Steven Mathews ⋅ Spring, TX The Boeing Company ⋅ 40 years experience

All the previous comments are great sources of information as to WHERE to go to locate a position. Jerry Walsh provided a good suggestion to create a basic resume that can be tailored to a specific position. I can show you HOW to do that. I can also show you a proven format that will place your resume in the Top 1%. Free. slmathews99@gmail.com

Jeremy Hawks ⋅ Cabin John, MD Booz Allen Hamilton ⋅ 1 years experience

Mark,
At my 12 month mark, I attended TGPS (eTAP), revamped my LinkedIn page, built my first resume, signed up for a mentor from ACP, and joined MOAA. For the next six months, network (all the time, every day), explore jobs available in your desired area, have your resume and LinkedIn page reviewed and critiqued by anyone NOT IN THE MILITARY (especially Pat Cole at MOAA) numerous times, and attend officer-oriented job fairs and events. As you get close to 6 months from pivoting from uniform (not really retiring, are you?), look into getting a corporate fellowship such as Hiring Our Heroes by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. You still get paid by the Navy but you work at/for a company.

This was my path and I'm ready for my official end date of 1 Oct 19.

Dennis Waters ⋅ Gaithersburg, MD U.S. Army, Specialist ⋅ 4 years served

First of all, allow me to say, thank you Commander Marc for your service and serving.

Next, I hesitate to write or contribute to these forums as they are new to me as a way of communicating this type of information because I am accustomed to the face-to-face environment.

With that being said, allow me to simply say that the first set of questions I would encourage you to consider before you job search are the questions of identity, which are questions of who are you, such as questions of beingness, values, beliefs, and also questions of purpose, including those of why are you, reasons for existence. While it is an older book, it is still one of the best, and I am sure you are familiar with it, the book by Covey, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" is a classic in this arena. It also has exercises for this type of thing. If you have done these before, then do them again, and do them differently and with new answers.

An even better process would be to get a set of psychometric tests to be done, by a qualified administrator of the tests, such as a coach, who moves you through a 360 degree process and speaks to you about your strengths in a way that resonates with you.

Finally the real question, as far as you may want to be concerned with, if you allow yourself, especially at this point in you life, is not what you have done, is what could you do with your life. If you could choose your own life as a project to manage, as your own facility to manage, as your own assignment or ship, or by what ever name, what would you like as its mission or purpose, or vision, mission?

At present, I am a Ph.D candidate in Walden University. My field of interest is industrial/organizational psychology. I have served as a minister for over 40 years. I particularly like the theories of transformative learning, the hero's journey and what is today called positive psychology. The theories I have referenced here are those of self-awareness, and emotional intelligence, which I am sure you have had to demonstrate and utilize as a commander. You and the military members of the U. S Military are some of the finest examples of what the world sees as heroes, this is what it is believed will continue to be exhibited whether you will be in uniform or out. Again, blessings to you and thank you again for serving.

Mo Singh ⋅ Tracy, CA ⋅ 10 years experience

Marc,

You have facility management experience. Look into companies like SP +, IMPark, Townepark. These companies all manage facilities across the country. If you need any help connecting with anyone, let me know. Hope this helps.

Bruce Marks ⋅ Lewes, DE Center for Creative Leadership ⋅ 33 years experience

Hi Marc,

Do you have your PMP certification for Project Management? If not, many courses are offered for that purpose. I work with the American Management Association and we'd be happy to provide you free enrollment in one of our classes. Feel free to reach out to me at, bmarks@amanet.org.

Bruce

Lex Levin ⋅ Northborough, MA Lex Levin, LLC ⋅ 13 years experience

Marc, happy to review your resume and offer advice. I'm a full-time professional resume writer specializing in working with transitioning Service Members and Veterans. You can send me your resume here: https://lexlevinllc.com/contact/

Daniel Morden ⋅ Cambridge, MA U.S. Navy, Lieutenant ⋅ 7 years served

Hi Marc,

Start with asking yourself the questions:

1. "What do I want to do? (be as specific as possible, industry/location/etc)"
2. "Where do I want to go in my career (be as specific as possible, industry/location/etc)?"
3. "What type of organization do I want to be a part of?"
4. "What were things I liked about active service and what did I not like?"

Cheers,
Dan

Michael Harrington ⋅ Beverly, MA The Entrepreneur's Source ⋅ 17 years experience

Hi Marc -

I'm a coach who specializes in working with people who may be open to business ownership as a new career option. My company provides no-cost education, coaching, and access to hundreds of different opportunities. If that's an area of curiosity, I'd be happy to connect and help you in any way that I can. Thanks! Mike Harrington

Al Antelman ⋅ Ventura, CA Albert Antelman Architect ⋅ 40 years experience

Suggest you join IFMA. They can provide you with training, certification, and networking opportunities. SAME is another organization that can provide networking opportunities. Good luck.

FRANCIS TEPEDINO, ESQ. ⋅ San Diego, CA THE CONDOR GROUP ⋅ 30 years experience

You did not mention your education. Major issue!

You seem to have a wide and varied background.

What do you want to do? Where do you want to work? Large companies, small companies, public sector, defense contractor? East Coast West Coast, Middle America?

Sit back and try to focus before asking for mentor help otherwise you might be led on the wrong track.

