Ray Martinelli ⋅ Flanders, NJ U.S. Marine Corps, Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Sergeant Shulman,

You are right on target on the timing to network and develop a resume. It will take some time and efforts. Just about everyone transitioning from Military to Civilian life goes through that same terror. It can be easily overcome.

Very impressive profile on LinkedIn.

A great tool to help you list and translate the responsibilities and relative competencies from military to civilian language is the ACE Guide. You can search by both the courses (MCI's &/or resident schools) or occupations. I list the link below. If looking at the MOS check the 0369 & 0372 and remove the portions that don't apply to your pay grade.

http://www.acenet.edu/news-room/Pages/Military-Guide-Online.aspx

Also you should start to network professionally if you have not already done so. There are a LOT of free sites like this that you can professionally connect with former Marines and perhaps organizations you want to target for employment.

Regarding LinkedIn you are spot on. I personally would not use a profile here as a resume. I use this profile for career search as a way for recruiters to search and a lead to want to get my resume. Other than that it is to connect with people in the career field and/or organization I am targeting. Making connection within a company are great ways to get looked at even if there is not a posted position.

If you would like to send me a request to connect: www.linkedin.com/in/rmartinelli1/

Semper Fi Army,

Ray Martinelli

Jay Lightfoot ⋅ Herndon, VA ⋅ 20 years experience

Alexander,

I agree with Linda - you should not be "terrified" of the civilian market. It is "different" and can be challenging although you seldom put your life on the line (thank you for your service, BTW). A few thoughts for you (will use bullets so I do not go on too long!!)...

o First, knowing you need a plan two years before you have to execute one puts you way ahead of the pack - so, big pat on the back to you.
o Next - what do you really WANT to do? Or... what do you THINK you want to do? Any likes/interest that you want to lever into the next "stage" of your career? You can use the next few years "trying on some options" through classes or connections. Failure now is cheap!
o Once you have some of these questions answered I would start to focus on your plan. The WHAT should drive the HOW to your next step.

Having a good job is important although having a good job that you enjoy is more important.

JL

Alexander Shulman ⋅ Cambridge, MA U.S. Army, Staff Sergeant ⋅ 14 years served

Linda,

Again, thank you for your reply! As I said in my email, it looks like I will have to rethink some things.

===========================

As a follow up to my initial post - are there any CSOs (or CISOs) currently on the site that would be available for a brief Q&A session? I think that would help me the most in this case.

Thank you!

w/r
- Alex

Linda Windisch ⋅ Milpitas, CA IBM ⋅ 34 years experience

Alex, I am amused that you would be "terrified" of anything after serving eight years in the Army. Thank you for what you are doing.

Regarding the "plan" ... I read your Linked In profile. Somewhere, you need to list the type of experiences you have had and translate them into civilian work language. For example:
You lead a team of soldiers to pursue the gathering of intelligence information which eventually lead to identifying strategic operational locations (I just made that up).
In "civilian-speak", you could say that you are experienced leading a team of individuals to gather and interpret confidential information and apply it to strategic operations. This could be applied to market analysis in a competitive business situation.

Also, you don't say anything about what you WANT to do after the Army. Spend some time thinking about the kind of work you want to do and add that into your profile.
You may email me with questions at: lindaw_mom@yahoo.com