Fouad Malik ⋅ Los Angeles , CA ⋅ 7 years experience

Know what is the kind of work you will like to do when you transition out. Analyze your background, education and experience and determine whether you have skills to do the work you like. Know that sometimes you will have skill to do a job but you do not have qualifications. If those qualifications are standard for the position you are targeting, then you may have to consider working towards getting them while you are active duty.

How do you know what are the requirements? This can be done by searching for targeted jobs on indeed.com. Read many job descriptions and pay close attention to the Qualifications or Requirements (normally towards end of job description). You will know minimum requirements (MUST HAVE's) to enter certain occupation. Sometimes there are several requirements so you may have to satisfy multiple requirements. You may also search Occupational Outlook Handbooks (http://www.bls.gov/ooh/) from U.S Department of Labor and know requirements to enter certain occupation.Then get the required training/ certifications if possible while you are still active duty. You also may want to start working on getting familiar with resume development and interviewing techniques.

Brandon Tull ⋅ Wichita , KS U.S. Air Force, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 10 years served

Awesome, thanks you all for the good information. I will definitely use this information to better prepare myself for the civilian sector and pass the information on to others as well.

Paul Island ⋅ Washington , DC ⋅ 1 years experience

Hi Brandon,
I have to agree with everything that has been posted for you to view. Like you, I am still on active duty, but within 60 days of transitioning. I have been blessed to have found a fortunate 500 company that just hired me and will work with my start date. What I have done to set myself up for my transition, in no particular order was to:
- Start at least a year out. Do lots of research on the field that you are wanting to do...look at their websites to see what they are hiring for etc.
- Make a list of top copies that you are interested in working for.
- Network, network, network.
- If you don't already have one, setup a LinkedIn account (recommend the premium package). For those who think it is not important or it doesn't work, I'm here to tell you that it 100% work! I applied for my job through LinkedIn, emailed hiring managers who in turn gave me a phone interview within days and flew me to their headquarters for final interview, followed by an offer.
- Find a mentor with ACP. I applied for one through here and my mentor made a world of difference because she taught me what Corporate America is looking for, reviewing / interview tips before my interview and much more. It works!!
- Start your resume and have multiple people review it that you trust. Your resume will constantly change with every job you apply for.
- If you don't already have your degree, highly recommend it. I've been on lots of interviews within the past two months and I can tell you they ask.

Hope this helps. Again, this is just the basic things that I did. Let me know if you have any questions.

Paul

Po Wong ⋅ Orlando , FL Johnson & Johnson (retired) ⋅ 40 years experience

Hi Brandon,
Thanks for your service!

There are lots of items an active duty military member can prepare while they still are in active duty status. The followings are just some basic:

* What specific job/career, locations that you decided to pursue?
* Is the future employment trend on your selected field looks good? (ex. Cyber security looks good but HR could be more challenging) If not, may consider another alternative.
* Is your experience and education degree position you well to obtain employment at the level of job you are looking for? (ex. If your career goal is a VP at a Fortune 20 company, then an advance degree is highly recommended)
* Start networking (very important these days)? Join some local professional charter meeting? Attend conference? Linkedin?

It is great that you plan ahead and good luck!

Regards,
Po

Stephanie Arnold ⋅ Lake Odessa , MI Cargill ⋅ 10 years experience

Some actions that could help with the transition include:
- Making sure your resume is up-to-date and military responsibilities have been translated into something civilian employers can understand. Many people on this board are happy to review resumes, and it would be good to get your resume squared away ahead of time so you don’t have to stress about it once you’re out of the military.
- Many cities have professional networking groups that are good to join. Not only might your networking land you a job, it’s a good opportunity to become more comfortable with some of the cultural differences between military and civilian employment. You might also be able to find someone who can serve as a professional mentor to you.
- Subscribe to e-publications or magazines that are relevant to your anticipated profession so you’re knowledgeable about your field when you start interviewing.
- Start reviewing positions well before you retire from the military or transition out (6 months – 1 year ahead of time). See what types of experience and education employers are looking for, then see if there are any gaps in your own experience and education that you can focus on obtaining before you separate from the military. My favorite job search engine is http://www.indeed.com.
- Seek out the career advising center at a local university, or a local chapter of SHRM (http://www.shrm.org/Communities/SHRMChapters/Pages/default.aspx). A *ton* of SHRM chapters will hold mock interview days, and this would be a great opportunity to become more comfortable with the civilian interview process and understand appropriate interview attire, preparation, answers to commonly asked questions, etc.

Those are the items that I can think of off the top of my head. If you need someone to review your resume, feel free to message me! I’m curious what others will suggest, too!

- Stephanie