Retired Navy Chief. Aerospace engineer. Speaker, blogger, trainer and consultant. Helping veterans and others in transition is my passion. Private and public consulting, keynote speaking and interactive webinars, I continue to build my portfolio of support for veterans, engineers and young professionals.
17 years of System & Software Project Management much of it in Unmanned Aircraft Software Test Engineering with a Top Secret Clearance combined with 21 years as a US Navy Operations Specialist working in radar and communications my experience ranges from managing diverse teams of highly technical sailors to field service engineering and software test, my technical and management skills are consistently in demand both to produce products and to mentor junior engineers.
Because I have planned detailed work schedules and budgets as I lead teams of all sorts: leaders, test engineers and sailors my experience is often sought to sort through problems and help young leaders through difficult times.
As I was reading other folks discussion of what an Elevator Pitch or Speech should look like, I came across the “Pixar” pitch. Every one of the mega-hits that Pixar has produced contain just six story points.
1. Once upon a time…
2. Every day…
3. One day…
4. Because of that …
5. Because of that …
6. And finally …
Once upon a time there was a clown fish named Marlin and his only child, Nemo.
Every day Marlin cautioned Nemo to be careful and not go out into the big ocean.
One day as an act of defiance, Nemo went out into the ocean near a dive boat.
Because of that Nemo was caught by a diver and taken to a fish tank in the the divers office.
Because of that Marlin traveled across the ocean with help from many new friends to rescue Nemo.
And finally Marlin and Nemo were reunited and discovered the importance of trusting each other.
So, where are you in your job search? Are you looking for your first job or your next job? My last job search was for a management job in Northrop Grumman Corporation. Here is my Pixar Pitch for that kind of a job.
Once upon a time there was a veteran, Ray Rogers, who had spent many years in the Navy.
Every day he operated tactical and simulation computers leading radar operators, instructors and engineering technicians.
One day the man in charge of his orders, the detailer, offered to send him to Saint Louis, Mo.
Because of that Ray had to find a job quickly and his experience with Navy computer systems networking to the differences paid off because his friend got him an interview for a software test job on a Navy project.
Because of that Ray became a software test engineer and has worked on software projects for all of the armed forces.
And finally all of the education, experience and training came together so that Ray could help junior engineers and other veterans walk the same path as a manager.
Just for clarity, don’t use the intro words, they might be kind of cute, but cute is usually the wrong direction. After formatting it using the framework, pull the framework off.
I am Ray Rogers, and I am a veteran of many years in the Navy.
I operated tactical and simulation computers leading radar operators, instructors and engineering technicians.
When the man in charge of my orders, the detailer, offered to send me to Saint Louis, Mo I got out of the Navy. Originally I was going to be a trainer, I had to find job quickly and my experience with Navy computer systems networking to the differences paid off because my friend got me an interview for a software test job on a Navy project.
I have been a software test engineer almost 18 years and have worked on software projects for all of the armed forces, the last few years on unmanned aircraft.
As a “functional manager” all of the education, experience and training has come together so that I can help junior engineers to walk their own path developing as engineers and professionals.
Read the other articles in this series and there will be more, this is one of two so far on elevator pitches. An elevator pitch is important, build one and then keep it up to date.