Career advice from the life lessons these veterans learned in the military

Career Builder

To help commemorate Veterans Day this year, we tapped the CareerBuilder veteran community to share the universal lessons learned from their military service. Keep reading to meet a few of CareerBuilder’s finest.

Chris Shelley

Years of service: 1995-2001

Branch: United States Air Force

CareerBuilder role: Vice President, Commercial Sales

“The biggest life lessons I learned during my time in the Air Force that I continue to leverage every day are discipline, accountability, and team mentality.”

Amy McNealy

Years of service: 1992-1997 Active Duty

Branch: U.S. Navy

CareerBuilder role: Senior Talent Acquisition Specialist | Read more about Amy’s work at CareerBuilder

“My time in the military taught me to embrace new challenges and to have confidence in my abilities. I was a Hull Maintenance Technician while on active duty. My primary responsibilities were shipboard repair related and included things like welding, lagging, general plumbing repairs, and sheet metal work; these were things that I had never done. However, I was willing to push myself, and the Navy gave me the platform to that.”

Michael Elbaz

Years of service: September 2007 – September 2020

Branch: Georgia Army National Guard (GAARNG)

CareerBuilder role: Salesforce Developer III

“Serving in the military taught me gratitude and resilience. It’s easy to complain about something but is the situation as bad as it feels at the moment? Reassessing and altering your perspective will often bring you out of catastrophizing and back into reality so that you can focus on the task at hand.”

Oscar Hernandez

Years of service: 1996-2006

Branch: U.S. Marine Corps

CareerBuilder role: Senior Salesforce Administrator

“My years in the Marines taught me how to overcome obstacles and how far I could push my physical, emotional and psychological limits. It taught me self-sufficiency while knowing I could always count on my team. I learned to adapt, think on my feet, pivot quickly and deal with unexpected changes while keeping mission accomplishment the priority.”

Joey Eastman

Years of service: 2000-2005

Branch: U.S. Navy, Hospital Corpsman

CareerBuilder role: Major Account Executive

“Ultimately, I learned how to communicate with people from all walks of life. I learned what being part of a team meant. Knowing that others depend on me, and I depend on others, helps me make decisions for the greater team, not just myself. It is a lesson I’ve carried with me from my time serving into my civilian career.”