LET'S TALK THE TRUTH about your future—you're now in charge! Thus far you've had a successful military career. But now you're making a career transition that has major life-changing implications for you and those around you. It's probably unlike any transition you have ever experienced before and unlike any you will ever experience again. With this book you should be able to plan, execute, and manage your transition to the civilian work world.
The purpose of this book is to provide you with the best assistance possible based upon our many combined years of career transition and job search experience. We want to make sure you do this right—clarify your goals, get you moving in the right direction, save you time and effort, minimize your costs, and help you connect with an excellent first post-service job that leads to a new and rewarding career. We've got lots of work to do in the hours, days, and weeks ahead. If you stay with us for the duration of this book, you should acquire several useful tips that will have a significant impact on you and your future worklife.
All of life's transitions should begin with a series of basic soul-searching questions, for, in posing the right questions, you will begin to develop appropriate responses to your career transition situation.
Let's begin by examining your future and your ability to shape it with these orienting questions:
We've got a big, challenging, and exciting task ahead of us. Together we will try to raise the right questions and guide you into answers appropriate to your situation. If you are like many others who have followed the advice of this book, you will discover your career transition work can be both interesting and fun. If done properly, it will make a difference in your life. In fact, it may change your life forever. Along the way, you are likely to renew some old acquaintances and meet lots of new people who will likely have a positive impact on your upcoming life change.
We're delighted to be two of the first new people you're meeting on this road to renewed career success. We're here to help—a good friend and coach if you need one. So let's get started on what should be an exciting journey into a new world of rewarding work.
These and numerous other career transition questions and issues provide the central focus for this book. The reality of military jobs and careers is that they eventually come to an end for everyone involved. And in today's environment, they often come to an end faster than most people ever expected. Someday, everyone in the military must go through the career transition process. Your time happens to be now. So take a positive, proactive approach to finding the "right" job or retirement opportunity that leads to a satisfying post-military life.
Whether you are being pushed or pulled into the civilian job arena doesn't really make much difference. The fact is that you're making a career transition in which your past may provide little guidance on how to best chart your future. How you make that transition has important implications for both your personal and professional lives. Therefore, it's extremely important to focus on how you will manage this transition from the military to the civilian work world. It's the transition process—not different jobs or employers—that should be your central focus. You need a clear sense of where you have been, where you are at present, and where you want to go with the rest of your life. You do this by focusing on your career transition—past, present, and future.
All good things come to an end, and life does indeed go on. If you've really loved the jobs you had in your military career, chances are you will really love your next series of jobs in your civilian career as well. But you'll have to be diligent at finding your right "fit" in the civilian world. It won't happen overnight and there are no magic pills to make what may be a difficult transition quickly go away. You'll need to do some serious thinking and planning, starting with setting goals, assessing your skills, and charting a course of action aimed at finding the right job for you. You may want to involve other people in this process. If you are married, make sure your spouse is involved early on.
Chances are, you are planning to do something rewarding in your next work life. Some transitioning military personnel retire completely; they have the means and motivation to enjoy a leisurely lifestyle. But most military personnel go on to second, third, and fourth careers. Many become employees in large corporations, small businesses, and government. Others decide to start their own businesses immediately upon leaving the military or after a few years of work experience in the civilian business world. For them, the most critical transition is made upon leaving the service for their first post-military civilian job.
If done properly, this transition can lead to a most rewarding career. If done haphazardly, the transition may result in finding the wrong job, leaving within the first year, and wandering on to other inappropriate jobs. Some people become unhappy job-hoppers who communicate the wrong messages to potential employers. Unfortunately, they repeat this pattern of job disappointment and career failure for the rest of their work life. This should not happen to you.
You have excellent skills, experience, and work habits that are readily marketable in the civilian work world. But what you most need to know is how to best present and market your skills and experience in today's difficult job market. You do this by acquiring another set of skills you may or may not at present possess—job search skills. Do you know, for example, how to best write and market a job-winning resume? What networking is, and how to use it in a job search? How to locate the best employers based on your experience and skills? What the best ways are to get job information, advice, and referrals? How you can negotiate a salary 20 percent higher than expected?
You will be able to clearly answer these job search questions once you develop or refine your job search skills. The chapters that follow acquaint you with the most important job search skills for making that all-important career transition.
Perhaps you've never really had to look for a job. When was the last time you assessed your skills, formulated a job objective, conducted occupational research, wrote a resume and job search letters, responded to classified ads, completed online application forms, networked for information, advice, and referrals, or negotiated a salary? These are things you must learn to do effectively if you are to make a satisfying career transition.
Chances are your job search skills are either nonexistent or very rusty. If you've been out of the civilian job market for five or more years, you'll quickly discover today's job market is very different than when you left. The jobs are different, employers are different, skill requirements are more demanding, and salaries and benefits are tougher than ever to negotiate. Good jobs—those that are secure, high paying, and enjoyable—are more difficult than ever to find. Once found, good jobs are more difficult than ever to keep. You may quickly discover the job you land today may disappear within 12 to 24 months. Indeed, recent studies indicate that 40 percent of the working population goes to bed each night worried about whether they will have a job tomorrow! This should not happen to you.
