Jerry Welsh ⋅ Middleville, MI Master Military Transition Advisor/HPS GPO ⋅ 30 years experience

Jeus first I would see if there are any local profession associations in organizational psychology or similar you could join and network in. Many associations offer a discounted rate for students and associations are a great way to network. Another resource is Informational Interviews. Google this and be sure to get your introduction and brief request down so that it emphasizes you are a veteran seeking help or assistance on career advice in the XYZ field and would like to speak with Mr or Ms.-if you have a name from research or someone in that department. 1) be sure to emphasize you will only take 10-15 minutes, so keep your questions targeted, 2) do not ask for employment or to send your resume, remember you are seeking information about a career (if they run over the 15 minutes or ask you for your resume wonderful-let it be them) 3) ask pertinent questions about the career, versus the company, also ask why the person chose that field or what they enjoy about the career etc. People love to see people interested in their career, if you are sincerely interested they will be very responsive.
I took a peak at your LinkedIn profile. It needs to refocus on your new career. You are not required to list your entire work life, save that for the application. Your TAG line, the line right after your name is what is searched the most by recruiters, then your summary. Make sure you are using industry language in both your TAG line and your summary, in an accomplishment with #$% will help. Keep in mind, the profile is seared by computer and then a person does a brief scan looking to key ingredients they are looking for-if they do not see it up top and fast, the computer will not catch you or the person will move on to the next one. Do not take this as criticism, if you look at my profile and review down a ways what I did for 30 years, I never receive a connection request or message for the GPO industry-they are all 100% veterans or transitioning service members. Remember that you are part of the 0.5% of Americans who serve their country. You are very well respected, but the chance civilians have been part of the 0.5% simply means they will not understand your language or experiences-without translation. Thank you for your support and sacrifices. God Bless. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-profile-your-chance-discovered-transitioning-jerry-welsh/