Posted on Nov 19, 2015
Are you transitioning from the military? Do you have a plan?
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The original article upon which this is based appeared on bradley.morris.com and is used with their permission. I have modified it with my personal experience.
1. Plan early—really early
Do not wait until you’re 30 days away from separation before starting the military to civilian transition process—if you are deployed, ask for time to prepare if possible. The ideal time to begin preparing for your transition is one to three years before you are available to begin employment in the civilian workforce, depending upon the skill set you already have obtained. You might need additional training or certifications for that dream job, so start looking at job requisitions early to see what the minimum requirements are for the kind of jobs you’ll seek.
2. Think big—don’t limit your possibilities
You want to give yourself as many options as possible. Applying for jobs with only one company, working with an exclusionary placement firm, or working with only one military to civilian transition resource is not in your best interest. Take advantage of all the free services that are available (military placement firms, military job boards, military job fairs, TAP/ACAP) and don’t be afraid to network on your own to find a military connection (VFW, former military you know, military associations such as AUSA, MOAA, LinkedIn connections, etc.). A word of warning about job fairs: Attend one and see what you think, but I don’t think they’re worth much. The representative for the companies are going to say, “Go to our website to see what is available and to apply for jobs.” They don’t help you get a job, and the internet has as much information as they usually have.
3. Get ready to be scrutinized
Realize that the job search process opens you up to a new type of scrutiny from your perspective employer. Make sure you have a professional email address and answering machine message, and that you’ve deleted inappropriate material (“cyber-skeletons”) posted on social networking sites, etc. Better yet, don’t post any inappropriate material in the first place—it can live forever in search engine caches, even after you delete it. Shift your focus from social to professional networking sites. Of course, I recommend LinkedIn.com.
4. Have a transition plan for your family
Do not automatically use your military move to go back to your hometown. A huge advantage for a military-experienced job seeker is that many times, their military move can pay for relocation to the city of their new job. Depending upon how long you have been serving, the job market may not be the same as it was when you went to Boot Camp. There might not be any jobs in Hometown, USA. For a company that might have to pay for a civilian to relocate, your military relocation could be the Ace you need.
Get an insurance agent and ask about gap insurance for you and your family. If you don’t, and your job search extends for more than 90 days after your separation, any pre-existing conditions that exist with you or your family may not be covered by your new employer’s insurance plan.
5. Civilianize your skillset
Civilian companies will not know how to interpret your military skills for their requirements. So, civilianize your resume, experience, and verbiage during your interview. Be aware that most hiring managers in corporate America will not understand military lingo. Don't expect them to be able to translate—you must do that for them (even for many DoD contracting jobs). Get help with your resume. I am sure there are a few on LinkedIn that do this as a profession—for a fee of course.
6. Sell yourself
Your resume does not land you a job—it gets you an interview. Nail the interview! What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? Why are you getting out of the military? What type of work do you want to do? These are all questions that you may know the answers to, but you don’t want to be thinking of them for the first time during the interview process. Ask yourself the hard questions ahead of time to make sure your answers are well-organized, positive, concise and genuine. Practice out loud. Better yet, practice with someone.
7. Explore ALL of your options
Carefully consider all options. Do not allow yourself to eliminate a company, a location, or even a particular type of job before you educate yourself with all of the information available. There are thousands of opportunities in corporate America, and many of the great places to work for former military members are outside the Fortune 500. In fact, many former military members find a fast track to success with jobs in privately held firms and/or with jobs located outside of major metropolitan areas. Don’t limit yourself to DoD contractor jobs, and don’t apply for two of three jobs—apply for dozens and increase your odds. A note on location: Your spouse might want to live in Fort Lauderdale rather than Birmingham, but if the right jobs for the right money are not in Fort Lauderdale, over time neither of you will be happy.
8. Toot your horn!
Do not assume that the interviewer makes the connection between your military experience and how that has prepared you for the job in question. Show them examples from your work experience that correlate into exactly the experience for which they are looking. Tell the interviewer that you can do the job! Tell him that you have done the job in a different context, and then contextualize it this job.
9. Don’t settle for scraps
Make sure the job you take is the job you want! Take your time and thoroughly investigate your options until you are sure you’ve found the "right" job. Accepting an offer for a job you are not really excited about is a surefire way to ensure you’ll be repeating the whole job search process earlier than you would wish. This is usually true even if that job you settled for pays better.
10. Make a lasting first impression!
Once you’ve taken your new job in "civilian world", make sure you hit the ground running. Just like in the military, you only get one chance to get off to a great start. Your first month on the job will likely set the tone for your entire career. Give at least 10% more than your coworkers:
Come in early and stay late
Ask questions (do not act like you know everything) and be enthusiastic
Volunteer for tough, demanding assignments
Be willing and eager to get your hands dirty
Solve problems rather than give reasons why things can't be done
11. A BIG DO NOT!
This is my opinion. Do not e-mail your resume to a blind distribution list of everybody in the world “begging” for a job. It shows a lack of consideration for people’s time, a lack of understanding of the employment process, a certain degree of laziness, and they become instant trash bin messages! It does not show initiative. But DO use your RallyPoint connections—that is one of the reasons we connect. You should also try connecting on LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreystrickland>.
1. Plan early—really early
Do not wait until you’re 30 days away from separation before starting the military to civilian transition process—if you are deployed, ask for time to prepare if possible. The ideal time to begin preparing for your transition is one to three years before you are available to begin employment in the civilian workforce, depending upon the skill set you already have obtained. You might need additional training or certifications for that dream job, so start looking at job requisitions early to see what the minimum requirements are for the kind of jobs you’ll seek.
