For mil guys, what is “traditionally” competitive?

I was a civilian flight instructor. In the mid-1990s, I had a group of four guys walk into the flight school I was working at. They said they were military reserve or Air Guard pilots, I think F16, and said they had interviews with an airline. They wanted me to show them around and asked questions about getting civilian experience that may help them get into the airlines. As I was showing them around, they were laughing and making smart remarks about how superior their equipment was. When I was showing our Cessnas and Baron, they were commenting on rinky-dink they were. I showed them our desk top and non-motion multi-engine simulators, and they laughed and called them toys. Upon leaving, they asked if I had any advice for them. I told them it doesn't matter who they are talking to or what type of job they are pursuing, DON'T BE A DICK! I told them that nobody wants to work with a-holes, doucebags, dicks, jerks, or whatever else you want to call them. Check your attitude at the door. I told them a Cessna or any other aircraft would kill them just as dead, just as quick if not quicker, as anything they military flew if they didn't fly it properly. They laughed and sauntered off. A couple hours later, one of them returned and apologized profusely for the behavior of his cohorts. He said he wasn't like those guys and wanted to speak with me further. He scheduled some time with me on the multi engine sim. I set him up with the Gleim study books and other study materials. I gave him contact numbers to the FAA FSDO folks, Wings program, and airline pilots I knew who might give advice. A couple of months later, I got a call at home. Pre cell phone days. He said he was hired and the other guys were not. He had less experience than the other guys. He said the interviewers did not like the other guys' attitudes. He said the butt chewing I gave them and the direction I pointed him in were a major factor in his getting hired. He thanked me for the attitude adjustment. He said the sim they used was similar to the one I showed him how to fly. I consider this to be one of my best achievements in aviation. I did 21 years in the military, electronics tech, and intelligence. Attitudes run high in many military fields, especially aviation. Little military experience translates to the civilian world. Absolutely no military attitude will get you into any civilian job. Civilians have their own attitude issues. So for what it's worth, be as humble and inquisitive as possible when interacting with civilian types. It might just be what it takes to get you that civvie job you are after.