Navigating Career Transitions with Commander Ram: Expert Insights on Building Your Professional Brand and Overcoming Challenges in the Corporate World

Commander Ram, with over 22 years of service in the Navy’s Submarine arm, is now a distinguished mentor and coach, leveraging his extensive corporate experience spanning 5+ years. He has guided 1,000+ transitioning veterans, personally mentoring 120+, addressing challenges from resume translation, LinkedIn profile optimisation to interview preparation. His passion for empowering veterans is rooted in his own transition journey in 2016. Through workshops and mentorship programs, he offers invaluable insights to navigate this transformative process. Commander Ram’s mission is to support 10K veterans in their transition to the corporate world, reflecting his commitment to service and leadership.

1. Commander Ram, you have a remarkable track record of helping veterans’ transition effectively to the corporate world. Can you share some of the biggest challenges that they encounter in this process and how you’ve helped veterans overcome them? 

First of all, thanks for inviting me to this interview.  

Yes, transitioning veterans face many challenges. The biggest among these is determining what corporate role they should opt for after serving in the military for 10 to 20 years, since they have varied experience across domains such as operation, supply chain, project management, equipment maintenance, and administration. They also find it difficult to translate their military experiences into their resumes in a manner that can be understood by civilian hiring managers. Similar challenges may be faced during job interviews as well. Most of them are novices on LinkedIn and hence don’t know how to leverage it to network or secure jobs. Additionally, there is a culture shift when transitioning to the corporate world. 

I have helped them through my free workshops and paid mentorship programs, where I share simple and effective strategies to overcome these challenges by working on their domain or role clarity, crafting winning resumes, mastering interview skills, and optimizing their LinkedIn profile. I am happy to share that I have interacted with over 1,000 transitioning veterans and have personally mentored 120+. 

2. Can you tell us what inspired you to help veterans transition to corporate roles? 

While I was working in the corporate sector after taking premature retirement from the Navy, I used to assist transitioning veterans in their journey to corporate life by sharing lessons from my own journey and the knowledge I gained while working in civilian settings. When they would call me back to say that the inputs, I shared really helped them get a job, it gave me great satisfaction and inspiration to continue what I was doing. As time went by, there were more and more calls for help, and then I thought I could do more if I focused on one thing dedicatedly. So, I resigned from my job to become a full-time coach and mentor for Veterans. 

3. With over 120 transitioning veterans coached and mentored, what are some common misconceptions you’ve observed among veterans about transitioning to the corporate world? How do you address these misconceptions? 

The common misconceptions are that, since they have vast experience in varied domains in the military, they think they are suitable for any role in the corporate. The other one is that they just need to apply to job postings and they would find suitable jobs that pay well easily. Many think that writing everything that they have done in the past may actually help them get any job faster.  

I address these misconceptions through my one-on-one coaching and mentoring program, which is virtual. We start by working on selecting the best role/domain based on his/her experience, aspirations, interests, values, and industry opportunities. Then we align the resumes to showcase relevant experience and credentials as per job openings, optimize and leverage LinkedIn for transition, do professional networking, and prepare for job interviews. The best part of my program is that I give handholding support to my mentees until they find the suitable corporate job. Their success is my success. 

4. Your LinkedIn profile mentions that you’ve impacted over 1000 veterans. Can you share a specific success story of a veteran you’ve helped and how their life has changed as a result? 

While interacting with 1000+ veterans, I have realized that some of them get the required benefit even with a 30-minute free call, whereas some may require one-on-one mentoring. There are many success stories. One is about an SSC (Short Service Commission) Officer, who had retired after completion of his 10-year tenure and was actively looking for a job. A few months had passed by and not a single interview call, even after applying for multiple jobs. His motivation and confidence were on the decline. During our 30-minute call, we discussed his strengths, aspirations, available opportunities, and strategies to pursue. The next month, he called me to thank and inform me that he had got a suitable job in the domain that he wanted. 

There are others who, after mentoring, had foregone the Government Bank jobs (that they qualified for after retirement) to join the corporate world and are doing well. 

5. As a LinkedIn Top Voice and strategist, what advice do you have for veterans looking to build their professional brand on LinkedIn?  

