What steps would you recommend to the RallyPoint members to build a successful, sustainable professional network?

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 21:47:58 -0400

Response by SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL made Mar 15 at 2017 9:49 PM

SFC Joe S. Davis Jr., MSM, DSL — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 21:49:39 -0400

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR thank you for the well conversed response. Linkin is a excellent source and yes RP leads the way!

Response by Capt Brandon Charters made Mar 15 at 2017 11:08 PM

Capt Brandon Charters — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 23:08:59 -0400

Great question to put out there CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR. Just a few quick thoughts...I would highly suggest connecting with veterans who work in industries (and for employers) you find interesting. Start looking within your past units and find veterans with similar military experiences to you. Expand your search to schools and other technical fields you're familiar with. Lastly, be sure to add value and advice to this network before you start asking for favors.

Response by Sgt Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 15 at 2017 11:47 PM

Sgt Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 15 Mar 2017 23:47:46 -0400

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR A good way to start is to have a good professional profile picture. The next step is to connect with buddies that you served with or have common goals and beliefs. The last step is to mentor, encourage, and otherwise share information with your fellow brothers and sisters. In turn, your fellow brothers and sisters will share their knowledge and everyone benefits. RallyPoint is a professional network that is valuable for veterans and service men and women.

Response by COL Charles Williams made Mar 16 at 2017 12:10 AM

COL Charles Williams — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 00:10:38 -0400

CW3 Dylan E. Raymond, PHR I would say be professional, be courteous, be respectful, and maintain your sense of humor. Also, because we don't agree does not mean one is wrong or bad; these are all just opinions. We are all on the same team here. We all work/worked for the same persons.... Perhaps, ban politics... Finally, I think the points should be stopped... The points make RP more of a game, than a professional forum.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 16 at 2017 1:45 AM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 01:45:20 -0400

Be active in threads relating to your career, professional and personal goals, and other interests.
Share your knowledge and encourage meaningful conversation in those topics/fields.
Create threads where others can share differing opinions that all hold merit.
When job searching, try to encourage conversation with employees (current or former) of organizations you're interested in.
Remember your actions on Rallypoint can compliment or degrade your personal and professional brand and social profile.
Respect and tact. With everything, you can either change, accept, or get away from it.

Response by SGT Aaron Atwood made Mar 16 at 2017 5:36 AM

SGT Aaron Atwood — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 05:36:56 -0400

Connect not just with former colleagues but also any civilian contractors you may have worked with. The latter is the kind I regret not connecting with when I had the chance in my first enlistment.

Response by Lt Col Jim Coe made Mar 16 at 2017 10:42 AM

Lt Col Jim Coe — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 10:42:37 -0400

Here's some ideas on building networks:
-Make decision to build a personal network and follow up
-Make friends naturally and listen purposely to them
-Record information about friends for future use, such as, family info, contact info (your memory will fail someday)
-Join organizations that support your interests and be a participant, not just a name on a list. (Church, AFA, AUSA, Optimist, Grange). Maintain membership as you move around
-keep contacts active over time (birthday cards or posts, holiday wishes, etc)
-Exploit social media to build and maintain network

Response by SPC John Lebiecki made Mar 16 at 2017 12:06 PM

SPC John Lebiecki — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 12:06:44 -0400

Be active in the threads of your interest, knock down the "rank barrier" and ask questions, be willing to connect and ask for advice from everyone in the field you are attempting to get into. They have the upper hand because chances are, they know what the trends look like.

Response by Brian Lyne made Mar 16 at 2017 1:38 PM

Brian Lyne — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 13:38:15 -0400

There's a lot of good insights in this thread. From a civilian view who's worked a great deal with the DOD I would add, "demilitarize" your vocabulary. My first days working on DOD projects I often found myself asking "can I buy a vowel" :), in that environment it was perfectly acceptable and I was frowned on for not knowing/understanding the conversations. Once you separate from the DOD, unless you are pursuing work with government/DOD contractors, most civilians cannot relate to military terms and colloquialisms. In fact many will turn away as they just can't understand what you are saying. Take your resumes and have a friend that wasn't in the military read it, make sure they have a sense of what you did and are trying to convey. Build your profile on LinkedIn and link back to RP. Find your former coworkers and "connect" with folks that have professional looking profiles. As mentioned post a professional picture but in a suit, not uniform. Think outside of the box when writing up your skills. Have your friends endorse you for skills and write you recommendations. Join user community groups both online and in person, many places have "user groups" for various vocations that meet monthly or quarterly. If you cant find something in your area, start one, use meetup dot com or even Facebook to start a local group. Take your leadership skills and use them, employers want self starters, folks that take direction and complete tasks not someone they have to wetnurse. Maintain military bearing but in a civilian way, if you look and act squared away people will notice. Don't be rigid but don't act like you are out for a party. You'll find folks looking to add you to their network instead of hoping they accept your connection.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 17 at 2017 7:41 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 17 Mar 2017 19:41:39 -0400

Depends on your profession. For veterans (IOW, in the civilian world), and specifically in technology, you can meet some smart folks at tech meetups (the online service meetup.com). Also, they frequently have free food, sometimes beer - paid for by recruiting firms looking for developers.