Lessons Learned for Vets
Lessons Learned for Vets
Mission Planning Your Military Transition with Lori Norris
Transitioning from military to civilian life is a complex journey that requires strategic planning well before your final out date. Starting 18-24 months ahead isn't excessive. It's necessary to build the infrastructure for a successful transition while still fulfilling your military obligations.
We start by discussing what do and plan for in the 12-24 months before your military transition. The foundation of any successful transition begins with determining your career focus. Unlike in the military where your path was often managed for you, civilian success requires taking charge of your own career development. Start by creating a comprehensive inventory of your skills, marking those you enjoy using and those you'd prefer to leave behind. Consider fundamental questions about your work preferences: inside or outside? With people or technology? What salary requirements will support your lifestyle? This self-assessment helps narrow your focus to careers that will truly satisfy you rather than just leveraging existing skills.
Once you've identified potential career paths, conduct thorough labor market research through resources like the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Understanding where opportunities exist geographically and what qualifications they require allows you to prepare accordingly. Connect with veterans in your target industries for informational interviews that provide real-world insights beyond what job descriptions reveal. These conversations are invaluable for understanding how military experience translates to specific civilian roles.
As you move into the 6–12-month window, develop your professional job search marketing materials including your resume and LinkedIn profile. Ensure that you learn how to effectively translate military skills into civilian terminology. Practice interview storytelling that demonstrates your relevant capabilities without military jargon.
In the final 3 months, execute your carefully crafted plan by targeting applications to organizations you've researched, understanding that hiring timelines typically extend one week for every $10,000 in salary you're seeking.
Remember that transition continues beyond securing that first position. The first 90 days in your new role are critical for establishing yourself in the civilian workforce. Focus on learning the organizational culture and building relationships rather than immediately implementing changes. Just as you wouldn't execute a military mission without thorough planning, approach your transition with the same strategic mindset—assessing risks, preparing for obstacles, and creating contingency plans for success in your post-military career.
Connect with your host Lori Norris at https://www.linkedin.com/in/lorinorris/
Learn more about Lori's resume and LinkedIn services, where she specializes in helping translate military terminology at www.getresultsresumes.com
Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/llforvets22
Subscribe to the podcast and leave us a 5-star review. Please share this with other veterans who might need help as they transition from the military!
The Lessons Learned for Vets Podcast is sponsored by Seek Now and their Drive Academy. Seek Now is the property inspection industry's leading business and they created Drive Academy DoD SkillBridge and CSP internships to teach transitioning military service members and veterans skills that prepare them for lucrative and rewarding careers in the property inspection and insurance industries. You can learn more and apply today at www.internwithdrive.com.
Welcome to the Lessons Learned for Vets podcast, your military transition debrief. I'm your host, lori Norris, and I've helped thousands of military service members successfully transition out of the military since 2005. Thanks for tuning in to hear the after action reports and real stories of your fellow veterans, who are here to help guide, educate and inform you as you navigate your own military transition. By the way, if you find value from today's episode, please share it with others, leave us a review and post about us on social media. Well, hey there everybody, it is me, lori, coming to you with a solo episode today, probably going to be a pretty quick one, but I started to think about what subjects I hadn't really dug into in a while, or if at all, and one of the first ones that came up was the transition timeline, the planning of the timeline.
Speaker 1:We talk a lot on the show about the importance of starting early. We often say 18 to 24 months out you should start the process of military transition, of planning and preparing. But you know, as we've talked about a lot on this show, military transition isn't just about leaving a job, leaving one job and finding another. It is a process of managing change, of of preparing, of exercising patience, of learning and growing, and I wanted to just come in here and talk to you a little bit about just your mission plan for a successful transition. So I'm going to do a 12 to 18 months out plan today. But, to be honest, I'm a big believer and I've said this on here before. I believe you should start planning your military transition back when you're you know you first enter the military. If I had it my way, we would be teaching service members as early as like an E4 level or you know those junior officers how to plan and manage their career, not so that they're able to get out sooner, but so that when the time comes, you don't have to rely on what the military provides you in that transition assistance program or you don't have to rely on a veteran service organization. You've got your plan in place and you've already learned how to manage your career, and that's really something that I want everyone to hear very clearly is that you have to manage your career, and that's really something that I want everyone to hear very clearly is that you have to be your own career manager from here on out.
