1

Build your network throughout your career. You absolutely can do this without "dropping your pack" or neglecting your current responsibilities. Very often this form pf professional development actually makes you better at your current job in the service

2

Prepare 3+ years out by networking, networking, and networking.

3

No matter what they've been led to believe, well paying jobs and perfect employment opportunities are not automatically waiting for the majority of veterans separating or retiring from military service. Most service members will be discouraged by the massive amount of time and energy they'll have to dedicate to their quest for employment, and most will be shocked by the low level jobs they'll be offered as they attempt to enter the civilian workforce.

4

Schedule the start of your transition early, then back up the date another 3 months. start + years early and get all your civilian certifications you need to get a viable long term job/career. Do not rely on your "military soft skills" to start your civilian career. Don't give up!

5

Leaving the military is like dealing with loss. There is a grieving process that some go through. Allow yourself to grieve. But do not grieve for too long. The job market isn't what is was 15, 10 or even 5 years ago. It is truly competitive and can feel quite degrading at times. Don't give up. What is meant for you will come. You may have to take someone you don't want (and might not even like) before your dream job comes along.

6

Plan to start early, then start even earlier. Get certified in your trade, or the trade you want to get into. Yes you will need certificate and or diploma. Network, network network...

7

Translation of your Military experience to the Civilian sector.

8

Be prepared for things to take longer than you expect. Have adequate savings to weather the transition as there will be a 45 day lag between your last active duty check and first retired check. If you don't have a job ready, expect to use savings to pay bills for 3-4 months.

9

Start preparing for separation at least one full year before hand. Get educated on what you want to do post-service while the military foots most of the bill... do that starting the day you leave recruit training. Network with civilians in the sector you want to join! Seek good advice from those that have walked the path you're embarking on. Consider starting your own business. It'll be a LOT more work than a job, but there's nothing like the feeling of freedom you and you family will enjoy... after you've made it a success. Getting there is the hard part.

10

Complete as much off-duty education as possible. Take advantage of certification programs that are available ie PMP.

11

There are a lot more organizations now to help veterans transition now than when I left the service. I only had a Half day seminar mostly about resume writing and that was it. Take advantage of any Veteran help that you can find. Join your local veteran organizations such as VFW or American Legion. The members there can be of invaluable help. On a negative note, do not expect any employer to give more than lip service about being pro veteran supporter. After 20 years of working in the civilian sector my military service played almost no advantage in the view of any of my employers other than as a curiosity. What has always counted has been building a civilian history of hard work, sacrifice to the company and loyalty. Basically you are starting all over again. Get copies of all your service records and keep them in a safe, fire proof location. In regards to translating military skills to civilian skills, in my case most of my skills were classified and won't be unclassified for 50 years so that was useless. There are efforts by organizations and colleges to get around this. Keep copies of any qualification cards you may have gotten signed off. While your skills are still fresh in your mind, take "challenge tests" at colleges to quickly get college credits toward degrees. About job fairs. I quit going to them and consider them a waste of time and money. After a couple years of working these mass events and receiving almost no employment responses yet noticing a large increase in the amount of junk mail I received I started using different middle initials in my name when submitting resumes and filling out employment forms as an experiment. After a while I started receiving junk mail with these different middle initials in the address. I have become convinced that these mass events are nothing more than information mills by employers to gauge the number and quality of the unemployed available and to sell lists of peoples names to various organizations that will pay money for mailings. On being patient, that is nonsense. Be aggressive in pursuing your employment goals. Sitting around waiting for an employer to call you is a joke and a waist of time. Research the companies you want to join and work the heck out of every possible avenue to get that job! Wait for nothing! Don't bother with professional resume writers. There are plenty of excellent programs you can use. My resumes got me in the door constantly and that's all they are supposed to do. After that it is all in your interview skills and your connection with the interviewer.

