How can veterans transition to civilian careers? 15 tips

By Nicholas Head

After serving your country, a few tips can make transitioning to civilian careers easier.  Here’s fifteen.

1. Being in transition usually means that getting to the other shore involves some choppy water.  Up’s and down’s are typical.  It’s how it is.
    
2. Get a good planner.  (I like plannerpads.com).  Fill each week with activities, and follow your plan.   Keep a dated notebook to log EVERYTHING relevant to your job hunt or career exploration.
    
3. Get busy every day.  Volunteering gets you busy and being seen doing good is a great introduction.
    
4. Find an “accountability buddy” — someone who’ll support your efforts and challenge you when you slack up
    
5. Ask for help.  Everyone needs help to be a success.  Don’t like asking for help? Get over it.
    
6. Don’t let emotional baggage color your job hunt or derail your interview.   If this is you, lighten your load.
    
7. Lots of people would like to support your success.  Other veterans, family, old friends, neighbors, church members, and sports teams.  Make it easy to find you.  Get their business cards.  Follow-up.
    
8. Dress, most of the time, like you would for an interview.  Get and use feedback from anybody with credibility.
    
9. Have a basic business card so others can get back to you. (Free, or almost, from Vistaprint.com)  Put your name, phone, address and email address on it.  On Facebook or LinkedIn?  Put that on your card too.
    
10. Inexpensive on-line assessments can help you clarify your strengths (StrengthsFinder 2.0) motivations (Values in Action Survey), temperament (Keirsey Temperament Sorter) and fields of interest (SelfDirectedSearch.com)   Highlight what most rings true for you.
     
11. Visit the Department of Labor’s one-stop, veterans-employment website (http://www.fedshirevets.gov/)
     
12. Use job boards. Author Richard Bolles has a site (http://www.jobhuntersbible.com).  Resumes, networking,  job hunting and career exploration.  Much more.
     
13. Explore “Job-Hunt” (http://www.job-hunt.org/); specific help for veterans at http://www.job-hunt.org/veterans-job-search/veterans-job-search.shtml  
     
14. Research the job market, at the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov/). The Occupational Outlook Handbook provides information on common jobs, duties, pay, trends and training needed.
     
15. Persist.  They used to say the job hunt is a hundred no’s before a yes.  In a tough economy it can take more.  It’s a march, a marathon, not a sprint.   It’s worth it.  

Get connected.  The world needs what you have to offer.  Here’s wishing you all success going forward. 

Via http://task.fm/2011/11/how-can-veterans-transition-to-civilian-careers/