Speaker 1:In the military, often you have someone who managed that career for you who helps you plan, who helps advocate for you to get additional training, certifications, who tracks your certs and make sure you're staying current on all of that. But once you leave the military, that doesn't necessarily always happen. I can't tell you that every corporate America role is going to have a great leader that's going to do that for you, and so you've got to take charge of your own career path planning from here on out, and I would love to teach you how to do that. You know, even as a junior enlisted, a junior officer, I think that it's something that we should be teaching people. So if you know somebody who is new to the military and who you think could benefit from this episode, share it for them, because it really isn't just about transition planning, it's about career path planning, it's about getting yourself ready for this process, and I think, about all the way back to season one, one of the first.
Speaker 1:I think it was like episode four, if I remember correctly, but it could have been like first 10 anyway with Greg Austin. He talked about the fact that he had planned his military transition for about 14 years, and while that sounds like whoa, that's a lot, I think that that is a really smart way to approach this. So we're going to talk 12 to 18 months out today and I want you to think of that like 12 to 18 months out, even up to 24 months out as laying the groundwork, creating the infrastructure for your transition plan, for your transition plan, really starting to create that solid foundation that you can build upon over the next few months as you're preparing to wrap up your military career. And you know, I think sometimes people are like, oh, two years, that's excessive, that's a long time to start planning. But let's be honest, first and foremost, the military isn't going to just lighten your load because you're getting ready to separate or retire pretty much up until you leave, and it's really up to you to start kind of becoming a little more selfish and taking that time for yourself. And so, while 24 months sounds like a lot of time, it will go faster than you know. Okay, so that groundwork, that setting the foundation, we're going to start, and nobody's going to be surprised by this but we're really going to start by finding our career focus, our post-military career focus. And you know I talk about focus a lot on this show and the reason I talk about focus is because it really sets in motion everything else, and it's why I talk about the importance of that.
Speaker 1:Very first, most important step in your military transition is to figure out what you're doing next, and you also know that I am very much an advocate of you don't have to decide the rest of your career. I just need you to decide what you want to do next, and once you get into what's next, what you want to do next and once you get into what's next, then you can start planning a little bit further out and even if it's the next year, right. So I really love the last time misty moreno was on here. She talked about like, let's just worry about one year of our life at a time, um, and so I like that, because my life is a little bit of a craziness right now. I don't really always have the ability to plan out into the future. I think that's just life that happens sometimes. Let's figure out our career focus. What do we want to do next?
Speaker 1:I think that the issue sometimes when people are coming out of the military, I think that the issue sometimes when people coming out of the military, especially when you're retiring is that you have so much knowledge, such diverse array of skills, very diverse experience, that there are so many things that you can do. And it's like if you go into one of those huge candy stores and you're like I'm overwhelmed, I don't know what to pick. Or if you think about the Cheesecake Factory's menu, like it's a book, it's not a menu. There's like I don't know 20 some pages in that menu and it can be a little bit overwhelming. And so what I want you to do is start this process early on. Like, really start thinking about. What do I like to do? What do I never want to do? Again, right, what are my core values? What are my interests? So we want to start thinking.
Speaker 1:Thinking about do I want to work inside or outside?
Speaker 1:Do I want to work in an office?
Speaker 1:Do I want to be out in the field?
Speaker 1:Do I want to work with people? Do I want to work with technology or equipment? Like, start thinking about the kinds of things that motivate you. And really it could be as simple as just sitting down and making a list of all of the things that you know how to do. All of your skills Sounds big. It could be an exhausting, exhaustive list. It could be exhausting, but it should be an exhaustive list of everything you know. And then I want you to take that list and start thinking. Like you know, put a check mark next to it If you want to continue using that skill, put an X next to it If you never want to do that again, and leave a blank if you're like it doesn't matter to me one way or the other. Right, that's a great place to just start.
Speaker 1:What do you like? What do you dislike? Nobody asked you when you went into the military, or even when you got a sign to do something. You got voluntold to do something. Like does this make you happy? But I really want you to think about that. Think about what will make you happy, okay, then.