12

EMPLOYERS ARE LOOKING FOR MILITARY MEN AND WOMEN FOR THE WORKFORCE. REMEMBER TO DO A RESUME' THAT ACCENTUATES YOUR LEADERSHIP SKILLS, ABILITY TO TAKE DIRECTION, AND MOST OF ALL TO ACCOMPLISH GOALS UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE. EMPLOYERS KNOW THEY CAN TRUST EX MILITARY FOLKS TO BE PUNCTUAL, BE THERE WHEN SCHEDULED, AND EXHIBIT A WILLINGNESS TO GO THE EXTRA MILE WHEN OVERTIME IS REQUIRED.

13

Just because you have a particular NEC or MOS, that may not be the job that capitalizes on your abilities. Find out what you truly love to do.

14

The employers I dealt with could care less about your military background. In some cases, once you mentioned you were retired, they would find a way to end the interview. On one occasion I was interviewed by (a retired Air Force E-9) who was a mayor of a small town. He didn't even care about what I had accomplished in the military. I got the job over 11 other applicants only because I agreed to start out at minimum wage. Please don't misunderstand me. I felt that serving in the navy was one of the best things that ever happened to me. I think I did pretty well considering I had broken service and still made Senior Chief.

15

You have to know yourself and know what career field you want to pursue outside military. Once you have this info, start branding yourself, let people know who you are and what skills you bring to the table. Networking is key, online and in person. Establish a strong Linkedin profile and start making connections.

16

Have a plan; know what you want to do when you get out, create your goals as early as possible and then use the military transition process to help you attain those goals.

17

To develop a comprehensive job search strategy that includes a robust tactical toolbox, but does not focus on any one to the exclusion of the others. Some of those tools are: 1) A networking effort that includes friends, family, and former military members along with social media vehicles like LinkedIn and TogetherWeServed; 2) A resume template for military-savvy and private sector employers that can be customized for a specific job; 3) Avoiding the limiting concept of staying or re-locating to a specific location; 4) Develop a realistic understanding of how companies hire; 5) Develop the ability to negotiate a salary based on the market, NOT on some preconceived idea of personal value.

18

If retiring, find out how much the cost of living will be where you intend retire. Ask the question, "Will my retirement payment allow me to reside here with minimal financial risks until I have a full time job with acceptable benefits?" Not retiring, learn and understand the unemployment policies. You will most likely need to use the service soon if a job is not lined up after separation from service. Ensure your resume is filled with keywords both the military and civilian environments understand. Employers want more than just single page resumes. Get a LinkedIn account, populate it, ask for recommendations and endorsements. Submit atleast three resumes a week and don't choose the first job opportunity unless it is exactly what you wanted. Better opportunities could be right around the corner. Best chances of getting hired is in the first quarter of the year! Most importantly, Pray to God to guide your path. All these things will workout for you! :)

19

Your home-of-record move is one of your most important assets. Don't squander it. Make sure you are moving to an area with an economy that can support not just your next job, but the one after that. Even if you are planning on going to school (that plan doesn't always work out), make sure that the area can support your post-college career goals. After all, employers like to hire from their local colleges. Location, location, location!

20

#1 Priority - VA Disability Rating (Seek help from DAV, VFW, AMVETs etc. #2 Resume Skills

21

Do not wait until the last minute, and I mean "the last minute". I work with service men and women in transition, and I see on a daily basis how they wait until they are 3 to 4 weeks out before really looking at their options. At a minimum, given the ideal situation, all should start planning and developing their exit strategy 2 years out.

22

Plan, plan, plan. Get out and start attending job fairs and networking. Attend FFSC Employment Classes (Career Planning, Job Search Strategies, Effective Resume Writing, Interview Techniques and Federal Employment). Make sure everything medical is documented and start on VA Claim. Federal Eployment is plan B. Learn to target resumes.

23

The civilian market place is not better than the military - it's just different. In the military we developed plans to deal with turnover - material history, other crew/shift/etc. logs. We were always told the civilians have the 30 year guys who are there and understand it all. Not true - and not planned for. We are better equipped than a lot of our civilian counterparts to deal with turnover. Make sure you're not deferring to the "experts" on how to deal with turnover.

24

Search & Consider All options to make use of your government service time already spent, ensuring future success. Life time endeavor - build on skills of interest to fit alternate career paths with retirement (pension) benefits couple with professional -personal development.

