Enlisted service members' transition into the civilian world of work: a cognitive information processing approach.

The third step involves concisely defining the problem and analyzing its causes, which is the communication stage of the CASVE cycle (Peterson et al., 2002). The counselor chose to summarize the information gathered and check accuracy with Alex with the following statements: "You are angry and frustrated because what you expected upon returning to civilian life was reestablishing your relationship with your wife and together making career choices in rural North Carolina. Now the geographic options are open, but you are realizing that you do not know how to use your skills to get the stable lifestyle you want. You are also concerned that the psychological affects of your time in Iraq might limit your ability to work, yet you are hesitant to seek assistance because your understanding is that documented mental health issues may limit your employment options." Alex agreed that the counselor's summary addressed the career problem while recognizing the causes.

Step 4: Formulate Goals

Alex and the counselor coconstructed goals to guide their work together and further establish the therapeutic relationship (Peterson et al., 2002).The following are examples of goals Alex and his counselor collaboratively developed.

Goal 1: Explore my interests and values related to careers.

Goal 2: Understand how my military training can translate into civilian jobs.

Goal 3: Find out if seeking counseling or having a documented diagnosis would prevent me from obtaining some governmental jobs.

Goal 4: Know what I need financially (e.g., cash salary and benefits) to prepare for retirement.

Step 5: Develop an ILP

Together, the counselor and Alex wrote an ILP. The ILP was grounded in the coconstructed goals, and it outlined activities, the purpose of those activities, the time needed for each activity, and the priority of each activity (Peterson et al., 2002). Examples of activities that helped Alex achieve his goals were as follows:

Activity A: Complete the Self-Directed Search (Holland, 1994) to compare my interest and competencies to a variety of occupational groups (approximately 40-50 minutes to complete).

Activity B: Complete the Life Values Inventory (Crace & Brown, 1996) to explore and clarify values and beliefs in the context of my recent life transitions and career choice (approximately 20 minutes to complete).

Activity C: Explore the military-to-civilian Skills Translator (Military.com, n.d.) to understand how my military skills can be applied to civilian work (approximately 45 minutes to complete).

Activity D: Research governmental job requirements and limitations specific to working in the occupations identified through my interest, values, and transferable skills exploration. This will likely take 30 minutes per occupation to complete.

Activity E: Meet with a financial adviser either in the private sector or through the local Veterans Benefits and Services to increase my understanding of what I need in terms of salary and benefits to meet my lifestyle goals. The meeting and preparation time will likely be 2 hours.

Step 6: Execute an ILP

Alex executed his ILP, and the counselor played a supportive role. The counselor interpreted Alex's standardized test results (interest and values inventories) and provided encouragement and clarification through the process of completing the agreed-upon activities. The interest and values inventories facilitate the development of self-knowledge, whereas the military-to-civilian Skills Translator and research on the impact of diagnoses on career options expand occupational knowledge. This development of the knowledge domain represents the analysis stage of the CASVE cycle. During the execution of his ILP, Alex also moved through the synthesis and valuing stages into the execution stage of the CASVE cycle as his ideas about potential career avenues emerged and crystallized. Although Alex required assistance through aspects of this process, his strong motivation to begin closing the gap between the career problem and desired lifestyle helped to keep him on task. The balance between counselor involvement and self-directed aspects of Alex's career exploration was congruent with the assessment of needed support during Step 2.

Step 7: Summative Review and Generalization

Alex completed his ILP and met with the counselor for a final session to summarize, review, and generalize information gleaned from the process. Alex acknowledged that he was closer to achieving the lifestyle he desires, one that is honorable and stable. Alex shared that he has narrowed his potential career avenues to pursuing federal jobs, because it is important to him to capitalize on his 6.5 years of service toward retirement. He had completed an application to work in Border Patrol. Alex also indicated that he is interested in learning more about criminal psychology. He set a tentative goal of completing a 4-year degree in criminal psychology while working for the federal government. Alex noted that although his passion is in understanding and combating "the root of evil," he was OK with serving as a protector of law and order for the next 13.5 years because of the benefits associated with 20 years of service.

The counselor provided Alex with referrals to mental health professionals to address the loss associated with separation from his wife as well as the posttraumatic stress disorder and war-zone stress reaction-like symptoms. Alex's research through the career counseling process has helped him be a more informed consumer of mental health services. He indicated that he would pursue mental health counseling after becoming employed.

Recommendations for Using Military-Specific Resources

Enlisted service members in transition to civilian life are a relatively unique population because they have significant military work experience but may lack self-knowledge and occupational knowledge specific to the civilian sector. A foundation for the exploration of self- and occupational knowledge might be enlisted service members' transcript of service. Upon clearing the U.S. military, individuals are issued the DD Form 214, which is a report of separation, or in practical terms an official transcript of their service (The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.). Education and training received, positions held, awards earned, and eligibility for reentry into the military are listed.

Although the military language of the DD Form 214 might be unfamiliar to civilian career counselors, the enlisted service members are experts in their experiences. Simply the process of enlisted soldiers explaining their achievements and roles in the military paired with counselors' reflections might facilitate expansion of the self-knowledge domain. As enlisted service members talk about their work experience and service to the country, interests and values are likely to emerge. Highlighting interests and values might help enlisted service members begin to conceptualize what they hope their lifestyle will ultimately include.

A second process might be identifying transferable skills. The DD Form 214 can be used as the basis for crafting a resume. Career counselors can assist enlisted service members in translating their experience into language that is attractive to civilian employers. For example, enlisted service members might choose to highlight leadership experience or management of people, data, equipment, or crises as skills that are applicable to a variety of civilian work settings. Aptitude for entry into a civilian job then can be framed in terms of skills rather than the military language of an Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery score.

The expanded self-knowledge domain can serve as a guide for the exploration and development of occupational knowledge. Much like interpreting a set of interest, value, and skill assessments, walking through the DD Form 214 with an enlisted service member can begin to yield occupational areas for further exploration. Subsequently, inventories might be used as means for further self-knowledge exploration and for the identification of additional careers for potential pursuit (Zunker & Norris, 1998). An understanding of interests, values, and skill-based aptitude can steer occupational exploration, directing the processes of schema generalization and schema specialization.

Once enlisted service members enter the career decision-making domain and engage in the CASVE cycle, identifying resources available to veterans might be useful. Career counselors should familiarize themselves with national and local career-related resources available to veterans. Career counselors might also consider directing enlisted service members toward employers who actively recruit veterans or programs that place veterans in civilian jobs.