How to use Marine Corps tactics to land a job interview (from a Marine turned HR manager)

by Alex Hollings · February 7, 2017

After leaving the Marine Corps and finishing my undergraduate degree, I took a job as a regional HR manager for a large defense contractor. At the time, I wasn’t sure why the company (which will remain nameless for the sake of this article) was willing to hire a Marine with no real human resources experience for such a role, with hundreds of employees and multiple facilities under my jurisdiction, but they offered me more money than I asked for, so I stopped asking questions and got to work ironing my suits.

Unbeknownst to me, the company was in the midst of a significant transition, and I would be the face of countless layoffs and terminations, as well as being in charge of the recruiting effort necessary to re-staff my region and help create the company’s new vision for the 21st century. My wife was working as a corporate recruiter in the tech and pharmaceutical fields at the time, so the two of us spent many a late night trolling through resumes together, tossing ones back and forth that might fit into a spot in each of our respective organizations. I hated working in human resources. Crying employees that I couldn’t throw out of my office, hurt feelings taking up bullet points in my reports to management, and driving a thousand-plus miles a week between facilities really started to take a toll…but my biggest stress wasn’t the company’s fault.

About Alex Hollings

Alex Hollings writes on a breadth of subjects ranging from fitness to foreign policy, all presented through the lens of his experiences as a U.S. Marine, athlete and scholar. A football player, rugby player and fighter, Hollings has spent the better part of his adult life competing in some of the most physically demanding sports on the planet. Hollings possesses a master's degree in communications from Southern New Hampshire University, as well as a bachelor's degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Framingham State University.

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Susan B
If you came into my office with tats and a helmet, I would hire you in a heartbeat! (Not sure where I would place you, though. Probably public relations. lol)
Alex Hollings
It's an important element that we tend to forget. Lord knows, I should have realized I wasn't cut out for the HR world right from the get-go (I'm much more of an HR nightmare than anything... did you know you can't call your coworkers names until they cry??) I was just too caught up in trying to land the gig for me to realize how wrong it was for me. Happy to have left it behind!
Kristie G
Excellent article Alex .. I especially like the point you make about interviewing the company you are working for to make sure YOU like them .. this isn't just about getting the job ... the interview is a process where you find out who you are working for and with as well ....
Alex Hollings
the GI Bill and Voc Rehab are both awesome programs to get involved in. I used both on the way to getting my masters, and they gave me the chance to be able to afford to actually attend classes instead of stocking shelves to pay the bills. I think going to school when I got out was a big part of my adjustment to the civilian world. Great point!
Ranger Baggins
I totally agree. One way to do this is to completely utilize the GI Bill benefits to start college/tech school/apprenticeship programs for a future job. You are able to chill, reacclimatize to civilian life, and remain productive planning for the future. My buddy used his GI Bill to put himself through firefighter training before being officially hired by a department. He graduated, took about three months off, and then got picked up initially as a "volunteer" (paid) before being offered his current full time position.