Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans

1. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans

2. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 1. Play Your Military Personality Strengths Card. Accelerated Learning Curve Conforms To Rules Leadership Teamwork Diversity Oriented Efficient Performance Under Pressure Accountability Hard Work Technology Minded Integrity & Character Global Perspective Overcoming Adversity Maturity Resiliency Copes Well w/ Dynamic Environment Safety Orientation Trackable & Measurable Successes Loyalty

3. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 2. Analyze Your Most Marketable Skills. • Everything you do in a job search is going to be linked to your most marketable skills: resume creations, completing applications, making a career choice, prospecting or leads, etc. • Without having a list of your most marketable skills and strengths, your job search won’t get off the ground. • You should be able to identify, and present, between 30 and 60 marketable skills that you can offer an employer.

4. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 3. Highlight Security Clearances • This factor is especially important for people who are entering occupations where a background check is required. • Getting a security clearance can take weeks or months and cost thousands of dollars for a complete evaluation. • If you can save the employer money, and the job requires a clearance of any sort, you get extra points. • Make sure it’s prominently displayed in resumes and/or cover letters, and application forms.

5. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 4. Be Drug Free And Smoke Free. • Drugs and tobacco cost employers billions of dollar a year in lost productivity. • Let employers know that you’re comfortable in a drug / smoke free workplace and will take a drug test right now.

6. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 5. Match Your Skills To The Most Dominate Skills In Demand. • Critical Thinking • Complex Problem Solving • Judgment and Decision-Making • Active Listening • Computers and Electronics • Mathematics • Operations and Systems Analysis • Monitoring • Programming • Sales and Marketing • Hit the Internet and find out what skills are in demand for the occupation you want to pursue and include them in your job search tools.

7. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 6. Talk The Employer’s Language & The Language Of The Job. • Military lingo is out...unless the job being applied for is military in nature. • “Yes sir” and “yes ma’am” are always acceptable. • Develop a career vocabulary for the job being applied for and come up with examples of performing similar job tasks in your military occupational specialties.

8. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 7. Create A Job Search Portfolio. Create a master personal data and application sheet to save you time when completing online applications

9. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 8. Do A Thorough Analysis Of Your Work History. • Treat your time in the military as if it was a civilian job. • The only real differences will be in rank. • Civilian companies won’t have these.

10. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 9. Translate For The Employer. • Most employers have little knowledge of rank hierarchy or the responsibilities assigned to the ranks. • You may have to let them know the difference between the responsibilities of a Petty Officer and Chief Petty Officer, Staff Sergeant versus Technical Sergeant.

11. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 10. Build Your Profile. • This is the first step to using social media whether it’s Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn or some other. • By creating a powerful profile for one, you’ll have the foundations of a powerful profile for them all.

12. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 11. Recreate Your Image • Many employers feel that veterans can only follow orders, don’t care how much something costs, and don’t have to worry about quality or productivity. Prove them wrong. • Talk productivity, profitability, market share, customer service, production rating, cost savings, etc. These are business words. • Don’t show up in a uniform.

13. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 12. Improve Your Odds • There are companies who actively seek out veterans. • You may be able to improve your odds of getting a job by applying to more of these types of companies...but not always. • Here’s a link to military friendly employers http://www.militaryfriendly.com/

14. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 13. Be Ready To Defend Your Education • Some military educational courses, or other online course taken while deployed outside the U.S., may be unknown to an employer. • Have courses taken and transcripts in hand so you can show the employer how each course taken, or degree / certification earned, will have a direct bearing on your ability to do the job.

15. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 14. Use The Free Stuff Online To Help You Make Your Resume • Use sites like http://www.freemilitaryresumebuilder.com/ to help with a self-assessment or create your basic military to civilian resume.

16. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 15. Work From A Job Search Action Plan • Develop a daily job search action plan and follow it religiously. • Monitor your time, activities, and define what’s working and what’s not.

17. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 16. • The tendency is for military in transition to primarily use the network of contacts developed while in the service. This is understandable but this approach leaves two legs off the three-legged stool. • As someone trying to enter the civilian labor force you need to begin networking with friends, relatives, and acquaintances (second leg). • You’ll need to expand that network by meeting new people who might know of opportunities in the field you’d like to work (third leg) Build A Three-Pronged Network

18. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 17. Be Creative When Prospecting For Leads • There are no rules in a job search and there are over 50 different ways to find job leads. • The more different methods you use the quicker you’ll find work.

19. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 18. Stress Some Uniqueness • Employers often think the same package contains the same product. Nothing is farther from the truth when discussing a person’s military experience. • Look for skills, abilities, experiences and achievements that point to your unique abilities.

20. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 19. Use Military Oriented Outplacement and Recruiters • Some private recruiting firms have divisions that specialize in working with professionals who have served in the military. • These folks understand what you’re going through.

21. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 20. Target Companies That Provide Some Type Of Military Support or Are Federal Contractors • If a company is a federal contractor you can count on your military service not negatively affecting you. • In fact your veteran’s preference points are in play with these types of companies. • Get a list of all of the federal contractors in the region you’d like to work. • Here’s a link to the top 100 Federal Contractors. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

22. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 21. • If you’ve been deployed, and had to leave a job, you have some very well defined rights to reemployment. • The problem is that the employer has some well defined rights as well. • The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act web site can help you determine if you have any recourse to getting a job back. • Here’s a link http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/userra/ Know Your Rights

23. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 22. Attend A TAP GPS Program At One Stop Career Centers Or Access It Online. • Many of the state’s can deliver the new TAP GPS Program to veterans looking for work in a series of job search and career decision-making workshops. • The Department of Defense has also made it available online http://turbotap.org/portal/transition/resources/Employment_Hub

24. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans • Putting off the job search is a mistake. • The military works on the 40-70 PF rule (If you have between 40% — 70% of the information needed to make a decision or make a move, do it). • If you wait until you have all of the information, it may be too late. • Job postings only stay alive for a short time. 23. Don’t Delay.

25. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 24. Forget About The Perfect Job. • Waiting for the perfect first job out of the military is a fool’s move. • Take what’s reasonable, build a civilian work history, and keep looking for that next job.

26. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 25. Hit All The Veteran Focused Job Fairs Within 100 Miles. • These employers are looking specifically for veterans. Just Google veterans job fair and your state and you’ll get a list. • These are also places to research companies and make new network contacts. • Always find out what companies are going to be there. • If there’s any you might be interested in, have a resume tailored to that industry.

27. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 26. Apply To The Uncle...And All Of His Relatives. • Start out applying for federal openings. • This is going to require a little research so you’ll know how to build a federal resume. • After the uncle, talk to his relatives...state, local and municipalities. • These type of openings also take some time, so get them out the way first...and keep looking at them every week. • Here’s a link the Office of Personnel Management for federal employment... http://www.opm.gov/

28. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 27. • Reach out inside these groups for job leads, expand your networks, and share your experiences. • Don’t just make it a place to stop and have a cheap drink. • Yahoo can help you get a list of all types of veterans groups that might help you, go to http://dir.groups.yahoo.com/dir/1600059788 • Get on the membership committee…you’ll have access contact information. • People who fought together can network together. Join And Participate in Veterans Groups.

29. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 28. Focus On The Bests. • Target the best job search engines, the best job boards and the best sites for entry level jobs. • Spend less time on those not considered the best. • Forbes Magazine has listed the 75 Best Websites For Your Career http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/09/14/the-top-75-websites-for-your-career/

30. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 29. Get Comfortable Promoting Yourself. • The “aw shucks, I’m only doing my job” mentality and giving credit to others and shunning the spotlight are admirable traits...and also traits that will hurt your job search. • Learn to brand yourself and get comfortable letting other people know how good you are. • Create a one minute elevator speech that tells people who you are, what you want, what you can do, and talk about accomplishments proving you can do it.

31. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 30. • Knowing the methods employers use most often to recruit veterans allows you to target your job search time. • A word of caution. Not all companies are on the “recruit a vet” bandwagon. In fact, most aren’t. • Don’t put all your eggs in this basket. Understand How Employers Recruit Vets.

32. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 30. Understand How Employers Recruit Vets.

33. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 5 Primary Reason 31. Understand Why Employers Don’t Hire Vets. • 1. Veterans do not represent their skills and expertise in ways that are relevant to civilian companies…and not all MOS classifications can be translated into a civilian occupations. • These factors require 2 actions: • • Veterans need to do a thorough analysis of their transferable skills and job-related skills. • • Veterans need to define the job tasks and responsibilities for the job being sought and come up with relevant examples of when they performed similar tasks successfully.

34. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 31. 5 Primary Reason Understand Why Employers Don’t Hire Vets. • 2. Veteran stereotypes like rigidity, lack of creative thinking, PTSD, etc., need to be countered. • 3. Fear of future deployment is easy to understand from the employer’s perspective. • Eliminate this concern in the cover letter.

35. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 31. 5 Primary Reason Understand Why Employers Don’t Hire Vets. • 4. A skills mismatch is a common employer concern. • This requires the veteran to do a better job of ensuring that he or she meets all the job posting requirements, researches the job functions to ensure that his or her skills match the job demands in his or her resume, application form, and cover letter.

36. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 31. 5 Primary Reason Understand Why Employers Don’t Hire Vets. • 5. Poor acclimation to a civilian labor force is another understandable employer fear. • Find ways to highlight that you’ve adjusted well to making the transition back to a civilian way of thinking and the labor market.

37. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans If you have questions, ideas, concerns, or just want to talk about job finding, E-mail or call me! Dick Gaither Job Search Training Systems, Inc. workwizard@aol.com (800) 361-1613

38. Job Search Tips For Transitioning Veterans 32. • Try to locate a veterans’ job club or job search program that meets a couple of times a week. • Having the support of a group and the guidance of a job search specialist helps you overcome much of the anxiety, stay motivated in the face of rejection, keep you on track, and expand your networks.   Hook Up With A Job Search Pro.