With the recent force management in the U.S. military, and the prospect of having to leave, I am curious what others have done to seek employment prior to separation. I want to interact with companies now; verses wait until I'm a matter of months from discharge. I guess you could say I want to create an interaction that would inevitably lead to employment. Seek out their desires while potentially getting my foot in the door. Is it taboo to initiate early contact with companies? If not, how should one go about doing this? What office in the company do I engage? Job fairs are the best bet, but not as frequent as I would like for them to be. I also find job fairs lacking my career choice objectives. Just not enough Intelligence job seekers at the ones I've attended. Any insight would be greatly appreciated.
Answers
Glad you asked brother. I retired after 21 years in the Navy. I was a Chief. Everyone knows "Chiefs run the Navy" and sailors know all about "Ask the Chief". Brother- it's all worthless when you get out. A year out is the perfect time to start. Use LinkedIn, and start talking to anyone you know personally who is already "out in the real world". NETWORK. Introduce yourself to people. Take a tour of a company you're interested in if they offer one. Try to meet someone who works where you want to, make them a friend, gain insight. Use this link: http://vets.syr.edu/education/employment-programs/ <---- I would have killed to know about this year out from retiring. If you aren't civilian- certified in your field, get it. Either way, look into Project Management Professional, or at least PgMA (Program Management Associate). I let trying to still give 100% every day at work override any urge I had to "prepare". I figured it couldn't be that bad "out there"- after all, I hadn't heard any horror stories from anyone I knew. Leverage current relationships- do you work with contractors? Why do you think all the DC- based brass steps into a job 22 seconds after retiring? Or for that matter, do you think it's odd that 2 former Master Chief Petty Officers of the Navy were able to form a thriving consultant business? They know EVERYONE. The Admirals, Captains and enlisted folk they worked with are still in, only now they are Program Managers and DIrectors. They the ones who recommend contractors or outright hire them. Call a company, ask for the HR office, and tell them outright "I'd like to get into <this> position at your company, I'm separating (never retiring) from the Air Force in about a year, how can I best prepare myself to help keep <Company X> at the top of the <_______> field?
The worst thing that can happen if you start trying to make contacts inside the places you want to be, is that they say "No." Attend job fairs NOW. Get to know the people who represent the companies at these events. Put the bug in their ear NOW. Make yourself memorable. When you are closer to separating, give them resumes with cover letters explaining exactly when you're going to be available to take them to the next level. I can't tell you how many sailors I worked with or for over the last 10 years who would be in a position to boost me up, but I failed to cultivate really deep relationships with many. Of course, you can't know now who is going to have a thriving business in 5 years, but you can ensure that people consider you a friend, or a superior peer they would hire without a second thought. Now is the time to start hunting that next job or career. Many companies have "military recruiters" you can contact via the careers website the company has.
If you want the TLDR version of the above: Start paving the road ahead right NOW.
Hi Kevin,
Sadly, job fairs are becoming a thing of the past for most positions. As a MSGT you are at the mid-career/executive level and job fairs are not the best place to find those types of positions. Your best bet is to network and to start now! LinkedIn is a great place to start. You can connect with prior service folks and find out where people have landed. Certainly agree with Damin that your alma mater is good if you have a degree. You need to set up an action plan and work it because that year is gonnna fly! Feel free to contact me if you want more info.
youngbloodjenn1@gmail.net.
Best,
Jenn
Kevin,
I went through this exact situation when I was separating. My best advice is job fairs where most of the attendees ARE NOT military. The reason is, you'll stand out more. If you completed your Bachelor's Degree, your school is a great way to do this. Accomplish two things when you attend. 1. Hand out your resume. 2. Get a business card and ask the personn if it's ok to remain in contact with them (explain your situation).
This worked really well for me, when I was transitioning out. Good Luck!
Damin
The most important thing to figure out is what do you want to do?
If you can come up with a list of jobs you feel qualified to do, you can search for those positions.
One caveat- all companies say they want someone who can do a lot of things, but when it comes down to it, they usually have an opening for a specific position, and want someone who can do exactly what the requisition asks.
I'm sure someone with your background in Intel will understand that the same facts presented in different ways can lead to different conclusions- remember that as you draft cover letters and apply to positions.
Make sure your resume tells the story of how your valuable experience translates directly to the position to which you're applying. You'll end up with a folder full of different resumes, but you'll have better results when you submit a tailored one, rather than a generic "Here's what I've done- now you figure out what to do with me" resume.
Thank you so very much for your input. My apologies for not replying sooner as I am currently deployed. Jason, when you mentioned civilian certified, what exactly do you mean? I'm guessing, and I'll research this after the fact, but guessing it's along the same lines as some sort of college level certification course. My biggest concern, as it is with many, is force management of the military. MY HYT is Mar 2015, and considering the outcome of this year's promotions rates I'm going to be scrambling to find work once I return from this deployment. That will give me roughly 8 months to get my ducks in a row.
In any event, thank you again, and I'll be in touch. I need to sift through all of what's been already provided.
Have a wonderful day wherever you are.
Kevin
also see: "Need some advice on how to get to the next step. Numerous jobs apps are in, numerous recruiters for same connected with... Now how to generate more inquiries and most importantly an offer?"
http://www.linkedin.com/groupItem?view=&gid=4466143&item=5803606834841403394&type=member&commentID=5803865352400035840&trk=hb_ntf_COMMENTED_ON_GROUP_DISCUSSION_YOU_COMMENTED_ON#commentID_5803865352400035840
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"Here is one idea to get you started.
I ran a quick brainstorm and came up with 3 words: intelligence professional association
So I plugged these 3 words into Google: https://www.google.com/search?q=intelligence professional association
and this is some of what I found in the first minute or two:
http://www.afcea.org/mission/intel/about.asphttp://www.nmia.org/
a mentoring program:
http://www.lintcenter.org/mentors/MentorMain.htmhttp://lintcenter.org/Mentors/intelligence_related_associations.htm
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What specific sorts of jobs, roles and careers interest you? You mention " Intelligence job". Please elaborate. Please discuss your "first choice" career goals as well as alternate goals.
You may wish to browse job-listings on job aggregation sites such as indeed.
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