Big titles can be fun to throw around, but odds are they won’t make you any happier than getting rich will.
Your job is a large part of your life – it takes up a big chunk of your time and potentially has the ability to limit where you’re able to go and what you’re able to do. Maybe it is more important that you’re able to attend your kids’ plays and sports games than it is that you start at the highest level position.
Once you’ve got your foot in the door of a company, it tends to be a lot easier to get what you want. If you set yourself apart as an employee of high value, most companies will let you do what you want to do, like drop your kids off at school in the morning. They will bend over backwards for great employees because they want to keep you.
The same principle applies when you’re joining a new company.
Even if you have to join a company a level or two below where you think you belong, it’s probably a good move. Especially if you’ll be able to enter in the division or workstream that you want to be in.
Former service members are going to prove their worth very quickly. They are a different sort of employee. We can say with confidence that former service members have unique skills, talents, drive, and ambition because they’ve proven it during their service.
You’ll be solving big problems quickly because that’s what your eyes are trained to do. This means you will likely move up through the ranks very quickly.
What veterans bring to the table at a corporate job will differentiate them so fast that almost doesn’t matter where they join in.
So take that job if it’s at a company you love, even if it is not at the level you hoped for. Once you’re there give it your all and you’ll likely be amazed how fast you distinguish yourself.