25

Planning for the transition is essential. Laying the groundwork to change locations and especially industries can take years to accomplish. The sooner you start planning for a successful transition the better. It is never too early! You should always be planning to get out. You never know what could happen, a personal or family illness or injury, forced separation, force reduction, ect.

26

Start early

27

Ask questions. People assumed that I knew a lot of things and had expectations.

28

Start transition planning early by doing parallel career development.

29

Find a mentor

30

Plan ahead to be unemployed for 6 months while searching for your next career opportunity. Don't expect to walk into a job making what you did when in uniform.

31

Be willing to change and understand your link in the chain of command will likely go down. Be willing to prove yourself and demonstrate your skills, not everyone understands where you have been, nor do they need to. Be patient.

32

Save more money than they tell you to save because the job market is not as friendly as people say.

33

Listen to your family and be aware of trends in your industry

34

Positive mental attitude. Sell your strengths not only your accomplishments in your resume and interview(s). Be ready to provide at least two areas of improvement that you have set as a goal. Sell military experience as if you were talking to someone who knows nothing about the military. Clean up your internet footprint (e.g. Social media accounts)

35

With over 20+ years of military experience, continue networking with private companies and civil service employees who believed in your knowledge and experience and they will be the one that will call you for a job offer. I was already offered a job even before my retirement and I have to ask them that I need a break first before I start my Federal job.

36

Lower your expectation of focus from peers. Most civilian sector is not driven the same as military

37

Practice interviewing

38

1) Education - Foreman and group leader positions are looking for those with a four year degree or more. 2) VA - File disability claims within a 12 month window. Once service connected, those items are treated free of charge through VA Medical Centers. 3) County Veteran Service Offices - inquire in your local community where all your VA resources are located, to include your county. Vet Center, VAMC, VARO, banks that participate in VA Home Loan program, check with State Veteran Services to see programs your state offers etc

39

Civilian employers don't see our experience as a Leader/Manager equal to what they expect out of a college grad.

40

Have a clear understanding of what you would like to do as a career when you separate/retire from the military. Determine what skills and/or certifications are the industry standard and start working on them - the minimum goal being able to explain to a potential employer when you expect to complete the designation/degree.

41

Either get your degree or take the best job offered. Don't waste valuable time looking for the perfect job at the perfect place. Work like you were still on active duty all the time.

42

Realizing and accepting that things and people are going to be different, and that you generally aren't going to step out into a job with similar responsibilities. The work ethic varies widely which can make it easier to promote once you get established. And as a manger, you don't have the same "tools" available to get people doing the right thing. For me, this was the hardest thing to accept. "It's not my job" is a hard, cold reality in trying to get things moving forward as opposed to the military mindset of finding a way to make it happen.

43

Have your resume civilian ready. Make sure you have your resume proof read by someone who is fluent in military and civilian lingo. Take the advise of others who have transitioned from your branch and specialty. Do not expect top dollar for your years served. You will get what you deserve in time. Prove yourself. Know the company you are interviewing with. Do your homework.

44

My Family and I were much happier while I was in the military. As you transition you must network non stop to be able get employment. Also compared to what I was doing in the military my new job seems USELESS.

45

Start early.

46

1) Know yourself, know your skills, know what area of profession you want to enter. 2) Do not get caught up on whether you were enlisted or officer, focus on your hard and soft skills and promote them. Anyone can enter just about any profession, regardless of whether you were enlisted or officer. 3) Know what you want to do. Do you want to be a wrench-turner or do you want to get into management? Do like to work in various areas (outdoors, different buildings, etc) or do you prefer to go to one office day in and day out.

47

Get degrees and certifications. Have a civilianized resume. Build a professional wardrobe.

48

To plan as much as possible, realize that there will be setbacks so have a Plan B and C. Network and start taking the additional classes besides TGPS like Career Planning, Job Search Strategies, Effective Resume Writing, Interview Techniques and Federal Employment System. Take time to know who you are outside of the military and embrace your new identity. Keep your spouse and children involved in the process. Attend Employer Panels and Job Fairs early to network. Trust your instincts and rely on you. If you need more help sit down with FFSC one on one. Conduct Informational Interviews.

49

Get your college degree