From DD-214 to first day at a Fortune 100 — Lopez walks through the timeline, the conversations, and the three tools she used to translate command experience into civilian language recruiters actually understand.
Day 0: The paperwork
Sergeant Major Elena Lopez spent her last week of active duty doing what she'd spent 22 years doing: finishing the mission. In her case, the mission was paperwork. She had her DD-214 reviewed by three people before she signed it, caught an error in Block 12 that would have understated her service by two months, and got a certified copy in hand before she cleared post.
Week 1–2: Translation
"I didn't know how to talk about what I did," Lopez says. "I ran a battalion. I managed a $40 million budget. I had 800 people in my span of control. But I didn't know how to say that in a way that meant anything to a civilian hiring manager."
