What the Army Job Recruiter Never Told You…

By Brad - Wednesday 16 Jul 8:09 am

 

As a rule, army job recruiters are honest, hard-working people just trying to do their jobs. But like anything else, there are exceptions to this rule. This is not to be negative, just meant to be a warning to do some research before making decisions that will so deeply affect your life.

 

Here’s the thing, an army job recruiter’s job performance is judged based purely on numbers. The higher the numbers of army job recruits, the better the performance review. The lower the army job recruits, the worse his performance review. Plain and simple. If he doesn’t make the minimum quota he doesn’t make ‘mission’ and may find his career at a dead-end. Because of this, some unscrupulous army job recruiters will say anything just to get recruits signed up to an army job – stretch the truth, even lie…whatever it takes.

 

As you can imagine, this can lead to very unhappy new army recruits. You may wonder why the army doesn’t put a stop to this. Each service has recruiting regulations which make it a crime to cheat, lie or knowingly sign up a recruit that is ineligible for enlistment. When they are caught, recruiters are punished. The problem is, it’s hard to catch a recruiter as there are usually no witnesses and it becomes a he said, she said situation.

 

However, in some cases the ‘lies’ told by a recruiter was a case of ‘selective hearing’. The army job recruiter may say: ‘Many of our bases now have single rooms for people’. What the recruit hears is that ‘You’ll get a single room with no room-mate.’ So, the advice here is to ‘listen’ and research what the recruiter has said before enlisting.

 

And remember…the army is not for everyone. A full 40% of new recruits that enlist in the army today will not complete their full term of service. Barring circumstances beyond the new recruits’ control like illness or injury, many recruits are involuntarily discharged because they just quit trying. Many say the army turned out to be completely different from what they’d expected and this is often the result of army job recruiters’ lies or the selective hearing of the new recruit.

 

How do you as a potential new army job recruit avoid the lies, exaggerations and half-truths of an unscrupulous recruiter?

 

Read. Information on the Internet will walk you safely through the whole process.

  

Posted in: Army Jobs

What Army Job Benefits do I get when I leave the Army?

By Brad - Monday 14 Jul 11:03 am

 

Whether you choose to make a lifelong career in an army job or decide to explore your civilian options, the army supports your decision through programs and guidance to help you succeed.

 

Some of the programs available are as follows:

 

Transitioning From Soldier to Civilian

 

Every army post has an Army Career and Alumni program with counselors to help you choose a civilian career that best utilizes the skills you’ve learned in your army job, from crafting a resume to networking with potential employers.

 

Enlisting for Post-Army Career Success

 

At the time of enlistment, a soldier can opt to take advantage of the Partnership for Youth Success Program which will give him/her priority consideration for jobs at select companies all over the country in his post army job career. Many are Fortune 500 companies.

 

Earning Professional Training Certificates

 

In your army job career you will have the opportunity to earn professional and trade certifications that will help you succeed in your civilian career.

 

Become a Teacher After the Army

 

The army has a ‘Troop to Teacher’ program that will help you succeed in your quest to go into the civilian teaching profession from identifying teacher certification requirements to employment opportunities.

 

Retiree Benefits

 

Upon retiring from an army job, benefits are available to the soldier to pay for college, buy a home, life insurance, or find a job.

 

Retirement Savings Plan

 

As a soldier, you have the option of contributing to a 401-K-type savings and investment plan which is even more attractive and has more benefits than a regular civilian plan. The TSP plan (Thrift Savings Plan) enables you to contribute up to 100% of all your army job pay, including base, incentives and bonuses. The contributions are taken from your pay before taxes are withheld, an option regular savings plans do not have.

The TSP Matching Funds Incentive is an option where the first 5% of your contributions are matched by the army – dollar for dollar on the first 3% and 50 cents on the dollar for the remaining 2%. TSP contributions will be matched by the army for 5-8 years, your entire first term of enlistment.

 

To find out more about the Thrift Savings Plan or Retirement Savings Plan, contact a recruiter or visit the TSP website at http://www.tsp.gov/

Posted in: Army Jobs