Stop Spamming Applications And Start Wearing PPE

You can build a real construction career without ever having swung a hammer on day one, and that’s the message we want every veteran to hear. A lot of us get stuck thinking we’re starting from nothing, but the truth is we’re starting from a different foundation, one that already includes leadership, accountability, teamwork, and performing under pressure. The challenge is learning how to enter construction the right way so those strengths actually translate on a jobsite and in an interview.

We walk through a practical 10-step playbook for veterans transitioning into construction, whether you’re separating now, changing careers later, or already on a crew and trying to level up. We talk about why construction is not primarily a resume-driven industry, how relationships and reputation move faster than online applications, and how to “pick a lane” so you’re not trying to break into an entire industry at once. We also get specific on translating military experience into construction language that connects with project managers, superintendents, and safety leaders.

Then we get honest about the parts that can sting: starting lower than your ego wants, being clear about what you don’t know, and committing to a steep learning curve. We explain how to compress that learning curve by learning terminology, understanding sequencing and schedules, asking better questions, and staying coachable. We also cover why your reputation starts the moment you step on a jobsite, why you only need one advocate to accelerate your growth, and why the first two to three years matter more than the first two to three months.

If you’re ready for tangible work, real responsibility, and a long runway in the construction industry, hit play, take notes, and keep moving. Subscribe for more, share this with a veteran who needs a path forward, and leave a review with the lane you’re choosing next.

If you're a military veteran in the construction industry, or you're in the construction industry and support our military vets, and you'd like to be a guest on the podcast you can find me at constructionvetpodcast@gmail.com , or send me a message on LinkedIn. You can find me there at Scott Friend. Let's share the stories and motivate others!

Transcript

Welcome And The Big Question

SPEAKER_01 0:29

Welcome back to the construction of the market. How is it that people get so successful in construction without having prior construction experience? Let's dig into it.

