By Daniel Collins

Like many of us, we needed to find our way in life and the Military was as good a place as any to grow up. You gained some skills in the military, but are they transferable to the civilian sector? If they are and you like what you are doing, you can pretty much bypass this phase.  

Education. Most occupations in the civilian sector, have respected credentials that will increase your opportunities to interview. Going to college at night is a good way of finding yourself. Completing a 4-year degree will enhance your transition options greatly. Use tuition assistance while you are on active duty and save your GI Bill for after you get out. Additionally, there are numerous certifications that do not require a 4-Year degree. 

Skills Assessments and Aptitude Tests. There are many military career fields, like infantry, artillery, tanks, ordinance, and the likes, where there will be no choice but to choose a completely new career field. If you don’t know where to start, there are assessments, like www.oplign.com that can provide some insights. While the results may not be perfect, you have to start somewhere.  

Network early and often. The easiest connections to make will be with family and friends but that will only take you so far. The next thing you can do is remember and reconnect with people you served with at prior duty stations and people who you may have went to school with. Connecting with Military Transition Mentors/Advocates is another technique that will help you expand your reach. The Veteran community on LinkedIn is very strong. The earlier you can connect with these people, the more likely you will have the momentum you need the nearer you get to your end of service date.

LinkedIn™. The most efficient way to network for employment is by creating a LinkedIn account. Take advantage of the free LinkedIn Premium account offered to military personnel in transition. You can go here if you need more information on enhancing your LinkedIn profile.

Furthermore, for those looking to brush up their LinkedIn accounts, Miltrac is offering a free PDF copy of our book to those subscribing to our mailing list. You can find more information here.

Informational Interviews. Once you get an idea of a profession you would like to pursue, you should talk to a couple of people in that profession to see if what they do on a daily/weekly/monthly basis is in line with what you would like for your next career. To find someone appropriate to talk to, you can use a mentoring service like the one provided at www.veterati.com. Here, there are numerous individuals, in a variety of career fields, willing to talk to you about any aspect of their civilian career. Business owners, franchise owners, company presidents, chief executive officers, a variety of career professionals and even various project managers like myself, who have said, by joining www.veterati.com, they are willing to speak to you. The informational interview is a safe way to get information about a career and determine whether you like what they are saying and can see yourself doing what they do. I recommend doing 2-3 mock interviews per career field because everyone’s experience in their career field of choice is different. 

Networking Events. There are two types of networking events, on-line and in-person. When I started, there were only in-person networking events. Being an introvert, I found them hard to go up to some random person and introduce myself and start a conversation. Then, the pandemic happened and everything went virtual through the use of Zoom Meetings. Www.vets2industry.org hosts a virtual networking event once a month. I now recommend doing an on-line networking event first, before you go to an in-person event. The Zoom software has a breakout room feature and the VETS2INDUSTRY staff ensures they place a facilitator in each breakout room that will place you at ease and encourage everyone to speak. Go here for more on how to rock the VETS2INDUSTRY Virtual Networking Circuit. Once you have attended a couple of the on-line networking events, then, you will be more comfortable attending an in-person event. See if any of your online connections will be going and make effort to meet them there. This will make you more comfortable and relaxed to meet new people. 

The earlier you can complete the “soul searching” phase of your transition the better. The next transition phase, when done properly, can take a full six months to complete. 

(Editor’s note:  Daniel Collins has been writing about transition topics for several years.  At MilTRAC, we consider him the “go to” expert on the strategies veterans and their families should embrace when acknowledging their future exodus from military service.  For the next part of this four-part series, please go to this link.)