Tanica Bradt ⋅ Derby, KS U.S. Air Force, Chief Master Sergeant ⋅ 21 years served

WOW! Thank you all for such great tips! I am excited to put your advice to action in the very near future! Thanks again.

martin kelly ⋅ Wilmington, DE ISM Insurance, Inc. ⋅ 30 years experience

Tanica, hi!

Thanks you for you service!!!

Good stuff from Emanuel –I’d add only 2 small items.

1) Your focus in the areas of interviewing and evaluations should put you in good stead. “Bad” hires (technically and more importantly culturally), and lack of consistent evaluations both lead to many HR – Employment Practices - issues/suits!!

2) Consider doing some informational-interviewing. Here, you’re NOT looking for a job, per se, rather asking to speak to an experienced individual in the space you want to work in. People like to talk about themselves; you’ll get good intel; be more informed and look “smarter” at you next interview, and who knows, may even get offered a job!!!

Best of luck,
Martin

Henry ("Dr. Hank") Stevens ⋅ Fort Lauderdale, FL Human Resources Quality Assurance, LLC (Now Retired) ⋅ 50 years experience

I really like all of the suggestions made by E. Carpenter - (Good Job!) I have but one additional suggestion . . . . There are activities that you like to do and others that make you uncomfortable. Simply stated the ones that make you feel good about doing them play to your talents and the ones that make you dislike them play to your limitations. There is nothing wrong with you or those feelings. However, think of them as an opportunity to capitalize on your talents and skirt around your limitations.

OKAY, so just what are your talents? Here is a link to a FREE online assessment tool that will help you better understand your talents - they even have a career segment that identifies positions that play to your talents. IF you get stuck or would like a second opinion, also for FREE, contact me off this channel at hlstevens42@gmail.com and I will share my 2 cents with you. I will need the letter and percentage grade:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/personality

Emanuel Carpenter ⋅ Alpharetta, GA SDR Master Class ⋅ 20 years experience

Hi Tanica - Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. Although I don't hold an HR title, I worked for a software firm that specialized in providing HR benefits like payroll, performance review software, and time sheet software. Here are a few tidbits of advice:

1. Join the Society for Human Resource Management aka SHRM. They are dedicated to all things HR, which includes career advice, live events, and job postings: https://www.shrm.org/

2. Unpack your skillset. Not everything you do today will translate into the civilian world. Find the things that do. A good way to do this is to find job descriptions in your field like Chief People Officer or VP of HR. You can find them on sites like LinkedIn, Glassdoor, and Indeed. Look at the individual skills required to do those jobs and check off the stuff you can do well. Add them to your resume. Also, jot down the skills that come up frequently that you can't do today and find out what training you'll need to obtain those skills. By the way, LinkedIn offers veterans one year of free premium services such as access to training.

3. Sharpen your skills or learn news ones by taking free online courses on sites like edX, LinkedIn Learning, or Udacity. edX is my favorite because they offer college courses you can audit for free. Or if you prefer, you can attend as a student for a small fee and receive a certificate once you're done.

4. Connect with people on LinkedIn who hold the title you want to have. After connecting, let them know you're a veteran looking to transition and find out if you can ask for advice via chat, email, or phone. You'll be surprised how many people are willing to help, especially when it comes to helping veterans.

5. Check out the blogs and job postings on the websites of companies that specialize in providing an HR-related service. Examples would be Culture Amp, Workday, Namely, and ADP.

6. Find a VEP program to attend. It's a one-week training camp for veterans who want to be entrepreneurs. They are free and all expenses are paid including food, travel, and lodging. You'll pick up some great business skills from college professors and career professionals who lecture. I attended one at Oklahoma State University, and it was amazing! I learned a ton.

I hope this was helpful. Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/ercarpenter. I'm connected to a whole bunch of HR professionals.

Best of luck in your transition!