2. Think big—don’t limit your possibilities
You want to give yourself as many options as possible. Applying for jobs with only one company, working with an exclusionary placement firm, or working with only one military to civilian transition resource is not in your best interest. Take advantage of all the free services that are available (military placement firms, military job boards, military job fairs, TAP/ACAP) and don’t be afraid to network on your own to find a military connection (VFW, former military you know, military associations such as AUSA, MOAA, LinkedIn connections, etc.). A word of warning about job fairs: Attend one and see what you think, but I don’t think they’re worth much. The representative for the companies are going to say, “Go to our website to see what is available and to apply for jobs.” They don’t help you get a job, and the internet has as much information as they usually have.
3. Get ready to be scrutinized
Realize that the job search process opens you up to a new type of scrutiny from your perspective employer. Make sure you have a professional email address and answering machine message, and that you’ve deleted inappropriate material (“cyber-skeletons”) posted on social networking sites, etc. Better yet, don’t post any inappropriate material in the first place—it can live forever in search engine caches, even after you delete it. Shift your focus from social to professional networking sites. Of course, I recommend LinkedIn.com.
4. Have a transition plan for your family
Do not automatically use your military move to go back to your hometown. A huge advantage for a military-experienced job seeker is that many times, their military move can pay for relocation to the city of their new job. Depending upon how long you have been serving, the job market may not be the same as it was when you went to Boot Camp. There might not be any jobs in Hometown, USA. For a company that might have to pay for a civilian to relocate, your military relocation could be the Ace you need.
Get an insurance agent and ask about gap insurance for you and your family. If you don’t, and your job search extends for more than 90 days after your separation, any pre-existing conditions that exist with you or your family may not be covered by your new employer’s insurance plan.
5. Civilianize your skillset
Civilian companies will not know how to interpret your military skills for their requirements. So, civilianize your resume, experience, and verbiage during your interview. Be aware that most hiring managers in corporate America will not understand military lingo. Don't expect them to be able to translate—you must do that for them (even for many DoD contracting jobs). Get help with your resume. I am sure there are a few on LinkedIn that do this as a profession—for a fee of course.
6. Sell yourself
Your resume does not land you a job—it gets you an interview. Nail the interview! What are your strengths? Your weaknesses? Why are you getting out of the military? What type of work do you want to do? These are all questions that you may know the answers to, but you don’t want to be thinking of them for the first time during the interview process. Ask yourself the hard questions ahead of time to make sure your answers are well-organized, positive, concise and genuine. Practice out loud. Better yet, practice with someone.
7. Explore ALL of your options
Carefully consider all options. Do not allow yourself to eliminate a company, a location, or even a particular type of job before you educate yourself with all of the information available. There are thousands of opportunities in corporate America, and many of the great places to work for former military members are outside the Fortune 500. In fact, many former military members find a fast track to success with jobs in privately held firms and/or with jobs located outside of major metropolitan areas. Don’t limit yourself to DoD contractor jobs, and don’t apply for two of three jobs—apply for dozens and increase your odds. A note on location: Your spouse might want to live in Fort Lauderdale rather than Birmingham, but if the right jobs for the right money are not in Fort Lauderdale, over time neither of you will be happy.
8. Toot your horn!
Do not assume that the interviewer makes the connection between your military experience and how that has prepared you for the job in question. Show them examples from your work experience that correlate into exactly the experience for which they are looking. Tell the interviewer that you can do the job! Tell him that you have done the job in a different context, and then contextualize it this job.
9. Don’t settle for scraps
Make sure the job you take is the job you want! Take your time and thoroughly investigate your options until you are sure you’ve found the "right" job. Accepting an offer for a job you are not really excited about is a surefire way to ensure you’ll be repeating the whole job search process earlier than you would wish. This is usually true even if that job you settled for pays better.
10. Make a lasting first impression!
Once you’ve taken your new job in "civilian world", make sure you hit the ground running. Just like in the military, you only get one chance to get off to a great start. Your first month on the job will likely set the tone for your entire career. Give at least 10% more than your coworkers:
Come in early and stay late
Ask questions (do not act like you know everything) and be enthusiastic
Volunteer for tough, demanding assignments
Be willing and eager to get your hands dirty
Solve problems rather than give reasons why things can't be done
11. A BIG DO NOT!
This is my opinion. Do not e-mail your resume to a blind distribution list of everybody in the world “begging” for a job. It shows a lack of consideration for people’s time, a lack of understanding of the employment process, a certain degree of laziness, and they become instant trash bin messages! It does not show initiative. But DO use your RallyPoint connections—that is one of the reasons we connect. You should also try connecting on LinkedIn <https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffreystrickland>.
Family
Transition
Resume
Jobs
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 3
Thanks for the advice! I have less than two years left in my enlistment contract, and I am considering a wide range of options at the moment.
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When I retired, we, the family started planning 18 months in advance. Additionally, I decided to let the family choose where we retired. I based this on the fact I dragged them all over the globe, it only seemed fair. The only stipulation was we retired in an area where we could take full advantage of the retirement benefits. They chose Colorado, the Aurora area, & we've been happy crew since.
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SGT Alexander Hildenbrandt
My dad lives near there. I took a different direction. My family and I went where the support and opportunity was. I had made plans that extended out about 15 months. Still didnt feel like enough but think it ever will. That jump for me was hard but planning helped. I am on the beach but I miss the mountains. LOL
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