Speaker 1:So the next thing I want you to decide is like do I want to work for the federal government? Do I want to work for the private sector? Do I want to open my own business? Do I want to have a franchise? Do I want to start my own thing? You know, like, how much do I want to make? Like, that's a big thing to think about. Like you know, I have I'm working with someone who is a high ranking officer and they don't want to be in charge of things anymore. In fact, they're like I just like to go work at an outdoor store so I could just talk about something that I'm really interested in, and so it's great to know that, going into this process, so you can start laying the foundation of, like, what should be on my resume, what should I leave off, who should I connect with on LinkedIn?
Speaker 1:Like, what kinds of interview answers should I prepare? So all of these things are driven by your career focus, right, and so, like, figuring out how much you want to make is also about like, well, what are your financial needs? You know it's a matter of like you kind of can extrapolate out what your, your pension is going to be if you're retiring. We don't know what your disability rating is going to be, um, and that's a subject for another another uh episode.
Speaker 1:But just start to think about this, like what's my minimum, what do I? I like, what do I have to make? And kind of like you know, what do you hope to make and what would be like your high end. Like this is where I think I could. I really could land right, and if you are married, if you have children, if you have family, that's around you. If you have a partner you know girlfriend, boyfriend absolutely communicate with them, bring them into this conversation and sometimes they're really good at telling us like what do I do well? Like, what do you see from me? What do you think I'm good at? Where do you think my strengths lie? And you know, if you have like a trusted colleague at work or a supervisor that you have a good relationship with, there's nothing wrong with asking them some of those questions as well, just so that you can start getting a sense of what you want to do Now, once you have some ideas of what you'd like to do next.
Speaker 1:Now let's research that career field. I want to do labor market research. So labor market research is where you go out and you look at, like, where are the opportunities? Right? So what are the best states for these kinds of opportunities? I remember one time I had somebody that was in my transition assistance program, my class that I taught, and he knew exactly what he wanted to do and he was moving to a place where his wife was from and he didn't research the market. And once he got there, the only opportunities for him in the career field that he'd chosen were like a 90 minute commute and that just wasn't realistic for him. So it's great to know what you want to do, but it's also important to look at where you want to live, right. So what's the labor market like?
Speaker 1:The best resource I have for this is the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which their website is blsgov. So Bureau of Labor Statistics, blsgov, and there you can look at, you can break it down by state. You can look like what are the? What's the going salary in the states? How many career openings are in this? You know this career path that I've chosen per state. What's the? Is it growing, is it shrinking? Kind of what's happening in that industry, so that you can get a sense of, like, what is the salary that I could expect? But also, what qualifications are they looking for? Do they require certain education or certifications? Is that, now that I'm 24 months out, I can start putting plans in place to obtain a certification, to pursue some education or training? And then the next thing I want you to do is, once you've kind of done all that labor market research, now go out to LinkedIn, do targeted searches of people that are in that career field. It'd be great if they're also veterans. You can do a very targeted search on LinkedIn, where you put the filters in place and you can look for people who are veterans, who are in that industry doing the job that you have decided you would like to research.
Speaker 1:And then you set up informational interviews. You reach out to them and just say I see, we've both served in the military, I am preparing to wrap up my career and I'm starting to do some research on the XYZ career field. I see that you made a similar transition a few years ago. Would you be willing to have a conversation with me? Just ask them for 15 to 20 minutes of their time and then come to that interview, that informational interview with armed with questions. What does a typical day look like? What's the best and worst parts of this? How did you translate your military skills into this role? Translate your military skills into this role? What advice do you have for someone, a fellow veteran, who is looking to enter this career field? So those are some of the questions that you're going to ask when you are in that informational interview.
Speaker 1:And so, once you've got those, you've kind of picked your industry, you've figured out your career focus, you've done your research to know that there are going to be opportunities in the areas. You've started gathering that information. Now you can start figuring out okay, what are the relevant transferable skills that I have? So how can I convey that my military experience is valid and valuable in that industry and career field? So you can start to see there's a lot of research and this is why you know we're not going to start looking for a job 24 months out. But the more we take the time to prepare and to think about what's next in that 18 to 24 month period, that's the better this is all going to go and instead of kind of just taking a brain dump of our resume you know, our brain dump of all of our knowledge onto our resume and then just kind of sending that out randomly and hoping for the best, we are going to be very targeted and focused and so we're going to go from that spray and pray like send it out and hope somebody bites to that very targeted sniper's approach right, and you've heard me say this, but like having a resume that isn't targeted, having a linkedin that doesn't convey your value to potential employers is like tooling around the ocean with an empty hook in the water and there is a chance that you might hook something swimming by, but you're going to be a heck of a lot more successful if you know what you're trying to catch, what kind of bait it bites on, what part of the ocean it swims in and you go and look for that fish, right? So I want you to have that targeted sniper's approach to this process.
