Great Expectations — The Mindset That Will Make or Break Your Transition

Written by Jericho Urmenita, Intelligence & Strategy, Orion Talent

I thought I was a straight shot for a Director-level role. Operations management, am I right? I told my girlfriend at the time — now my wife — as much, and she quietly let it slip by as a misinformed passing comment. She was a Supply Chain Manager at one of the largest medical device companies in southern California at the time, and her Director-level report was two levels above her. She knew I was not a Director. I learned the same fact on my own after about a dozen unanswered applications.

So why did I think I could be a Director? Mostly because the loudest voices tend to be the highest ranks, and the most repeated stories tend to be the most outrageous examples. Everyone loves a good story. The Colonels that become Chief of Staff at a bank. The SOF operator who now consults Fortune 500s on leadership. I love those stories, and I encourage all of my candidates to shoot high. But those stories are possible — not probable.

Most of us are not getting out as Colonels. We are not all operators. And that's fine. This is for the rest of us: the solid half of the military that gets out after their first tour, and the further quarter that leaves around the 10-year mark.

Your Leadership is Real. The Rank Behind It Is Not Transferable.

Make no mistake: NCO to senior officer, the leadership you earned in the military will put you above and beyond your civilian counterparts. Your ability to accomplish a mission with a team, operate under pressure, and will your way through problems is real. I am a firm believer in this.

But here's the thing — just as you had to earn your leadership in the military, you have to earn the privilege to lead in the civilian world too. It will not be given to you because of rank or ribbons. Stars, bars, and chevrons all mean the same thing to a civilian hiring manager: "Thank you for your service, and you're probably a little more dedicated than the average applicant." The rest, you have to prove.

The Most Common Mindset Traps

"I managed large teams and significant budgets." You did. And that matters — in the right context. The civilian world measures dollar values differently than the military does. They measure revenue generated, not equipment not lost. The size of your team matters, but it has to be framed in terms of what you produced with that team.

"I deserve a leadership role right out of the gate." You probably do deserve one — eventually. But civilian companies need to see you demonstrate your skills in their environment before they hand you the keys. Expect to earn credibility in a new industry the same way you earned it in the military: by showing up, doing the work, and demonstrating judgment.

"I've been in leadership since I was 22. Why would I take a step back?" Because it's not a step back — it's a lateral entry into a new system. Most military officers translate well to the Supervisor or Manager level on a first civilian placement. From there, with a year or two of industry-specific credibility, promotion often comes faster than it did in uniform.

What This Means for Your Job Search

Get specific. The days of "well-rounded" being your selling point are over. You are a ball if you try to market yourself that way, and you'll be bounced around accordingly. Pick an industry, a role type, and a level — then pursue it with the same intentionality you used to plan a mission.

Your first civilian job is not your last. It is your point of entry. Treat it as such, and you will be surprised how fast you move once you're inside.

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