Job Seekers: What are you specifically doing that will lead you to a successful job/career?

I am in the process of leaving and I have used everything and anything to make contacts and to search for work. Here are my tips:

1) Figure out what you want to do post-military. Without this you will have a tough time finding work.

2) work on your resume as far out as possible. Don't call it quits on it once you think it is good, keep working on it. If I was to show you my first draft and my current draft, you would laugh at me. Tailor your resume for the work you want, no generic, one type does all!!

3) LinkedIn is a tool!! Make a full profile and start connecting. once you have made your profile, resume, and figured out what you want to do start connecting with people in the industry. Remember quality over quantity. You don't want 500 connections that do nothing for you. Come up with an introductory statement you can send people to connect. Don't just connect and expect them to talk to you. Give them a reason to talk to you!!

4) Once you connect with others on LinkedIn ask questions. The worst they will do is ignore you. I asked for people to review my resume, help with interview questions, what it was like to work for such and such company, how did they get hired, etc....

5) Develop a good elevator speech. One that sells who you are, what you did, how you can benefit where you want to work. Keep it under a minute.

6) Go to a job fair where ever you live and use this as practice to give your elevator speech. Show interest in the job and try to get an interview so you can practice interviewing (don't feel bad about this as most of the jobs locally are not what you want anyways, if offer is made, decline it. Doesn't affect either one of you).

7) Use agencies like Bradley-Morric, Oracle, The Lucas group. They will assist in the job search process. You don't have to accept, but they do help.

8) there are a lot of agencies that will help vets like Hire A Hero, Hero4Hire, The Commit Foundation, MilitaryMOJO.org, and a plethora of others. I have used several and they are all helpful.

9) My response isn't the be all know all but it is what has worked for me. I have interviews with Ethicon (a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson), Georgia-Pacific, and Perrigo all this week. Waiting on interviews with General Mills and a couple other companies.

Hope this helps for someone!! Don't get frustrated as it is easy to during this process. Take what you have learned in the military by planning and thinking logically and all she be good.

I have applied for positions similar to how I would apply for anything else, researching jobs which relate to what I want to do/have the skill set to do.

I would then fill in all my work experience with the skills and experiences I have picked up through the years. Resumes may need to be tweaked depending on what you want to do. As military members we are experienced in both technical and administrative roles, because of forms documentation, etc. so you are looking for something more administrative, focus on the documentation and database management aspect.

I have signed up for the military/veteran employment agencies with little to no luck, and have had better results just searching through various companies' career pages and applying for jobs which match my skill set.

I started about a month prior to my release in February 2015, and got the position I'm currently working in a week after my EOS.

I made the transition from Active Duty to a Contractor/Reservist a year and a half ago. While my skills impress on paper, I found that the largest obstacle to overcome was the interview. If I could go back, this would be the skill that I would polish. I had a few turn-downs from the interview process, and it was a bit painful to learn. I'm currently looking for another job transition, and I understand the system much better now, but it took practice.

I would also like to say that some AFSCs or MOSs do not translate over to the Civilian job market. So you can do one of two things, cross train into something that you can do as a civilian or use you GI Bill and all education benefits while you serve. That way when you get out you can go into a job you have trained or prepared for.

USAJOBS, keep applying to everything you are qualified for and be willing to relocate for a position.

I had no contacts to get a job. I use online search engines and kept hearing I was too shy for the position. I have finally been given a chance to get real world experience in my chosen field. I think it is more about not giving up.

Try to tie your professional goals with that of the company you apply at. Most locations will have mission statements, charters, and goals.