One thing is certain about today's job market—it is uncertain, and highly competitive. It can be ruthless in its treatment of job seekers and employees. Frequent layoffs, firings, and downsizings testify to its insensitive and unforgiving nature. If not approached properly, the job market may result in numerous bumps and bruises for you. You may quickly discover your career success in the military lacks a clear counterpart in the civilian world.
The job market has changed significantly in the past decade. Today, individuals with the right education, skills, and experience are in a better position to find good jobs that should lead to career advancement in the years ahead. In fact, the U.S. Department of Labor's employment statistics to the year 2018 identify the following as the fastest growing occupations (www.bls.gov/emp/ep table 103.htm):
Fastest Growing Occupations, 2008-2018
(Numbers in thousands of jobs)
| Occupation Title |
% Change |
Number of New Jobs |
Wages (May 2008 Median) |
Education/Training Category |
| • Biomedical engineers | 72 | 12 | $77,400 | Bachelor's degree |
| • Network systems & data communications analysts |
53 | 156 | 71,100 | Bachelor's degree |
| • Home health aides | 50 | 461 | 20,460 | Short-term on-the-job training |
| • Personal and home care aides |
46 | 376 | 19,180 | Short-term on-the-job training |
| • Financial examiners | 41 | 11 | 70,930 | Bachelor's degree |
| • Medical scientists, except epidemiologists |
40 | 44 | 72,590 | Doctoral degree |
| • Physician assistants | 39 | 29 | 81,230 | Master's degree |
| • Skin care specialists | 38 | 15 | 28,730 | Postsecondary vocational award |
| • Biochemists and biophysicists | 37 | 9 | 82,840 | Doctoral degree |
| • Athletic trainers | 37 | 6 | 39,640 | Bachelor's degree |
| • Physical therapist aides | 36 | 17 | 23,760 | Short-term on-the-job training |
| • Dental hygienists | 36 | 63 | 66,570 | Associate degree |
| • Veterinary technologists and technicians |
36 | 29 | 28,900 | Associate degree |
| • Dental assistants | 36 | 106 | 32,380 | Moderate-term on-the-job training |
| • Computer software engineers, applications |
34 | 175 | 85,430 | Bachelor's degree |
| • Medical assistants | 34 | 164 | 28,300 | Moderate-term on-the-job training |
| • Physical therapist assistants | 33 | 21 | 46,140 | Associate degree |
| • Veterinarians | 33 | 20 | 79,050 | First professional degree |
| • Self-enrichment education teachers |
32 | 81 | 35,720 | Work experience in a related occupation |
| • Compliance officers, except agriculture, construction, health and safety, and transportation |
31 | 81 | 48,890 | Long-term on-the-job training |
SOURCE: BLS Occupational Employment Statistics and Division of Occupational Outlook
These employment projections confirm what we know is the major trend for the best jobs of the future—they all require greater investments in education and training. For more information on job trends, see the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Outlook Handbook at www.bls.gov/oco.
Underlying these job projections are important changes in the global economy that may have an adverse impact on your employment future. India and China, with a combined population of 2.3 billion and rapidly developing, well educated, skilled, and consumer-oriented middle classes, are transforming the U.S. business and employment scenes. The job you have today may well go to these countries because of the convergence of seven important developments:
As Thomas L. Friedman persuasively argues in The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2005), in the rapidly changing global economy there are no American jobs—only jobs that go to the lowest bidder. By implication, Friedman's new flat (interconnected and complex) world will generate few well-paying jobs. An increasing number of jobs—both low- and high-tech—go to the cheapest and most efficient workers in the world, who are increasingly found in India, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Indonesia, South Africa, Mexico, Costa Rica, and a host of other Third and Fourth World countries rather than in high-cost Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, Detroit, Cincinnati, Washington, DC, Atlanta, or Miami.
If you want a competitive edge in this new global economy, the most important skill you need to acquire is the ability to learn. The best jobs disproportionately favor smart workers who are quick on their feet because they are constantly learning new skills, adapting to changing markets, and producing goods and services both inexpensively and efficiently. In such a world, employers are constantly under pressure to cut production and service costs, which means keeping labor costs low by reducing benefits, controlling salary and wage increases, and cutting legacy (primarily pension) costs. Successful entrepreneurs, especially small business owners, understand how to quickly adapt to and best navigate this global economy to their advantage. Individuals rather than large bureaucratic organizations have a distinct advantage in navigating this fast-changing global economy. In the flat world, the entrepreneur is king.
