Hi,
I’m in the middle of working on my transition out of the Coast Guard in the next 6 months and while I’m currently stationed in Juneau AK, I’m looking to start a new career in the state of Georgia in Industries such as Manufacturing, Production, or Utilities.
I’m an Technician of 19 years with 14 of those years being in the Maintenance Supervisor role. I am trying to reach out and connect with professionals in the same career field that I am perusing who are also within the same region that I’m looking to move to come this October.
I’ve learned two things during this last year as I have worked on this transition, which are “I don’t know what I don’t know” (quoting a phrase from Michael Quinn on LinkedIn) and that I need to put my ego aside and learn to ask for help on some things.
So, I’m reaching out to see if there is anyone that can point me in the right direction or to connect with others to talk about these industries and to learn more about the maintenance roles within the different companies.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely
John Shepherd
Answers
Hi John,
Thank you for your service and for posing this important question to ACP AdvisorNet, as you prepare for your impending transition from the military back to civilian life. While I'm confident you will receive some responses/traction from folks located in the Georgia vicinity through this forum who specialize in the manufacturing/production/utilities industries, I'd like to also suggest leveraging AdvisorNet's community feature to pinpoint and privately message professionals you are interested in connecting with.
I like the saying you quoted from Mike Quinn; it's one we hear often. I'd also like to reference another saying, "your network is your networth" - this of course is not only monetarily speaking but also in terms of self-fulfillment, enrichment, sense of purpose, etc. To that end, engaging folks who are firmly rooted in your industry of interest toward the goal of securing informational interviews or just a fruitful dialogue can go a long way.
I've included a few pieces of literature or resources below on informational interviewing that may prove to be helpful as you prep for these conversations:
"Conducting Informational Interviews" from idealist:
http://idealistgradschool.org/conduct-an-informational-interview/
"5 Tips for Non-Awkward Informational Interviews" from themuse:
https://www.themuse.com/advice/5-tips-for-nonawkward-informational-interviews
"Your Ultimate Guide to Informational Interview Etiquette" from LEVO:
https://www.levo.com/posts/your-ultimate-guide-to-informational-interview-etiquette
"Informational Interviewing" from UC Berkeley Career Center:
https://career.berkeley.edu/Info/InfoInterview
I hope these are helpful. Feel free to let me know any questions.
Thanks,
Rob
Robert,
Thank you very much for the response and especially for the list of resources for informational interviews. I want to reach out to professionals in those industries in a non-awkward sort of way and with sincerity. I feel that having a solid plan will be the best way to do just that and so I will add those resources to my reading list.
Thank you
Sincerely
John Shepherd
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