You worked hard throughout your military career and climbed in rank, responsibility and recognition with each step up. When it’s time to transition to the civilian sector, fears of underemployment can loom large as you recognize that your work thus far doesn’t map cleanly to a private-sector career path.
Underemployment happens when you work in a job or career that doesn’t fully utilize your skills, talents, experience and credentials. You’re capable of more, but you’re doing less. Part-time or seasonal work is a form of underemployment, as is working in a job that uses more basic or perfunctory skills than you possess. Unlike unemployment, which is the absence of a job, when underemployed, the employee isn’t fully using the training and abilities possessed and often feels unvalued or underutilized.
A William and Mary University article reveals:
Studies conducted by Penn State’s Clearinghouse for Military Family Readiness and LinkedIn indicate that over 60% of veterans are underemployed, working in situations in which their experience, skills and education are not commensurate with their role. Moreover, as the LinkedIn report suggests, “this disparity reveals what many veterans feel: a systemic undervaluation of military experience in the corporate world.”
When Underemployment Makes Sense
Veterans might find themselves underemployed for many reasons. Perhaps skills weren’t clearly articulated in the interview or valued in the role they entered. Maybe the civilian hiring professional wasn’t versed on military jobs and made incorrect assumptions about rank, duties and responsibilities. Or perhaps a desire to secure any income enticed the veteran to accept a job they knew they were overqualified for but did so to calm the anxiety and uncertainty.
Read More: Why You Didn’t Get the Job: Understanding How Companies Hire
Underemployment might also be a smart decision, given certain conditions. Imagine you’d spent your military career in high stress, volatile and traumatic engagements. When you leave the military, you’re exhausted and emotionally spent. Can you assume a leadership or senior manager position in a company? Sure. But you might choose not to for your mental health and family sanity. In this case, taking a job where you can leave work behind at the end of a day may offer you greater peace of mind and quality of life.
Or, you might have accepted the first job that came along, a lesser role than you were qualified for, because you feared how long the process could take. The short-term stability you feel from having employment could enable you to craft a long-term career plan that you can work toward.
How to Fix Underemployment
If your underemployment was not a conscious choice but rather a circumstance you unwittingly found yourself in, there are costs to consider before you get complacent. Underemployment can begin to erode your confidence and feeling of self-worth. Not utilizing your skills and training can put you behind others who’re advancing forward, and it can be harder to grow your career if you’re starting too far behind where you should be.
To remedy an underemployment situation:
1. Understand how you got here. Did you undersell your value and abilities during the hiring process? Did you miss red flags or cues?
2. Diagnose the situation. Do you feel entitled to a higher level of work, or have you earned it? You might have been a commander in the military, but that doesn’t mean a company will bring you in as a director, based on their hiring protocols.
3. Make yourself more visible for your skills. Seek opportunities to add value and drive outcomes that showcase what you’re capable of, not just what you were hired to do. Offer to lead key projects, speak up in meetings, and mentor others to demonstrate your abilities and showcase your value beyond what your job description lists.
4. Talk to your manager. Ensure they know what your career goals are, where you see yourself adding more value and leading more critical initiatives. Seek feedback from your manager on the skills you could develop and refine to help you grow at the company.
5. Become more visible on LinkedIn. Post articles and posts that showcase your thought leadership, highlight your generous management style, and shed insights into industry trends. This helps your peers and senior leaders at your organization see you as someone who could offer more to the company.
Underemployment, when not a deliberate choice, can feel frustrating and even embarrassing. Lean on your network to explore opportunities to grow beyond what you’re currently doing and leverage the skills and talents you want to contribute.
Find the Right Veteran Job
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