Speaker 1:Okay, so that's all the job search part of it, but let's think about, like, some of the other things you need to do in that that you know year 12 to 24 month out process and, first and foremost, we need to start shifting your mindset, right? So you need to start thinking. Andrea R, yes, you are always going to be a Marine. You're always going to be a Navy veteran. You're always going to be an Air Force veteran. You're always going to be a chief if that's the rank that you've achieved, right. But that's where you've been and we've got to start thinking about where you're going next. We've got to start thinking about where you're going next. So start thinking of yourself as a project manager, as a healthcare administrator, as a potential employee, and not your rank, not your branch of service, not as a veteran, right, you'll always be all of those things you've done in the past.
Speaker 1:But we've got to start changing our mindset, shifting our focus to the future, and I would never say, well, like you know, the military's going to be. Okay, you can, you can ease up on the gas for the military. Of course not. You have a commitment, you are still serving. But you also have to be the one to say okay, I got to start stepping back. I need to start training my replacement, I need to start shifting some things to other people's plates so that you can start stepping away and slowly extricating yourself from this process of serving, because the military is going to roll on without you. It is, it has to right. Our national security depends on it, and so don't be surprised when it does roll on without you. And I just need you to start realizing that. Okay, I've got to start looking outside of the military now. So start shifting that mindset of how you're approaching your service for those last two years of that service. Again, not asking you to shirk any commitments whatsoever, just asking you to start putting your own priorities a little bit higher on the list. Okay, this is the best time. This 12 to 24 months out is the best time to do that career exploration.
Speaker 1:So researching industries, researching roles that match your skills and interests, right? Like I said, identifying where your educational gaps might lie. If you're finding that, as you're doing your informational interview, your interviews, and you're doing your labor market research, that you know it's saying that you really do need to have a bachelor's degree and you're like three classes from completion, should you buckle down and do it? That's up to you. But again, this is a time to start thinking about those things, right. Certifications like I said, I don't want you to just go out and willy-nilly get a bunch of certifications, like I just talked to somebody the other day who wants to be in talent acquisition and HR and he's like I'm thinking about getting the PMP certification. Why, that's time consuming, hard, it takes a lot of your time. Why don't you instead go get a human resources certification, start at the lowest level and decide if you want to keep going?
Speaker 1:But it's really like starting to think about, like, what would benefit me in that post military career, okay, and then I want you also, in that 12 to 24 month period, to start building a network, right. So I know that sounds like, oh, I don't want to go out and talk to people. Trust me, I understand that very well, but you don't have to. You know, the thing about it today is networking can be done online. So it's just expanding your LinkedIn connections, being very targeted in who you connect with. So using those LinkedIn search filters to really find people that you want to engage and have conversations with. And also just start reconnecting with past colleagues, past colleagues, past supervisors. Maybe start attending some veteran-focused career events. Maybe join some LinkedIn groups that are dedicated to supporting those in the military transition. So 50 Strong is a good one, seven Eagle is a really good one. So start reaching out and engaging more and just see what's out there. It may not be for you Using places like Mill Mentor or Post Federati or Bets to Industry. A lot of these organizations can help you start kind of dipping your toes in the water of networking. You don't have to completely change your personality and go from being an introvert to an extrovert to start building a solid network.
Speaker 1:Okay, and then the last thing you want to do in that 12 to 24 month period is really start to evaluate your finances right. Let's get a budget in place. Let's know, like I said, know your minimum, like I have to make at least x, what I'd to be comfortable and to do what I'm doing today. I need to make you know y, and what I'd really like to shoot for is Z, and then you can kind of go out and compare am I realistic Like I wanna make 120,000 a year and I wanna be a high school math teacher? Probably not realistic. It should be, but it's not. And so we've gotta start doing some research based upon what our and our family's financial needs are.
