This Navy veteran's advice for those transitioning into civilian life
He says to figure out how military expertise translates into job skills.
For Rob Ceravolo, it was the movie "Top Gun" that inspired him to become a U.S. Navy aviator.
What he didn't know then is how that military career would lead him to entrepreneurship, and a calling to help veterans apply their military skills to a civilian jobs.
Ceravolo said veterans come equipped with skills like self-discipline, which can be invaluable to an organization, but all they have to do is translate their military experience into civilian experience.
"There's a common misconception that the skill sets you have on a military resume will not apply to a civilian company."
"I've helped people with their resumes where I'll see it says 'I ran an artillery battery,'" Ceravolo told FOX Business. "What does that mean to me as a civilian employee? [It means] I ran a squad of six people. I was responsible for their training. I was responsible for their development. I developed standard operating procedures that improved my entire squadron."
Ceravolo founded Tropic Ocean Airways in 2011 after retiring from the Navy and selling most of his worldly possessions to fund it.
Rob Ceravolo wearing his flight mask. (Tropic Ocean Airways)
The company, which now has about 100 employees and operates in eight countries, flies amphibious planes to areas that struggle with airlifting things or people.
But he didn't stop there. Ceravolo realized it was crucial to pay it forward and make a concerted effort to hire our veterans.
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"You can basically list out all of those things, all those requirements that you had in the military on a resume and actually apply them or rather translate them so it makes sense for the civilian employer."
He admits that sometimes veterans transitioning to civilian life can experience depression because they feel their service is over or that their mission or purpose is over.
"It's very important for us to help veterans integrate back into society," Ceravolo said. "And that's, I think, really the theme that we need to focus on is really helping those veterans find a mission after their service."
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Ceravolo said he was honored to serve in the military and it's days like Veterans Day that remind him of that privilege.
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"The military is a great place to work, however, there's a lot of sacrifice involved, so I do think Veterans Day is a good time to always recognize the people that spend a lot of time away from home, spend a lot of time away from doing things they love to go serve their country," Ceravolo said.
"I always look at Veterans Day as a way for me to honor the friends I've made. I think it's important for us to recognize that."
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