Stephen Grey ⋅ Arlington, MA iland ⋅ 12 years experience

Hi Jesse,

First off, thank you for your service. In regards to your question, I have found that using your network is a very efficient way to get your resume into the hands of the right people. If you have LinkedIn, I would look to see if you are connected with anyone at organizations you might be interested in, or if they are connected to people at the organizations you like. Those people could broker a conversation for you. I would then suggest speaking with multiple recruiters as not all recruiting firms represent the same companies. You will want to vet (no pun intended) these prospective recruiting firms to see which ones fit you best. If you submit online, I would immediately follow up with a phone call to the Hiring Manager as they are the ones determining which resumes make the initial cut. A follow up call is always taken note of. I hope this helps my friend and feel free to reach out with any questions.

Steven Sablan ⋅ Carmel, CA Northrop Grumman ⋅ 23 years experience

Hi Jessie, recently retired Marine here. I found the first two to be effective for me. Just as Sasha advised, I researched and connected with as many recruiters as I could find on LinkedIn for the companies I was applying for. At the end of my transition, I had three job offers - one was the result of cultivating s relationship with a recruiter and one was the result of a referral from a connection. Ironically, I ended up accepting the third job offer. What field(s) are you looking to get into? In which geographical area(s) would you like to work? What’s your timing. I might be able to help you with some specific job openings.

Sasha Dunwody ⋅ Arlington, VA Deloitte ⋅ 10 years experience

Hi Jesse,

Thanks for your interest, but more importantly thanks for your service!

I'm a recruiter and I'm happy to help. I would advise you to apply to all positions online that are of interest and that you're qualified for. You should follow that up by reaching out directly to recruiters and/or hiring managers via LinkedIn who are likely connected to the positions you're interested in - this will take some research on your part but well worth the time and effort.

Many organizations rely on employee referrals for much of their hiring. I would encourage you to network with your contacts (professional and personal) who are currently working at companies you're interested in, and asking them to submit you as an employee referral.

I would also encourage you to keep your LinkedIn profile current, and post your resume to industry-specific job boards.

Additionally, many organizations are now using social media channels to advertise recruiting and networking events - including FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, etc.

I hope this helps, best of luck to you in your search!

Sasha