Speaker 1:Okay, and I understand if you're like, well, I'm going to get a pension and that's great. I would love for you to figure out your needs without assessing your pension in the mix. You've heard me say this my goal for those of you that have served our country for more than 20 years of your life, is that pension gets to be in the bank and you get to just have fun with it and you don't have to worry about it. Right, it's a bonus, it's your monthly bonus that you get to have fun with. So, but really start to think about like your, your budget, you know. Assess your savings, like there may be gaps in income, right, I know that, even with when you from your last military paycheck to your first pension right or disability payment. There's not always, it's not always seamless, so start stockpiling some savings so that you can prepare for those potential gaps. The more comfortable you are financially, the less stress you're going to have in the job search process. Right, and kind of know like here's how long I have, so that you have a plan in place. Okay.
Speaker 1:But also when you start thinking about your benefits so healthcare benefits, insurance, like I've had a couple of episodes. Um, there was one with husband and wife team that do benefits. There was one with um oh, my goodness, I just lost his name, but his first name is Todd. I can't think of his last name, don't, don't hate me, todd. Um, he talked about finances. Um, through his company I've got had an officer on that's a financial planner. So we've got a lot of finance episodes that you can go back and listen to and so check those out and just see you know, like, what can I plan for financially? Okay, so a lot to think about. So that 12 to 24 months out is a lot of assessment, a lot of kind of soul searching, a lot of analysis and research, and I know it's not always easy to like sit down and look internally right, it's much easier to shove that stuff down and not think about it. But I want you to enjoy yourself after the military. I want you to find who you are and what makes you happy, and the more you're willing to start doing that in advance, the better that whole process is going to go. Now let's talk six to 12 months out.
Speaker 1:One of the questions I get asked the most frequently is when should I write my resume? And I will tell you that I have written resumes for people that are as much as five years out from their official final out date. And the one person I could think of he knew he was going into an assignment within the next six months where he would have a lot of really great networking opportunities, and he wanted to be prepared when he made those connections to be able to hand them his resume and say here's who I am, these are the skills that I bring to the table. He already had a pretty good idea of what he wanted to do next, and so when someone comes to me and says like, well, how soon should I start working on my resume, my answer is always the same as soon as you know what you want to do, what your focus is going to be in your post-military career. That's when your resume and LinkedIn need to be done.
Speaker 1:And so, because, once you know what you're going to do, then you know what goes on your resume how do I translate my military skills and you've got a good sense of the requirements of the industry and the field in which you want to go into. You know there is a it's a good idea to have something put together on your LinkedIn to have an overview of your your background when you're engaging and having informational interviews with people, background when you're engaging and having informational interviews with people. But once you know exactly what you want to do, you're like, yeah, this sounds exactly like a great fit for me, for my what I want to do, for my skills. That's when you need a resume that might be somewhere in the six to 12 month range. It might actually be in that 12 to 24 month range, just depending upon how soon you know, okay, this is it right, but you definitely, within that six month you know six to 12 month timeframe need to get that resume and LinkedIn that highlights your transferable skills, that translates your military skills and terminology and job titles, and you need to have a LinkedIn profile that shows you as a potential employee for those private sector employers, and what that means is your profile photo should not be you in a uniform, should not be you standing next to the jet that you fly, you know. It should be a head and shoulder shot of you in a, you know, business attire. It doesn't have to be a suit and tie, it's a business attire for whatever the career field that you're targeting. And smiling I know that's hard, I know I get it, but smiling and looking at the camera right, I don't want you scowling at the camera, I want you to look friendly, and so your photo should do that for you. There's lots of opportunities out there. Let's see portraits for Patriots and Operation Headshot are two that come to mind that do free photos, but you know I'm here by Luke Air Force Base. They have an actual like little photo area set up with a nice background and a ring light that you can just take it with. A cell phone I mean an iPhone on portrait mode takes a great photo. Cell phone I mean an iPhone on portrait mode takes a great photo. Don't just back up against a wall, because it tends to look like a mug shot with bad lighting behind you. Get in some good lighting. Try a couple of things maybe go outdoors, if that's, if you feel like that would work for you, but get that photo ready to go.