I will say, it’s easy to build a personal brand on LinkedIn. If I have to categorize the process, first, complete all important sections such as photo, banner, headline, summary, experience, education, skills, recommendations, etc. Second, make it searchable; i.e., your profile should be easy to find by those whom you want to be found by. This can be achieved by using relevant keywords for that kind of job role or industry. Third, make the profile attractive or engaging. Having a good banner, profile photo, structured content, personal touch, storytelling, etc., will persuade someone to read through the profile and also separate you from the crowd.  

And then they need to be active or visible too by sharing content regularly on LinkedIn to build their brand. 

6. How can veterans leverage the LinkedIn platform to make a successful transition to the corporate world? 

LinkedIn has immense potential if someone really wants to explore and use it. Veterans can apply for the jobs listed on the platform. They can also directly connect with various HR managers or talent acquisition teams of their dream companies by networking to improve their chances for jobs. They can share content to showcase their expertise in their field to establish themselves as thought leaders, which can go a long way to boost their visibility and could be leveraged for jobs, networking, finding new clients, or fostering collaborations. The platform also has vast list of courses available for upskilling in diverse fields, be it project management, AI, or data analytics, which could help in a successful transition. 

7. As a Toastmaster, how do you help veterans hone their communication and leadership skills to better position themselves for success in the corporate world? 

I like this question. As you know, Toastmasters is a platform that helps its members enhance their communication and leadership skills. I use my learning experience from Toastmasters by sharing effective communication strategies that help veterans clear job interviews, prepare and give corporate presentations, conduct meetings, and also create outstanding content for LinkedIn posts. 

8. Your LinkedIn mentions that you’ve reached 1 million content views. Can you share some insights on how you’ve managed to create engaging content that resonates with your audience? 

The first thing that I have done is selecting my niche and target audience. The central theme of my content revolves around the challenges that transitioning veterans generally face and how they can be better prepared for their journey to corporate life. So, I create content on topics like how to select future roles, create effective resumes, optimize LinkedIn profile, professional networking, interview preparation, and so on. And I share a lot of learnings from my own transition journey, which makes the content personal and more relatable. I also make it a point to be consistent with my posts and add a lot of variety in the format, i.e., text, images, videos, polls, carousels, etc. 

9. How do you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and developments in the corporate world to ensure that your coaching and mentoring strategies remain relevant and effective? 

That’s an important question. I attend a lot of events hosted by experts or corporate associations that give me firsthand knowledge of the latest trends. I also undertake paid workshops or training programs by seasoned professionals, be it for resume crafting, LinkedIn branding, and even mentoring. I also make it a point to interact with professionals and seasoned veterans in the corporate world to learn and stay relevant in this fast-changing world. And I do have a few mentors, with whom I have weekly sessions/engagements that push me to do better and be better. 

10. What role do you believe the government and private sector should play in supporting veterans’ transition to the corporate world? How can they work together to create more opportunities for veterans? 

There are some initiatives already in place to support veterans’ transition, but the number of transitioning veterans is so large annually, that more needs to be done. Government could expand support programs like career counselling, skills training as per industry standards/ requirement, job placement services, and financial assistance for education or entrepreneurship for them. 

If we talk about private companies, they should actively participate in veteran hiring initiatives and create targeted recruitment programs for them. In fact, internships and training programs designed to bridge the gap between military experience and civilian roles would be very effective. 

Additionally, public-private partnerships can facilitate networking events and job fairs to connect veterans with employers and facilitate their transition into the corporate world. 

11. As a veteran yourself, what motivates you to continue helping other veterans make the transition to the corporate world? 

Since I have been in both worlds, the military and the corporate, I think I am suitably placed to help transitioning veterans. Sharing about my transition journey so that they don’t undergo similar challenges that I faced and helping them find suitable jobs gives me immense satisfaction and gratification. I have realized that the military traits ingrained in them could be of great value in the corporate world if they learn how to reorient themselves and translate those inherent skills to the new role.  

I have had many success stories in a short period of time. And I know these numbers will go up. The difference that I could make in their lives is what motivates me to continue what I am doing. 

12. Lastly, what advice do you have for veterans who are currently struggling to find their place in the corporate world? How can they stay motivated and persistent in their job search? 

This question is so relevant and makes me go back 9 years when I was in that phase. My advice would be, plan in advance, reach out to veterans, your friends or other professionals in the corporate to network and seek their support. Take it like a mission that we do in military and go all out to make that mission successful. While you are doing all these, have some patience, and you will definitely find your place in the corporate world.