What is the best thing you did while transitioning from the military?

I went back to college!

When I got out I broke up with my girlfriend or she broke up with me. Anyway it was mutual. I met my new girlfriend and have been married to her for 50 years.

Joined the reserves, WITHOUT a break in service. Flying two weekends a month get the money coming in while I was establishing a new career

Well the best thing I did while transitioning was delivering my 2nd daughter into the world. She was literally due 2 weeks before my EAS.

Checking in with the local veterans office when I settled in to my new town. It put my name on a jobs list which landed me a contract position which became a federal position. Still here 10 years later. But I was a young airman, everyone's situations are different.
Still took nearly 4.5 months to get the job (the longest I have been out of work since 12 yrs old, whew that was tough) but that gave me time to recuperate as I was in pretty poor health, and to do some volunteer work.

Plan early as possible. I decided where I was going, checked out the job market and sent out resumes. The day after I got home I had an interview lined up and 21 years later I am still with the company. I paid off all of my debt before I got out so I had less financial burden to worry about. I also had six months living expenses saved up in case it took me a little longer to get a good job.

Know that your first job out of the military will most likely be a transitional job and not the one that you hold for years. It may not even be in your chosen career field or industry. However, the bills still have to be paid, and it's easier to get a job when you have one, plus you won't come across as being desperate when you interview, strengthening your salary negotiation position.

Registered with my college placement office after 14 yr absence and located a position in the semiconductor business that kept me running constantly to keep up with younger peers whom I outlasted.

(1) Getting a Federal GS-series civilian law enforcement job with DHS (CBP) about a month after separating (I'd started the application process 6 months earlier) in Nov 2006.
(2) My $50K (after taxes) Voluntary Separation Pay (VSP) Separation package under Force Shaping.

Gathered all my training certificates, college transcripts, copied my medical folder then took two weeks off. Took advantage of the unemployment that had piled up while I looked for the right job.

Sorry had already responded

I went to the Wharton School and got an MBA. It was the perfect 2 year transition from active duty USAF to Banking. I also stayed in the Reserve, which did my heart a lot of good over the years as I found Banking to not be as trustworthy as my old USAF associations. I developed a plan while active duty to maximize my education and determine what civilian job fit best with my USAF experience. As a contracting officer, I was already and Air Force "businessman" doing deals so Wall Street and deals seemed a fairly natural transition. I made sure I spoke with people with whom I had some trust that had already made the transition. Several of my best networking groups were the West Point Society of New York and the Naval Academy Alumni Association of NY. These "older schools" had a fair amount of people on Wall Street and helped me more than my Wharton contacts/alumni did.

I put my paperwork in a full year ahead of time. This gave me time to adjust my mindset and explore my options.

I thought about what i wanted to do after i separated; then started the personal preparation necessary to get that job. For example, I spent my last two years getting a master's degree; I took the time to write a solid resume. I started looking around and found the job i wanted, so when I separated on Friday, I walked into that job the following Monday.

Tied in with the Army Corporate Partners program and took the Boots to Business course to prepare for out of service work.

TSgt Alex Benningfield I had a good plan in place. I went to school full time and worked full time. Being busy helped me focus on my goals and objectives.