Speaker 1:This is also the time where you want to start preparing for interviews. The more you prepare, the more you think about what you want to say, the better they're going to go. I want you to start pulling your stories together. If you know the skills they're going to be looking for, start preparing those kind of situation, task, action, result types of stories that you can tell in an interview. It is so hard to come up with stories on the spot, and so I highly recommend you start preparing them, writing them out, committing them to memory. Start rehearsing how you're going to tell the story. Start practicing using different terminology. You know one of the things I think you know I write resumes, and you know that I mostly write resumes for military transitioners and veterans, and I feel like one of the biggest values of that in addition, obviously, to getting that professional resume is learning to speak a new language. Right, you give me military language, I'm gonna translate back private sector language to you, so find a way to start practicing that. Start translating that, start using different terms, right, um, just learn how to tell your story without using your military language. And you know, I think that there's nothing wrong with telling stories of things that you've done. You know again, obviously, in terms of what you can say, but just learn to like, pull out the relevant aspect of it. Okay, how can that? How does that relate to the employer that you want to speak to, that you really want to attract?
Speaker 1:This is where you need to ramp up those networking efforts. Be great to go to some in-person events, but you don't have to do in-person. Really, start expanding your connections on LinkedIn. Start having those conversations. Start expanding your connections on LinkedIn. Start having those conversations. Reach back out to those people that you had those informational interviews with kind of touch base with them. Ask them would they take a look at your resume and see if you've done a good job of capturing your skills? Now they have your resume in their hand. You're not asking them for a job, but you're asking them just to give me some feedback on the resume and let me know if you feel like I've done a good job of showcasing why I'm qualified. And so I think that's always a good strategy, okay.
Speaker 1:So again, get back in connection with your mentors. Maybe you get a formal mentorship through American Corporate Partners. Maybe you get a formal mentorship through American Corporate Partners. So ACP that we've had them on a couple of times. Rich Komitz and Leslie Coffey have been on from the organization. So definitely reach out to them and start engaging with recruiters. Start connecting with recruiters so that you have them in your circle. They're part of your LinkedIn connections.
Speaker 1:And now is also the time to start really focusing on your VA benefits. Start thinking about, like, getting all your medical stuff done right. Start gathering the information for your claims. Start exploring the benefits that you're going to be afforded once you become a veteran okay, and then, lastly, I would say, start putting together a list of target organizations, companies that you have identified that align with your career focus. I want you to have a list of those companies and I want you to start making connections with as many people that work for them as possible and that could be recruiters. It could be people that could be mentors to you. It could be people that you've done informational interviews with. Just start making a list and that's kind of your follow-up list. These are the people you can reach out to.
Speaker 1:Okay, now that's our six to 12 months. Again, got a lot to do, we've got a lot to finalize, got a lot to plan, and that's why I want you to start as early as possible. Now let's get into that three month window. Another question I get is when should I start applying to jobs? How soon should I start applying? And I'm going to tell you, if you start applying to jobs when you're 12 months out, nobody's going to hire you that far in advance. Now, I'm not going to say nobody, because I have heard stories of people that had jobs held for them for six months, nine months, but it's rare, so it is the exception and not the rule. And so here's kind of my rule of thumb For every $10,000 you would like to make in salary, expect the decision-making process for the job to take about a week. So the hiring and decision-making process If you're a $100,000 candidate, expect that that process of interviewing and them making a decision and extending the offer to take about 10 weeks.
Speaker 1:Now, this isn't a hard and fast rule, it's just a rule of thumb to give you an idea. But that's about how long it's gonna take and so really, truly, within like three to four months of your final out date, which really isn't necessarily your final out date. It's the date you can start working. So when do you start your terminal leave? Or when are you kind of finished with, like, your leave and able to start, and with a company, okay? The only time I think that you can't start working if you're on like a terminal leave situation is if you're working for a government contractor and so, other than that you, there are some companies that you can start working while you're in that leave time, and that's what you really want to think about. Also is like, what's the timing? Do I want to take some time off, which I highly recommend if you have the financial means to do so? Like, take some decompression time, take some time to ease into this process. So if you can do that, that would be great, but really within three months out.
