Having endured rigorous training and operated within highly-stressful settings, Veterans possess a plethora of desirable professional skills, such as leadership, teamwork, communication, dedication, and the ability to adapt in the face of adversity - amongst many others.
Bryan Taylor, Associate Manager, Command Center, at SoFi, is one example of a seasoned Veteran who has been able to leverage his eight years of military experience to excel in the civilian workforce. Before landing at SoFi in 2015, Taylor served in the U.S. Air Force for four years, joining immediately out of high school. After his tenure, he rejoined the civilian world with a position at Wal-Mart.
In four short years, he was able to rise from a freight receiver who unloaded trucks to a Support Manager. Though he had not initially planned on returning to the military, he felt compelled to reenlist after the events of 9/11 and went on to spend another four years serving in the Air Force before joining SoFi in 2015.
Taylor believes his Veteran status worked to his advantage when he applied to SoFi. “I was asking for a technical job with little-to-no formal education,” he says. “But, I told SoFi in my interview how much I wanted the job and how I would learn whatever I needed to be successful.”
Another driver behind Taylor’s success at SoFi is that he resonates deeply with and is motivated by SoFi’s mission-driven attitude and our 11 core values, one of which is to “put our Members’ interests first.”
“We are constantly evolving to make things better - we listen to what our Members or potential Members have to say, what their needs are, and then look at how we can best support them,” says Taylor. His propensity for putting people first stems from his time in the military where soldiers like himself are trained to forgo their egos in service of putting the country and its people first.
In fact, even though Taylor makes it seem easy, many Veterans struggle to transition out of the military and into the civilian workforce. Veterans are 15.6% more likely to be underemployed than non-Veterans, despite being a group of highly-qualified, active job-seekers.
The vast differences between military culture and civilian culture make the transition a difficult process for many. “I think the hardest part for me, personally, was transitioning from a very structured and organized system to the civilian sector, which is far less so,” says Taylor.
Nevertheless, Taylor has made the transition rather seamlessly and has been a SoFi employee for over seven years so far. Part of his long tenure can be attributed to SoFi’s employee resource group, VETS @ SoFi, which he believes provides “lots of support for military and their families.” Just last week, he posted a photo of his youngest son graduating from Air Traffic Control school in the Marine Corps — an immensely proud moment for Taylor that was met with much praise and appreciation from his peers.
The sense of community that Taylor feels at SoFi is something that we strive to bring to all SoFi employees. Looking to transition into civilian life, or want a career change? Consider working with us - we’re hiring!
The individual featured is a SoFi employee. Their personal experiences, obviously, do not take into account your own specific objectives, financial situation, and needs. Results will vary.
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