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BY Brock Dudley
Location is a Big Deal for Transitioning JMOs
We all understand that location is a big deal. As a former JMO, I know. As a transitioned business leader who happens to have the experience now, and more context to the role it will play in the transition, I’d like to talk about it. Most importantly, as a human being with a big heart and love for my family and those who helped raise and mentor me, I’ve felt the pull to navigate back home after being told where to live for 9+ years. It’s certainly an important consideration in the transition from the military to business. It’s also a topic that I discuss with JMOs every day.
Gather the facts and reliable Intel first
It’s only natural that JMOs wrestle with balancing location preference in a career search. The key is to wrestle with it BEFORE launching a career search. At Cameron-Brooks, we know it’s important. We recommend that JMOs conduct self-evaluation and research to understand how important a location preference is and the associated trade-offs, and then develop a strategy to make good career decisions. That’s where Cameron-Brooks comes into play. With over 50 years of experience doing this, we’ve seen the role location plays in the transition.
Just like in the military. When any major military operation is planned and presented, multiple COAs (Courses of Action), are developed, each with “pros” and “cons”, Go and No-Go criteria, tradeoffs, and conducting a thorough risk analysis to include risk mitigation. There’s never been a major military operation conducted without careful planning and reviewing the risks associated.
Without good information (Intelligence) and objective evaluation (Facts) of the role location can play, it’s possible to make poor initial and future career decisions in this regard and end up having to conduct another career search 12 months after leaving the service. I’m talking about avoiding underemployment here.
Location is a big deal for us too. We sweat location!
At Cameron-Brooks, we sweat location! Yes, you heard that right. It’s important to us too! For a lot of JMOs, they want more predictability in their lives. They want to be within closer proximity to home. We understand that. We just happened to sweat the importance of getting this transition right the first time because when you are switching not only careers, but your skillset, AND geography, it can get tough.
Here are some things to think about when it comes to location:
1. Everybody has location preferences. We’re all human and if all things were equal, who wouldn’t want to be in a familiar location or close to family? As stated above, the question is not whether you have a
location preference, but rather how you will manage location preference with regards to achieving your career goals. What are those career goals?
2. What is your vision for your career? I find that too few people come to conversations with me without thinking about the vision they have for their life. I always recommend starting with the end in mind and backwards plan from there. I don’t know if it’s realistic to plan for 20 years because lets be frank, life is life. Things happen. There are so many unknowns and things out of our control.
So, what about 5 years? When making a major decision like a career change from the military to business, it’s important to think past the immediate pain you may be feeling (reasons you may be considering a transition).
This can narrow your scope. We recommend staying focused on the long game. Just like one does when saving for retirement. Where do you want to be in your career 5, 10, 15, 20 years from now? Do you see yourself investing in your career, growing, and assuming higher levels of responsibility? Or do you see yourself developing an area of expertise in one area of a business and staying there for your career? Both are viable career opportunities, but the first leads to greater future leadership and responsibility, which can certainly come with more say, more control, and more benefits.
Rank your leadership ambition on a 10 scale (10 very high, 1 very low, and 5 average).
3. High leadership ambition. If you answer that you are an 8 or higher, then location should not be a discriminator in your career search. Instead, you should prioritize the quality of your experience, your ability to learn and develop new skills, the investment in your track record, etc. The quality of your opportunity will have a very large role in determining your ability to translate your talent into career success. Using this strategy, you’ll have the ability to use geography as a tiebreaker between two equal career opportunities. Location still plays a role, but it is not a leading, nor a limiting factor.
4. It works the same in the military. Imagine that you joined the military with the intent of being a general officer someday (i.e., make it a career, which demonstrates high military career ambition). With regard to location, you tell the military that you only want to be located in Atlanta or in the Northeast for your career. Even if the military lets you manage your career this way, how realistic would it be for you to compete for a general officer position? How credible of a leader would you be if the people you lead have broader experience than you do? The same holds true when leading companies. The best and most admired leaders usually have broad and diverse experience over their careers, requiring good geographic flexibility.
5. Lesser leadership ambition. If you don’t see yourself as a future leader, that’s okay. Location can then be more of a discriminator for you. In this case, the quality of your location can take the lead over the quality of the
career opportunity.
However, if your desire is to lead (lets go back to point #3 above), the value you derive from your daily work will be important. I’d say that most leaders within companies would actually say the same. They’d probably tell you that if you’re going to work, do it at a place you enjoy, with people you enjoy and value. Do it where you’re doing meaningful work. They’d talk about the importance of doing outwardly affecting work. Why? Because let’s be real, work is work. Work can be tough at times. Finding a cause or a purpose you believe in is what will ultimately keep you going.
6. The Law of the “Lid.” This concept is borrowed from the popular leadership book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell, and I’m morphing it to fit a point on location. Take a minute to determine if
location is more important than being a future business leader. If location is THE PRIORITY, you may be putting the “lid” on your future opportunities and potential. Not always, but it’s very possible it could lead to some of the common missteps in the transition. There’s nothing wrong with ranking location above opportunity as long as you understand the trade-offs. Know yourself!
At Cameron-Brooks, we know everyone has location preferences. We maximize those preferences and put the priority of the opportunity over one specific city or location. Like I said, we sweat location. It’s important to us. We want our alumni to be happy with the opportunities they interview for and the companies they decide they’d like to go work for. This leads to my next point.
7. Companies will work with you. Cameron-Brooks JMO candidates accept job offers in their REGIONAL preference. The reason for this is that good companies have good attitudes about helping people get to a region of the country that meets their personal needs. Your happiness will be important to a good company. This is especially true once you develop a track record in business. During your business career, there will be times that you will accept promotions outside your location preference, as well as times that you will not. The number one reason that people turn down promotions that involve location changes is family considerations. You are free to do this. At the same time, accepting promotions can be an excellent strategic decision. The point is that once you have been in a company and you’ve established a track record of success, you’ll find that the organization will try to help you
balance your professional development with your personal needs.
8. The time-proven location strategy. Here is a suggestion if you aspire to future executive positions in your business career after the military. First, define your location preference by region (Northeast, Southwest,etc.). Second, communicate this preference. Third, identify a couple of other regions in the country where you would consider EXCELLENT career opportunities (in addition to your preference). If your preference is the Northeast, perhaps consider the Southeast or Midwest as viable second choices provided the career opportunity is a great fit. Fourth, identify areas of the country that you would NOT consider, even for a good opportunity. Lastly, don’t bring location back into the picture until you are trying to narrow down offers. Location can be an excellent tiebreaker.
In the end, career decisions are about opportunity/cost. Living outside of your location preference is a cost, but for the right career move, the opportunity/cost can be a good decision. I strongly encourage JMOS to educate themselves and try to avoid making emotional decisions right away. Try not to let location preferences restrict your ability to realize your full potential in the business world.
Want to chat?
If you’re wrestling with this decision, give me a call. If you want to know more about how location could play into YOUR transition, give me a call. I’m happy to chat at any time.
Cameron-Brooks can provide you with the opportunity to evaluate all the following at once:
1) A-Tier, Competitive, Developmental roles.
2) Company culture.
3) Your future team.
4) Career growth.
5) Commensurate or greater Compensation.
6) Location.
Best of success,
Brock Dudley
Transition Coach, Principal
210-874-1495 / bdudley@cameron-brooks.com
