“My Transition” #16: Joe Reagan — Military Intel to MBA and The Beacon Group
Joe’s transition from Army to civilian life was hectic. With a wife and new baby, he juggled contracting work with an MBA. Luckily, things have balanced out but his initial transition advice is wise.
When I took the job with Beacon I was still working on my MBA, both my wife and I were working full time jobs and we owned a business. At the time it seemed like a great idea to take a new job, in a new industry, in a new state — and I still believe it set us up for success — but I burned out hard and that impacted my performance during my first year… So my advice is to move slowly and deliberately. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast.
Portland, ME — Joe served 7 years as an active duty Army officer, with two deployments to Afghanistan. Life got really busy, really quickly as transition approached. From fatherhood to defense contracting, MBA, and finally landing his current position at The Beacon Group, Joe had to hit the ground running… but he still finds time for family, veteran mentoring, and volunteering.
DJS: Tell me about your initial job search process?
JR:
Well, my son was born 2 weeks after starting terminal leave and then my mother passed away at the very end of it, so needless to say my initial job search didn’t even start until four months after I left active duty. Looking back this was a great move I had ample time to reflect on my experiences, connect with my son, and help my wife get back to work. My intention had always been to get into defense contracting which is where I started my search. About 6 months after leaving the Army I started work as an analyst on a 5 year defense contract.
This was admittedly an easy option. Moving from active duty to defense contracting allowed for a pretty seamless transition of skills from my work as an MI officer to a contract analyst. The culture of my new office was pretty similar to the military as well with most of my co-workers having a military background. This was good because I attended a job fair at the beginning of my job search and the feedback on my resume from the resume councilor was “this looks great but I’m not sure I can help you translate these skills.”
Moving from active duty to defense contracting allowed for a pretty seamless transition of skills from my work as an MI officer to a contract analyst.
DJS: How did you apply to and get accepted into Darden for your MBA? Any tips?
JR:
It’s a longer story than you may think. Shortly after the birth of our son my wife (also an Army vet) and I decided to open our own business. We weighed the options of going it alone or opening a franchise initially and opted to buy into a franchise called “Kid to Kid” a store that sells second hand kids items. Neither of us had any business experience and as we were doing our market research we realized that similar independent stores had failed due to the lack of a successful business model. Going through the process of opening the store got me interested in business and we ended up joining a veteran business owners networking group where I met a few current Darden students. They convinced me to apply and the rest is history.
I guess I have a few tips for others. First is if you are eligible for the GI Bill use it, this is a great program designed to invest in your future; take the opportunity and run with it. Take the time and think through what you want to do with the benefit. For MBA’s specifically focus on your leadership skills in your essays and network with current students to make sure the program you’re entering is going to be a fit.
… if you are eligible for the GI bill use it, this is a great program designed to invest in your future; take the opportunity and run with it.
DJS: How did you land your current job at The Beacon Group?
JR:
Through Darden’s career services. I didn’t intend to switch jobs but when the Beacon job showed up on the weekly job board I had to take a shot.
DJS: Did you use any veteran networking strategy to land your current position? If so, how did you make those connections?
JR:
No, Beacon is a small company. The company has a history of hiring and supporting Veterans but when I joined the company I leveraged the Darden connection more than the military one. Since joining Beacon We’ve added several other Veterans to the staff as well.
DJS: What skills from the military translated into your job and made you successful in your current role?
JR:
Leadership was the biggest one. During my first project the VP who was leading the engagement asked me if I was comfortable leading the discussion with the client (having never done so before). I immediately responded “of course” and jumped right into the dialog. At the time I thought nothing of it but my boss was surprised I was so willing to jump right in and run with it.
Interpersonal skills helped out as well. Small things like staying calm when we were up against a tight deadline. Taking the time to mentor younger members of my team even though it sometimes meant I had to do a significant amount of re-work. But that pays off- having the patience to trust and enable your team members to grow is how you build high performing teams.
Taking the time to mentor younger members of my team, even though it sometimes meant I had to do a significant amount of re-work.
DJS: If you knew one thing before the transition process that would have made your experience easier, what would that be?
JR:
Tactical patience — I knew it, but didn’t implement it. Two weeks after being accepted to Darden my wife found out she was pregnant with our second son. Our house is and was chaos — this leads to burn-out. When I took the job with Beacon I was still working on my MBA, both my wife and I were working full time jobs and we owned a business. At the time it seemed like a great idea to take a new job, in a new industry, in a new state — and I still believe it set us up for success — but I burned out hard and that impacted my performance during my first year.
Thankfully my boss at Beacon gets it — but I didn’t have the bandwidth to be good at a job I should have exceled at — I’m still recovering from that and it could have limited my potential. So my advice is to move slowly and deliberately. Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. Let your professional career develop and focus on controlling the throttle and when things get busy keep priorities straight — family should always come first — and that’s easier said than done.
Let your professional career develop and focus on controlling the throttle and when things get busy keep priorities straight — family should always come first — and that’s easier said than done.
DJS: What one piece of advice do you have for anyone reading this?
JR:
Get involved with your community. When we moved to Maine I started volunteering with a Veterans charity called “Veterans Count” that helped me to connect with not only the local veterans community but also the local business community. That helped me connect socially with folks equally concerned with issues facing Veterans.
When we talk about the importance of networking in the professional world joining a charity board can really help connect you with influencers in the community. When I joined Veterans Count I was able to connect with folks across the community and help support fellow veterans who aren’t as lucky as me.
Get involved with your community…
Bio
Joe Reagan spent seven years as an active duty Army officer, serving in multiple leadership positions at the strategic and tactical levels. His work spanned both operations and intelligence analysis, including two deployments to Afghanistan. He began his military career as a platoon leader in the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain division where he led a scout sniper platoon in Afghanistan. During his second deployment to Afghanistan, he served as the Deputy Intelligence Officer for the 3rd Brigade. Mr. Reagan concluded his military service as a watch officer.
He received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a concentration in international relations and a minor in history from Norwich University in 2004, and holds a Master of Business Administration from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
Joe is currently a senior manager for The Beacon Group, a management consulting firm in Portland, ME, where he advises clients on their most critical business issues with a clear focus on achieving top-line growth through both organic and inorganic means.
Top resources
Veterans Count — Their mission is to provide critical and timely financial assistance and services when no other resource is available to veterans, service members and their families, to ensure their dignity, health and overall well-being. (Joe is the Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors in the state of Maine.)
LinkedIn for Veterans — Great community for networking and learnings as well as opportunities to mentor and/or find a mentor.
The Veterans Administration (VA) — There are a lot of underutilized resources available through the VA — and while it’s not perfect, the VA staff is committed to serving Veterans (remember many of the VA staff are Veterans).
Are you interested in sharing your story of transition? Or are you a military transition specialist who would like to share some tips? Send me an email at MilitaryTransitionStories@gmail.com
The goal of this series is to bridge the military-civilian divide in three ways: 1) Highlight the incredible skills and value that military veterans of all generations and backgrounds bring into the workplace. 2) Help transitioning veterans understand their true value and therefore aim as high as possible in their employment and educational goals. 3) Discuss the common struggles, pitfalls and indicators of success in veteran transition, in order to provide better transition assistance from both military and civilian sides.