Kevin Hicks ⋅ Freehold, NY U.S. Army ⋅ 29 years experience

Welcome to retired life! Take full advantage of the Navy’s transition programs. The Army established the Soldier For Life program, which helps educate Soldiers about transition. The Navy as a similar program. All services usually welcome servicemembers from the sister services on a space available basis: I took many classes at Henderson Hall offered by the Marines. Many of those courses (above and beyond the “required” week w/ the VA) offer advice about networking, specifying your resume for specific job requirements, how to apply for federal jobs and how to leverage all of your military education and experience into civilian opportunities. Good luck!

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

Marc,
Your beginning early enough! Next is what do you want to do? In your short introduction you listed:project manager, program manager, director, and department head in the facility management, operations, construction and acquisition fields. Within the next year you will need to narrow that down, i.e. project management in construction is a pretty wide career, but all of the others are full fledged careers/positions on their own. When you list your TAG line when you are ready to hit the job market, it needs to be PE specializing in operations management at budgets exceeding $x,xxx,xxx,xxx.00 Something that catches and or matches what companies are hiring. If you list everything, your search will be cast aside, as it is too broad. Personal networking that big TAG line may work, but LinkedIn is not personal networking it is IT mass networking. Please take a peak at my profile. If you Google Jerry Welsh veteran, I show up #1. You will need to scroll to the second page in my profile to find what I did for 31 years. I should not have my profile set up that way, but I use it to show how the system works-I receive an average of 150 reviews a week, none for the GPO industry.
You have the PE, with a lot of experience. Look at what you really liked doing, what was the station and position you enjoyed the most-why not see if that is a viable career for the rest of your life! If it is, then start creating your profile around that career, study position openings on Indeed, learn the civilian language, and make sure you list some value-keep in mind dates are irrelevant if you improved a process or saved money with people-that is a timeless skill as long as you have a situation and a result with #$%. Your resume should be tailored to the position, build a master resume you will pull a tailored resume from, do not have "a" resume. Use "A" great LI profile to obtain requests, then build the resume to match the position, and if you get the interview-match your interview to the division-research the hec out of the company or people you work with and be up front about how you are a value and will be quick out of the gate.
Too many career military want to show all of the things you are capable of doing, if the company sees no value in some of that why tell them-you lost them when you moved away from the value you bring to the position they are hiring for. Sounds cruel, but how does a retired old duffer like me, make #1 in a Google search-I limit my value/position description. ACP has great mentors-get hooked up. Also HireHeroesUSA.org is great at resume and interview help. Thanks for your service and God Bless.

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

Where to begin, you ask. Well, the too short answer is with the basics; i.e., what are you good at? What do you like doing? And, most importantly, just what are your TALENTS?

Fundamentally, people will do what you want them to do when what they do is what they want to do. What do YOU want to do? Point being, step back and plot a course consistent with your TALENTS. Here's a free resource to get you started: http://www.humanmetrics.com/hr/jtypesresult.aspx

Now, speaking to your facility management experience . . . . make an appointment for an informational interview with your local hospital's Chief Engineer / Facility Manager. Make friends. Pick brains. Identify and socialize with the professional association of facility managers. Expose yourself to others in the filed. Get known. Your civilian job will come from who you know.

If you need help in its interpretation, feel free to contact me off channel at hlstevens42@gmail.com

Terry Boyd ⋅ Springfield, VA Deloitte ⋅ 9 years experience

Hi Marc

Good news - you are starting early.

ACP is an extremely valuable resource and I would recommend you consider it as you begin your transition process. They can assign you a mentor that can give you ideas as you walk through the process. I think you will find this well worth your time

Another recommendation is to take stock of your personal network and begin to reach out to those you know who have transitioned themselves. I am sure you have a deep network and a tremendous number of resources right at your fingertips- they would be happy to give you advice and recommendations.

A key part of your transition will be determining what you want to do. You have many options based on your experience and you have options that would include government positions, government focused industry positions (e.g contrators), or commercial positions. You may also have a desire to do something completely different. Find a local group that is active in that area and start building connections and relationships. One recommendation might be Corporate Gray.

A final recommendation is to venture out and experience the military friendly job fairs in the Northern Virginia area. There are plenty - Corporate Gray is a good place to start. MOJO is another. When I transitioned out of the Army 9 years ago, I went to a job fair about 8 months before my retirement. I knew I was not in the window for jobs, but wanted to gain an understanding of the process and experience. I asked questions of the recruiters about the process and I learned a ton through that experience that helped me refine my job search and understand the skills and experiences that were attractive to employers.

Andrea Gnilka ⋅ Springfield, VA Deloitte ⋅ 5 years experience

Hi Marc,

Absolutely! I am in Federal consulting with Deloitte, and we have several opportunities in the NOVA area. Let me know if you'd like to know more!

Best,

Andrea

Chris Barrett ⋅ New York, NY American Corporate Partners (ACP) ⋅ 1 years experience

Hi Marc,

There is a great way to network on this site by using the 'Community' tab. On that page you can search by area code while also filtering for job field and experience level. The search will bring up advisors in that area and you will be able to reach out to them directly. Please let me know if you have any questions regarding that page and I'll be happy to answer them or walk you through any functionality.

Best,
Chris