Why Construction Fits Veterans

Resumes Fail In A Relationship Industry

Pick A Lane And Translate Skills

Get In The Rooms Fast

Humility Builds Trust And Speed

Reputation Coachability And Your Advocate

Think In Years Not Months

Summary And Final Push To Move

SPEAKER_02 0:48

Hey everybody, welcome back. I want to talk today about how veterans can break into construction without experience. And this is not just for the folks that are currently transitioning. This could be for early career vets or career changers of any level. Let's clear this up first. Let's start by removing something that holds a lot of veterans back. You don't need construction experience to get into construction. There's a misconception there. You do need things like awareness and positioning, a willingness to learn, and the ability to translate what you've already done. Those aren't the same things as experience. I believe a lot of veterans assume, well, I've never worked construction, so I'm starting from zero. That is not true. You're just starting from a different foundation. I have said on this podcast for years why I think construction is a great fit for veterans. And there is a reason so many veterans end up in the construction industry because it has things like structure, accountability, a hierarchy, you get to solve problems, there's tangible results that you can see. You get to show up, there's a plan, there's a team with you, and there's a mission that's familiar to veterans. But familiarity doesn't mean automatic success. You still have to enter the industry correctly. And let's talk about what that means. I think there's a point where a lot of vets go wrong because they try to apply to these roles like anybody else. They submit resumes online, they wait for callbacks, they get frustrated, they hope their background speaks for itself, but it doesn't. Construction is not primarily a resume-driven industry. It's a relationship-driven industry. A lot of it is who you know. And if you rely only on applications, you're going to feel invisible. So let's go into a quick 10-step process, I'll say, to break into the construction industry the correct way. Your first step is to pick a lane. Don't just try to enter construction or engineering or architecture as a whole. That's too broad. You need to figure out a lane. And there will be times where you have an opportunity to switch lanes, but you got to start somewhere. You need a lane. Some examples would be: let's say you're interested in the field, going into a job as a laborer or a carpenter or an equipment operator. Maybe you want to get into project management. There are opportunities out there as an assistant project manager or a project coordinator. You could look into estimating. Maybe safety. A lot of veterans find success in that route. Maybe it's sales or a vendor role, or maybe it's in a specialty trade. You don't have to pick the perfect lane right off the bat, but you've got to pick a starting lane. Clarity beats optionality at the beginning. Your second step is to translate your experience, and this is everything. Your experience does not transfer automatically. You have to translate it. So, as an example, and this is going to sound very LinkedIn-ish and very cliche, but just follow me. Instead of you saying, I let a team of eight in the military, how do you translate that? Well, I supervised and coordinated a team of eight personnel in high pressure environments, ensuring timelines and safety standards were met. That's just an expansion of what you did. But you got to speak the lingo because construction understands things like coordination and scheduling, safety, accountability. Use their language, not just the military shorthand. Step three is to get into the rooms, not just into people's inboxes. This is where things start to change. You're going to build motivation because you need to meet people, not just apply online. That's too easy. And it doesn't always work. Like we said, you might get frustrated. But how do you do this? You might have an opportunity to walk into a job site. If you know somebody that knows somebody, walk into a job site. Make sure you're wearing the right PPE. You got your boots and jeans and your fish and shirt and your vest and your hard hat and glasses, what have you. You might find industry events. I know at least in Dallas Fort Worth, there's a ton of those. I mean, you could practically find something every night. There's got to be something if you're close to a major metropolitan area where they have some sort of construction industry event going on. Find some of those. Meet people. You got to be bold. Find some association meetings. Just Google construction associations near me. Some of them you might have to pay for, but guarantee there's plenty of free ones out there for you. Maybe do some LinkedIn outreach. You know, they have great features where you can find people in specific industries in your area. You might not get a response in the first message. You got to be bold and reach out. The easiest way is finding introductions through mutual connections. That could be on LinkedIn, but ideally that's in real life. Sharing with your friends and family, hey, I'm looking to get into construction. Do you know anybody? Keep asking around. Because a 10-minute conversation is going to beat 50 online applications every single time. Your fourth step is being honest about what you don't know. And you've got to be a little vulnerable here. Veterans, I think sometimes we try to overcompensate. It's a comparison thing and a pride thing. It's an issue. Because sometimes I think we present ourselves as more experienced than we are. And that backfires quickly in construction. And I'm not trying to take away from what you've done or how you served or where you served or what you did. But it's okay to say, look, here's my experiences, but I'm not very experienced in what have you in construction. So instead, you can say, I don't have direct construction experience yet, but here's what I do bring. And that's your game changer. Your honesty builds trust faster than the confidence alone. In step five, this kind of goes back to what I just said. You got to start lower than what your ego wants. This is hard. I mean, you've done some awesome things in your career. I think you've lived more life in your early 20s or wherever you're at than a lot of normal people have. You've experienced a lot of things that most people won't experience in their entire life. But you may need to start below what you think you deserve. Now that's not forever, but initially humble yourself and look at the opportunities out there. Because construction does reward people who learn fast and show up consistently and can prove their reliability. And if you do those things, you will move up quickly. But if you chase the title first, you're going to stall. Step six is put your learning cap on and start to learn the industry fast. Because once you're in, your job is to compress the learning curve. You've got to learn the terminology, the sequencing and scheduling on a job. What are the different roles on the job site? How does the project actually flow? Ask questions. Be humble and ask questions. Watch people. Stay curious. Because the faster you understand how things work, the faster you're going to become valuable. Step seven, and this is really important because this will follow you everywhere, is to build your reputation early. Your reputation starts as soon as you walk on that job site. You need to show up early, follow through, and have integrity doing what you said you would do. Because in construction, people notice consistency fast and they talk about it, good or bad. And I've talked in previous episodes that your reputation will follow you no matter where you go. There's a ton of people in construction, but a lot of people talk. Your eighth step is don't try to prove you're tough. You don't need to prove that. That's already there. The things that you need to prove, though, are your reliability and your coachability, your awareness, your communication. Those are the things that move you forward. You've already got the clout. Thankfully, we live in a time in the United States where the title of veteran comes with a certain form of respect already. You've done something beyond yourself for the greater good. And people do respect that. But what does that come with? You don't need to prove, hey, I did this whatever in my career. You need to prove what you can do for the team. Step nine is to find your first advocate. This is critical. You need to find one person, ideally, somebody further along in that position that you want to be in, that person that sees your effort and understands your background, that knows you well and is willing to guide you, because that person can accelerate your growth significantly. And hear me, you don't need everyone. You just need one. Finally, your last step is to think long term. And what I mean by that is thinking in years, not just months, because this is not a quick flip. Construction careers are built over time. So I would suggest committing to the first two to three years of really focused growth and constantly learning. It's going to be a grind at first. I'm not going to sugarcoat it. It's hard at first because you don't know this stuff. You're confused. This is a new environment. You're learning the players, you're learning the game. But building those strong relationships and constantly learning from those people and mentors is going to help you later on. I tell people all the time, I think it takes about five years before you really start to feel comfortable. And okay, I have a general grasp of this. I know the whole game. But to get to that five-year mark, you got to focus the first couple years on just soaking it all in, being humble, taking the beginner position, and understanding I don't know everything yet. I might have accomplished all these great things in the service and be proud of that. Hold that with you. You've got soft skills that a lot of people don't start out early in their career with that they have to learn. So you've already got a lot of that out of the way. So be confident in that. But also be humble again and understand I've still got a couple good years to learn the industry as a whole. You got to set your expectations realistically as well. At first, you're going to be confused, and there will be a very steep learning curve, especially depending on what route you take in construction. You're going to be frustrated. Let's just be honest. And you're going to have moments of doubt, but this is completely normal. It doesn't mean you chose wrong. It just means you're new to that industry. There's a lot to learn. And I've said time and time again, the people I respected most were the people that had been in the industry for decades, but still said, hey, I'm learning something new every day. And I want to say a word to the vet that might feel behind. Whether you're in construction already or you want to get into it and you feel like, well, I see my peers, maybe younger peers, uh, or same age or same kind of life position that they're in. If you feel behind, you're not. You're actually early. And what I mean is that you just have a different timeline. You have a different starting point, but you have the same potential. And again, I think this industry is worth it for many veterans because construction gives you a tangible impact. You got real responsibility. There's progress that's that's visible and visual. And there's a long-term opportunity there. You get with the right company, you got a lot of runway ahead of you. It's not easy, but it's real, respectable, honest work. So if I had to summarize this whole episode, pick a lane, translate your experience, get in front of people, start where you need to, learn fast and build trust. If you do these things consistently, you'll break in. You don't need experience to start. You need clarity and movement. You gotta keep moving. Keep your head up. Construction is full of opportunities for veterans, but it rewards those who engage it directly. This is the Construction Veteran Podcast. Revettes don't just transition, they build. I'll see you next time.