3-6 Months out of Transition advise.

2015-02-05T08:12:57-05:00

Lately, I have been asked a lot about opportunities for transitioning military personnel from different areas of the country. Here is my advice for all of our military that are 3-6 months away from separation.
First of all, build your personal brand. This includes getting your resume finalized and matching all social media to your resume. I tell everyone in this situation to have a civilian look the resume over. It should be someone who is not too close to you and someone who won’t understand any military language or acronyms. Have them highlight any parts they don’t understand right away and rewrite those parts using less military jargon. Once your resume is up to date, make sure your LinkedIn profile reflects the changes.
After this is completed, I recommend researching the field of work you want to begin after your service. Look into the companies you would like to work for, and the cities you want to live in. Be flexible, as well as diligent, and look into the local economy. If the first job you go after isn’t a home run, you want more than one opportunity locally after you have moved. On top of this, start connecting on LinkedIn with people from those companies. This will allow you to get your profile in front of them, but more importantly to follow hiring trends. If in six months they hire for the same positions multiple times, you can tread lightly until you figure out the reason for the turnovers.
Lastly, I tell everyone to start going to networking events. This will allow you to begin to practice your new brand’s “elevator speech” in a non-threatening setting, as well as meeting people who might be able to assist you. Even if it is nowhere near where you want to live, you never know who can help. Some of the greatest friends and testimonials I have gotten have come from the least likely places.
Transitioning is always hard, but utilizing the tools you have and taking a proactive approach will make the change a lot easier.

Response by SGT Jim Z. made Feb 5 at 2015 8:24 AM

2015-02-05T08:24:43-05:00

Excellent advise SSgt David Gunter. I would also suggest practice interviewing skills if possible again limit the use of military jargon. Research the companies and the jobs you are applying to as well, situational awareness is just important in the civilian world as in the military. I know the Army has ACAP use them if at all possible.

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Feb 5 at 2015 9:29 AM

2015-02-05T09:29:03-05:00

Things I would like to add.

1) Base Education.

Even if you didn't go to college or plan to go to college, hit base education. While I was on terminal leave (90 days), I took every CLEP, DANTES, and Excelsior exam they had. They cost $0.00 to Service Members. If you pass you get between 3-6 credits (some are upper level). When I was done, I had an Associates Science (AS) and was 9 Upper Level (UL) credits from my Bachelors' Degree. Had I started 1 month sooner I would have had it. This was with ZERO in classroom time.

2) Buy some clothes.

I know this sounds stupid, but look in your closet and see if you actually own 1-2 suits and 5 outfits that you can consider "Business Professional" and "Business Casual," then ask yourself if you know what those terms mean. Don't forget shoes. Nothing funnier looking than corframs.

Response by MSgt Billy McDonough made Feb 18 at 2015 11:41 AM

2015-02-18T11:41:51-05:00

When interviewing remember to interview them as well. Its not just about getting the job but also making sure you are a good fit for them and they are for you. Trust your gut! If something seems off or you get a bad vibe about your future supervisor, look into it and be sure they are the right fit for you.

Response by MSgt Matt Thewes made Feb 18 at 2015 2:57 PM

2015-02-18T14:57:31-05:00

We've developed "Transition Tech" which is the next level from TAP class. It's free to any veteran, offered monthly, and in addition to going back over the resume, we cover some soft skills, get the "elevator pitch" worked up, and do a few rounds of mock interviews.We've done this as part of a larger course in partnership with Eastern Carolina, but are beginning to run it on our own starting in April. We are your local community college and all community colleges located near military bases should start creating these types of free course. Going through transition now you pick a track, whether it's employment, education, or entrepreneurship. If you pick once and it doesn't pan out-say you start a business, fail, then decide you need to take some business courses so you'll be better prepared to start another business later, you can't go back to TAP and get that into about school. That's why we exsist! Your local community college offers these courses for free. If they don't say you are a veteran and you can take your benefits anywhere you want. I want to to keep them. If you are going through a TAP course and by regulation commanders are supposed to allow their members time off for training as it relates to transition come take a free class. Let the local school help you further, or in addition to what you already know. The last class we have that finished two weeks ago of the 16 who showed up for the final "speed/mock" interviews 14 have follow ups with employers. I coordinated the final round on interviews with local employers and they were so happy we have 16 fine tuned pumped up veterans ready to work. We'll see down the road how many take the positions offered to them, but the point was purely for practice.