The purpose of this thread is to post candid and real feedback from those individuals who made the transition from Military to Private sector successfully. Here they offer their thoughts and advice.

From former JMO turned Leadership consultant:

"JMOs are coming from an environment of clearly defined objectives, tasks, conditions, standards, rules of engagement, and criteria for success. These are necessary in military operations, as ambiguity often has disastrous results.

Managers of JMOs should be aware of this previous environment and assign initial tasks that have clearly defined goals, conditions, resources available, operating guidelines, and criteria for success.

Allow the JMO to get some experience and wins, before moving to more complex tasks.

JMOs will learn over time that business has more shades of black & white than the military. They’ll also learn there is more opportunity in business for individual initiative – to go beyond the expected to the unexpected – to be a hero."

From a Director of Investment Operations

"My first reaction is that a manager of a JMO should understand that as part of a military structure, there is a common set of beliefs we all have. Beliefs about justice, integrity, candor, selfless service, honor, courage, and several others. These are matters the military members are generally not to wishy-washy about. At the core of many poor relationships between non-military managers and JMOs is a lack understanding in this area. The JMO in transition does not understand why the rest of the civilian world does not see decision making through their lens. The non-military manager is used to dealing with a team having diverse beliefs and does not understand why the JMO is so rigid.

If the beliefs, values, and norms of a JMO are aligned with his/her manager, then the JMO generally thrives. If there is a disconnect and no deliberate attempts to connect occurs, then 1 of 2 things generally happen: The JMO goes through a very painful military to civilian transition process in order to adapt to his/her manager or the JMO leaves and continues change jobs until they find their fit.

Either way, a lot of pain between manager and JMO can be avoided when the manager starts by understanding the beliefs of their JMO and supports their transition to the diversity thought required within the civilian workplace.

Reality is a bit messier than what I describe above but I think principle is strong and valuable."

"I think the most important aspect of any transition of JMOs into the civilian workforce is building up confidence. The military helps develop the skills and work ethic needed for successful civilian careers, it's often confidence that either propels that individual up the ladder or makes them stagnant.

Advice to managers:

- Understand the JMOs roles and responsibilities in the military: Often times managers do not ask or simply assume they know. Today's JMO's experience is different than those that served 10 years ago and probably even different than mine just 5 years back. Don't assume you understand the breadth and depth of their roles and responsibilities. Maybe it's asking the JMO to conduct a 30-minute presentation on his/her role(s) in the military to his/her co-workers. It's a great opportunity for the JMO to demonstrate his/her presentation skills and a good opportunity for his/her co-workers to learn more about what they did. I have rarely worked with any civilians that weren't interested in my Army career.

- Provide challenging but attainable goals early into the process: This gets at building up confidence. Celebrate success and build momentum, just like in any change initiative. Provide clear guidance early into the transition with the understanding that once the individual learns the job he/she will be able to run with it."

JMO turned Regional Manager manufacturing/sales

"I think it's important to understand that JMO's don't just fit in one particular box, and while there are some similar and positive attributes and experiences that we bring to the table, like other folks we are unique.

With that said, JMO's typically are high achievers, who want to know the organization they are getting into has the potential for upside. Many JMO's will work, and work hard, more than many others, and will do so if they see the promise of recognition and reward. Successful JMO's who leave the military often do so because they want their efforts and talents to be realized beyond the static career path of the mid-grade officer.

For me, I left the military because my family was more important, but my drive, leadership ability and dedication to doing what's right continue to propel me in my current role to succeed and excel."

Former JMO turned Project Manager


"You ask a good question - I have actually been on several hiring panels for my company over the past six months and out of six candidates interviewed, four were JMO's.

My experiences lead me to a couple conclusions when dealing with former JMO's. First, capitalize on their problem solving abilities and resourcefulness. In comparison to non JMO's, the experience and professionalism of today's JMO's put them far ahead of the pack in terms of experience/exposure at that level in their career. Second, maintain a sense of "team" within your organization. Most prior military love serving because of the comaraderie and sense of "team" that comes with wearing the uniform. Many that are no longer in have left because of reasons other than they didn't like what they were doing - family, etc. Many of the JMO's that are searching for work these days are looking for an organization that maintains some of the key elements that they miss about the military (sense of team and sense of doing something for the greater good)"