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Any thoughts on doing a military transition podcast?  I've been a listener for years and not only have your thoughts and ideas helped make me a successfull Chief Petty Officer in the Navy, they are helping set me up for success in the civilian world.

That being said- there are some unique challenges to getting out of the military after 20 years.  I am also learning that there is a a real effort on the part of civilian organizations to advertise for veterans, but most of my peers aren't "out there" early enough to build a good network.

Other issues could incude:

Military careers mean lots of job responsibilites for short periods of time. This makes resume's good in breadth, but lack in depth of experiences.

Those who try to transition from remote bases also face unique hurdles.

Is it OK to bring up the fact that as a retiree I don't need health isurance?

Not everyone that went to Afghanistan has PTSD.

I think a podcast on this could not only help veterans, but could also help to pull the curtain back to help civilians understand our situation.

BTW- I'm getting out next Spring but am blogging about my last year in the Navy and the transition process.  http://veterantransitiondiary.wordpress.com/

Thanks,

Bob

mike_bruns_99's picture
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Bob, thank you for your service!   Great Blog also.

From the civilian side, guidance on managing a former service member would be helpful. I feel that military service can be a big plus in a candidate. But you are correct, there can be some transitional issues.

That being said, there are some community, education, and industry partnerships that can help. In my area, I'm part of an organization that tries to place vets in advanced-manufacturing positions, giving them the training to adjust:and succeed:

http://www.wcpo.com/dpp/money/business_news/actor-gary-sinise-honors-veterans-at-graduation-ceremony
http://www.getskillstowork.org/

We give mock and real interviews,  plant tours, and resume advice. Although the resume advice always starts with a pointer to the MT resume guide.

I'd encourage all vets to reach-out to resources in their area. And network, network, and network.

jrumple's picture
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Bob,

That's a good question. It would be great to get some insight from the team in either Manager Tools or Career Tools on working with veterans transitioning out of the military.

You've got some great ideas on the topics that are in the forefront of the minds of military personnel about to make the huge transition to a civilian job. I don't have a lot of answers. Let me toss my two cents in on a couple of the topics.

Networks come from lots of places. This MT community is a great place to reach out to find contacts. There are some older episodes about how to build a network. The biggest thing I got from it is be indiscriminate about adding people to your network. Everyeone can help out some time in some way. The blog (while I'll admit to not visiting yet) is another great idea for drawing a community together of similar interests to you. They can be part of your network.

Frequent military transitions are expected from service members making the transition to civilian life. I don't think that is an issue. Use the resume guidance available in many episodes of Career Tools. The cleverly titled "Your Resume Stinks" episode is the best starting point. (I've had some intersting reactions when I recommend this to people who haven't listened to Manager Tools before.) The other episode that I really like for resumes is "Accomplishments - Connecting Resumes to Interviews." It is a great way for military members to focus on skills that translate in the civilian world as opposed to jobs or tasks that don't translate as well. (I use this one to help my team and peers prepare their inputs to their annual performance reviews.)

I also see the frequent military transitions as an advantage that veterans bring to their civilian career. You've gotten a lot more practice at succession planning than your coutnerparts on the civilan side. With each assignment, you know that it will end and you start planning for how to transition out on the day you transition in. Succession Planning, continuity binders, and documenting procedures and knowledge are all things that corporations struggle with. These are things that frequent military transitions have taught service members how to do effectively. (Some of that is learned the hard way.)

As Mark and Mike have frequently said, "There's a 'cast for that." Keep digging into the archives of old episodes. The Members Only feeds allow you to quickly download the entire archive. I set up a Smart Playlist in iTunes for unplayed Manager Tools episodes. It is limited to 500 MB based on least recently added. I sync it with my iPod and it allows me to work through the archive in small chunks. After listening to a few episodes, I plug it back into my computer to recharge the battery. iTunes automatically removes the episodes I've listened to and replaces them with the next few that I haven't listened to. This keeps a continuous rotation of fresh episodes on my iPod without having to sync the entire archive.

I wish you the best luck in the transition and luck to other service members reviewing this thread as well. I was extremely lucky when after eight years in the Air Force I decided to hang up the uniform. My current employer was working on a contract to upgrade the system that I'd been using for those eight years. I enjoy knowing that now I get to serve those who serve.

Thank you for your service.

Jack
Alabama
7-1-1-7

hmcwheeler's picture

Thanks for the feedback, Jack.

Probably the best thing that ever happened to me in my career was to have the radio die in my Jeep Wrangler back in 22005 or so.  That's when I started listening to podcasts on the commute to work, MT being one of them.  The resume casts have been a terrific, I agree.  Any idea if they are still accepting "samples".  Maybe I should send mine in and get their take on it.  It was tough to distill 20 years into one page when many job titles were for only one to three years and jump around in roles and responsibilities.  I ended up listing accomplishments for the last thee jobs (9 years) and then just listed title/job description/location for the remaining 11 years.

The one thing I have learned from them over the years is networking.  Although it's always a work in progress, I think it's a strong suit for me.  My current job as an Officer Recruiter has helped out in that department, quite a bit.

Bob

svibanez's picture

with your comment about career military folks having more experience at succession planning than our civilian counterparts.  It really opened my eyes to an aspect of military service that I never even thought about.  We were always taught to train our relief, which is succession planning in its purest form.  I never thought of it as a skill - it was just what we did.

I hope we can help transitioning veterans realize that many of their military skills translate pretty well to "real world" skills so they can present themselves in a way that allows prospective employers see what they really bring to the table.

Steve

DiSC 7114

jrumple's picture
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Bob,

The resume reviews discussed in the early podcast episodes has been transformed into the Resume Review Service available here: http://manager-tools.com/resume-review.

I got it a few years ago. It was great help. I thought I had a pretty good resume having followed the guidance in the podcasts. Wendii was able to help me update my bullets and responsibility descriptions. These were specific to my career history which wouldn't come out in an episode.

There is also the Resume Workbook. You can find details about it at this page: http://manager-tools.com/resume-workbook.

If a couple hundred bucks in the Interviewing Series, Resume Workbook, and a Resume Review get you a job you enjoy with a company you respect, I say it is worth it. Skip a few movie tickets and some meals out and it is paid for.

Jack
Alabama
7-1-1-7

wendii's picture
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We no longer offer the Resume Review service.

Wendii