.youtube.com/ adviceand well send you the latest recruiting tips, hiring trends, management strategies, and even some awesome deals. Let the experts at advise you on how to foster a working environment where everyone feels valued and empowered to make a real difference.

12 Easy Ways to Stay Professional at Work-The Muse

12 Easy Ways to Stay Professional at Work-The Muse12 Easy Ways to Stay Professional at Work-The MuseYou cant build a strong professional network if you dont open up to your colleagues but doing so is tricky, because revealing the wrong things can have a devastating effect on your career.Sharing the right aspects of yourself in the right ways is an art form. Disclosures that feel like relationship builders in the moment can wind up as obvious no-nos in hindsight.The trick is to catch yourself before you cross that line, because once you share something, there is no going back.TalentSmart has tested more than a million people and found that the upper echelons of top performance are filled with people who are high in emotional intelligence (90% of top performers, to be exact). Emotionally intelligent people are adept at reading others, and this shows them what they should and shouldnt reveal about themselves at work.The following list contains the 12 fruchtwein common things people reve al that send their careers in the wrong direction.1. That They Hate Their JobThe last thing anyone wants to hear at work is someone complaining about how much she hates her job. Doing so labels you as a negative person and notlage a team player. This brings down the morale of the group. Bosses are quick to catch on to naysayers who drag down morale, and they know that there are always enthusiastic replacements waiting just around the corner.2. That They Think Someone Is IncompetentThere will always be incompetent people in any workplace, and chances are that everyone knows who they are. If you dont have the power to help them improve or to fire them, then you have nothing to gain by broadcasting their ineptitude. Announcing your colleagues incompetence comes across as an insecure attempt to make yourself look better. Your callousness will inevitably come back to haunt you in the form of your co-workers negative opinions of you.3. How Much Money They MakeYour parents may love to hear all about how much youre pulling in each month, but in the workplace, this only breeds negativity. Its impossible to allocate salaries with perfect fairness, and revealing yours gives your co-workers a direct measure of comparison. As soon as everyone knows how much you make, everything you do at work is considered against your income. Its tempting to swap salary figures with a buddy out of curiosity, but the moment you do, youll never see each other the saatkorn way again.4. Their Political and Religious BeliefsPeoples political and religious beliefs are too closely tied to their identities to be discussed without incident at work. Disagreeing with someone elses views can quickly alter their otherwise strong perception of you. Confronting someones core values is one of the most insulting things you can do.Granted, different people treat politics and religion differently, but asserting your values can alienate some people as quickly as it intrigues others. Even bringing up a hot-bu tton world event without asserting a strong opinion can lead to conflict.People build their lives around their ideals and beliefs, and giving them your two cents is risky. Be willing to listen to others without inputting anything on your end, because all it takes is a disapproving look to start a conflict. Political opinions and religious beliefs are so deeply ingrained in people that challenging their views is more likely to get you judged than to change their minds.5. What They Do on facebook incThe last thing your boss wants to see when she logs on to her facebook inc account are photos of you taking tequila shots in Tijuana. There are just too many ways you can look inappropriate on Facebook and leave a bad impression. It could be what youre wearing, whom youre with, what youre doing, or even your friends commentary. These are the little things that can cast a shadow of doubt in your boss or colleagues minds just when they are about to hand you a big assignment or recommend you for a promotion.Its too difficult to try to censor yourself on Facebook for your colleagues. Save yourself the trouble, and dont friend them there. Let LinkedIn be your professional social network, and save Facebook for everybody else.6. What They Do in the BedroomWhether your sex life is out of this world or lacking entirely, this information has no place at work. Such comments might get a chuckle from some people, but it makes most uncomfortable, and even offended. Crossing this line will instantly give you a bad reputation.7. What They Think Someone Else Does in the BedroomA good 111% of the people you work with do not want to know that you bet theyre tigers in the sack. Theres no more surefire way to creep someone out than to let her know that thoughts of her love life have entered your brain. Anything from speculating on a colleagues sexual orientation to making a relatively indirect comment like, Oh, to be a newlywed again, plants a permanent seed in the brains of all who hear it that casts you in a negative light.Your thoughts are your own. Think whatever you feel is right about people just keep it to yourself.8. That Theyre After Somebody Elses JobAnnouncing your ambitions at work when they are in direct conflict with other peoples interests comes across as selfish and indifferent to those you work with and the company as a whole. Great employees want the whole team to succeed, not just themselves. Regardless of your actual motives (some of us really do just work for the money), announcing your selfish goal will not help you get there.9. How Wild They Used to Be in CollegeYour past can say a lot about you. Just because you did something outlandish or stupid 20 years ago doesnt mean that people will believe youve developed impeccable judgment since then. Some behavior that might qualify as just another day in the typical fraternity (binge drinking, minor theft, drunk driving, abusing people or farm animals, and so on) shows everyone you work with that, when push comes to shove, you have poor judgment and dont know where to draw the line. Many presidents have been elected in spite of their past indiscretions, but unless you have a team of handlers and PR types protecting and spinning your image, you should keep your unsavory past to yourself.10. How Intoxicated They Like to GetYou might think talking about how inebriated you were over the weekend has no effect on how youre viewed at work. After all, if youre a good worker, then youre a good worker, right? Unfortunately not. Sharing this will not get people to think youre fun. Instead, they will see you as unpredictable, immature, and lacking in good judgment. Too many people have negative views of drugs and alcohol for you to reveal how much you love to indulge in them.11. An Offensive JokeIf theres one thing we can learn from celebrities, its to be careful about what you say and whom you say it to. Offensive jokes make other people feel terrible, and they make you look terrible. T hey also happen to be much less funny than clever jokes.A joke crosses the line anytime you try to gauge its appropriateness based on how close you are with someone. If there is anyone who would be offended by your joke, you are better off not telling it. You never know whom people know or what experiences theyve had in life that can lead your joke to tread on subjects that they take very seriously.12. That They Are Job HuntingWhen I was a kid, I told my baseball coach I was quitting in two weeks. For the next two weeks, I found myself riding the bench. It got even worse after those two weeks when I decided to stay, and I became the kid who doesnt even want to be here. I was crushed, but it was my own fault I told him my decision before it was certain.The same thing happens when you tell people that youre job hunting. Once you reveal that youre planning to leave, you suddenly become a waste of everyones time. Theres also the chance that your hunt will be unsuccessful, so its best to wait until youve found a job before you tell anyone. Otherwise, you will end up riding the bench.More From IncHow to Disarm a Larger Competitor4 Leadership Lessons for Entrepreneurs From Game of Thrones7 Ways to Destroy, Shoot, and Blow Up Your StressPhoto of woman with suitcase courtesy of Shutterstock.