Where do you start, and what should you do first? The process of making a career transition is not really difficult. Almost anyone can find a job. But finding a good job is hard work. Much of what is involved in finding a job is common sense and follows a rational decision-making model as outlined in Chapter 2. In the military, you are used to setting goals, developing plans, and focusing on accomplishing the mission. Therefore, the job-finding process should make good sense to you. You'll initially recognize the process as nothing more than good planning and implementation meeting common sense. You'll later discover the job search is much more than this, too.
At the same time, you are dealing with a chaotic job market in which information on job vacancies and employers is difficult to access, the rules for finding jobs are inconsistent, and the screening process seems unpredictable and unfair. Rational planning applied to a chaotic environment beyond your control can lead to numerous rejections, disappointments, and frustrations. As you attempt to accomplish a mission in such an uncertain environment, you will discover the wonderful world of serendipity—chance occurrences that may unexpectedly lead to the right job for you. Always keep your mind and eyes open for serendipity. It's what makes chaos tolerable, forgiving, and unexpectedly rewarding.
Our job-finding process in Chapter 2 follows 10 well-defined career planning and job search steps involving investigation, written communication, and employer contact activities. Successful job seekers learn to plan and implement each of these sequential steps. Each step involves important planning, organizational, and communication skills. They require constant practice through daily, routinized job search activities.
Funny things happen on the way to a new job and career. Unemployed people will tell you that looking for a job is no fun. It's difficult on both the ego and the family. Rejections are terrible experiences, especially if you have been used to receiving respect based on your military rank and position and if you have been feeling successful in what you do. Change your job and you'll quickly discover how different life can be. Your support system changes. Rank and position not tied to demonstrated performance don't count for much in the civilian work world. You'll have to quickly establish credibility with strangers, who know little or nothing about your background, talents, and capabilities to perform in their organization.
If you are married, don't forget your spouse on the way to finding the right job. Time and again we've discovered many transitioning military personnel are unrealistic about their future careers. Many have inflated expectations about their value to civilian employers. Because of their success in the military, they believe the job search process will be relatively easy—just develop a sound plan and implement it. But their spouses know better. They understand that this transition will probably not be easy and the end result could be less than satisfactory if not done properly. Sometimes these feelings result in a spouse pressuring their husband or wife to find a job quickly. The results can be disastrous—a bad job fit, an unhappy work situation, frequent job-hopping, and increased family tensions. Nothing fits right!
To avoid this problem, we recommend involving your spouse early in the career transition process. Use each other as a sounding board for exploring career alternatives, examining new ideas, assessing your progress, and keeping your job search focused and realistic. Better still, you may want to conduct two job searches together!
The process of finding a job can be an extremely ego-deflating process. Therefore, it's important that you find supports along the way. As you will see in Chapter 3, each branch of service within the Department of Defense offers a wide range of services to assist you with your career transition. These support services come in the form of job search assistance, career counseling, resume writing, and much, much more. The people who provide these services have one goal in mind—to assist you in making a successful transition. Make sure you take advantage of these excellent support services!
As in most ventures in life, he who perseveres succeeds. So stay positive, involve your spouse early in the job search process, and enjoy the journey.
We wish you well as you embark on what should become an exciting yet challenging process of finding a job and career right for you. The chapters that follow are designed to guide you through the key steps in the career transition process. We include the latest job search strategies and techniques that work for thousands of job seekers. They will work for you if you organize yourself properly and take the time to put them into practice.
To be most successful, you will need to be purposeful, patient, persistent, enthusiastic, and a bit irrational in your approach to the transition process. Approach your career transition as an exciting adventure that will result in a rewarding lifestyle for you and your family.
Please don't confuse job search planning with strategic military planning—a mistake often made by inexperienced job seekers. Such an analogy is inappropriate given the relatively unstructured nature of the civilian job market and the general lack of centralized decision-making points, coherent communication channels, and visible power centers. Planning and organization in a job search does not mean creating a detailed plan, green-print, or road map for taking action. Implementation according to a detailed plan simply doesn't work when dealing with the civilian job market.
The role of planning in your job search should approximate the art of sailing: you know where you want to go and the general direction for getting there. But the specific path, as well as the time for reaching your destination, will be determined by your environment, situation, and skills. Like the sailor dependent upon his or her sailing skills and environmental conditions, you tack back and forth, progressing within what is an acceptable time period for successful completion of the task.
Your plan should not become an end—it should be a flexible means for achieving your stated job and career goals. Planning makes sense, because it requires you to set goals and develop strategies for achieving the goals. Too much planning can blind you to unexpected occurrences and opportunities.
In the end, you'll discover sailing is really what your job search is all about. If you stay with us long enough, you're going to learn to sail very well, perhaps beyond your wildest expectations. You'll learn a great deal about yourself and others in the job market. Best of all, you're going to turn what may initially appear to be a problem into one of the most exciting times of your life.
We wish you smooth sailing as you chart your course for a new and exciting career and/or lifestyle that will help make a positive transition for the rest of your life.
For more assistance in developing your career transition plan, visit www.CorporateGray.com and click the Transition Guide tab.