WHAT’S NEXT Transition to Civilian Life By Eve Nasby
Transition like a STAR AV-8 Harrier pilot, and 7 year veteran of coordinating the Mira Mar Air Show for the Marines, Phil Kendro had the world at his fingertips. He admits “I thought I could succeed in anything, and it got a bit to my head.” Five years before getting out, his boss at Miramar pushed him to first join LinkedIn, then to start networking as Operations at the Air Station also had a large involvement in community relations. There wasn’t a person in San Diego that didn’t know Phil Kendro. He was a connector! As the time grew closer and closer the names in his contact list grew to the hundreds but the offers for employment after the Marines were at one and for a job that wasn’t on his dream list. “It was a true rollercoaster ride with the highest peaks and lowest troughs.” I can say that YES, I did generally stay positive as I was surrounded by an amazing network of friends and supporters, but there were many dark days in my household, mostly within myself. After 20+ years of so many mission successes, how could I fail my family in such a fashion?” Now on the other side, with a dream job at United Airlines, we caught up with Phil to ask his advice.
“Phil, what are two pieces of advice you’d give your fellow transitioning brothers and sisters?” “First, NEVER pay for advice, counsel, or job training. There are groups that will ask for thousands of dollars to help place you and network. I tried it. It was a miserable failure, but I was desperate at the time as I was leaving the military and still didn’t have a job.” “Second, learn to interview like a boss!” We couldn’t agree more. When you finally get the interview, you have one chance to nail it. In last month’s column we touched on the how the S.T.A.R method is effective in keeping you focused in an interview. Trained for combat but not trained for an interview, those veterans who are not well practiced in interviewing, fail. Don’t be the interviewee from ‘Talkers Anonymous’ AKA ‘Al-on and on and on and on’. Youwill not get a job. Just as making a great shot depends on sight picture and trigger control, a great interview depends upon staying focused and purposeful in your execution of your answer. Let’s put Phil’s interviewing skills to the test by using S.T.A.R. (Situation - Task - Action - Results) Phil, “Tell me about a time when you were faced with a challenge and how you overcame it.” Using “Situation”. “I was an Iraq Invasion Company Commander and a Harrier pilot at time when the Harrier aircraft had severe maintenance issues.” This is good. In one sentence, Phil is setting the stage for his answer before he moves into what he was assigned to do.
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WWW.SanDiegoVeteransMagazine.com / SEPTEMBER 2019