Speaker 1:This is the time where you execute the plan. You put that plan into place that you've been building the last, you know, 15 to 18 months. This is where you start actively applying to open jobs. Not everything right. We're not spraying and praying, we're sniper targeting. We're not hoping, we're not throwing spaghetti against the wall and hoping something sticks. We're very focused and targeted on that.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is where you start prepping seriously prepping for interviews. Get your stories down Really, start practicing the answers, start really tracking how it's going. And I want you to start thinking about, like, maybe do an after action report after every interview. And I'm going to tell you there are two episodes that I recorded with my friend, brenda Mariah, that are all about job interviews. So I highly recommend you go back and listen to those, because we really dig into all aspects of the interview process. So get ready to get your interviews going and start thinking about how are you going to follow up after those interviews. Are you going to send a thank you note? Are you going to send them an email? Are you going to send them a LinkedIn connection? How often are you going to follow up? So we cover a lot of that in those episodes. So start thinking about that.
Speaker 1:Okay, this is a great time to finalize any certs, finish up your education, start thinking about where am I going to live, right? The logistics of if you have to move Like, it's great if you got to end your military career where you're going to live, but it doesn't happen that often, right? I just talked to someone the other day who is getting ready to retire and they're in Germany and they're moving to the United States to like I think it's Dallas, texas to the United States to like I think it's Dallas, texas. So there's a lot going on and there's a lot of packing and there's a lot of logistics to deal with, like, where am I going to live? Do I have a home secured? Right? So maybe you want to rent for a couple months while you settle in, and so there's all kinds of things that you have to think about, right, what about applying for a home loan if I don't already have a home secured? So there's a lot of logistics that you have to start putting into place.
Speaker 1:And then you know, really, this is the time to, you know, get that networking going right. So, really, kind of, finalize those networking goals, get those connections working for you. It's a good time to, since you've kept a list, hopefully you know who to reach out to, and now's a great time to reach out and say, okay, I'm in my final three months, here's when I'm available to start working. I would love to have another conversation with you just to discuss, kind of what's next for me. There's nothing wrong with reaching out to people. I really believe that people want to help, but most people have no idea how to help you, and so be sure that you're clear, like this is what I need, this is what I would like to have help with. Okay, so that is your 12 to 24 month plan, but I also want to talk about what happens afterwards.
Speaker 1:Right Now, I'm out of the military. I'm now a veteran. What do I do? And so that first 90 days in a job you've landed a job, congratulations. Let's figure out, like, how do I have a really successful first 90 days? And I want you to ease into the job. I want you, those first 90 days should be about learning about the culture, building those internal relationships, figuring out how you fit and how you can prove that you can add value to the team. You can't just go in there. You know, no pun intended, like you know, like guns blazing, like here's what I'm going to do to change everything. I'm going to take over. That's not going to work.
Speaker 1:And so you've got to ease into that position and really think about those first 90 days. Are you just kind of like fitting in? Figuring out the culture, identifying how you fit in and start looking for ways that you can add value. I know that's very different than your first 90 days in a new role in the military and I think that this is a good time for you to start learning, like what's the culture like in the private sector and just really start. Kind of like I said to, I want you to dip your toe in. I don't want you to do a cannonball into that new role. I want you to have a successful first. You know, first three months.
Speaker 1:So now, once you get in there, I also recommend you find ways to grow your career. So what does that mean? That means finding a mentor internally inside of your new company, right? So in your industry, whether it's in your company or in your industry find out. Does your company have an employee resource group, an ERG? Right? Do they have a veterans group internally? If not, you might want to go back and listen to my episode with Eris Whitman. Because they didn't. Her company didn't have one, so she started it and man, has it ever taken off?
Speaker 1:So again, something to think about like how can I start to find mentors and how can I start connecting with other people and also just continuing to have that tribe around you, like I think we don't talk about that enough that that sense of like I don't know where I belong. And I want you to start surrounding yourself with people so that you don't feel like you're alone and you might say like I don't have anything in common with these people. I'm a veteran. I don't have anything in common with these civilians, and I think that is a lot to do with your mindset. I think you can find commonality with most people. You may not agree on everything and you may have a very different approach to life, but I do believe you can find some commonality if you are open-minded to it.
Speaker 1:Okay, so keep your networking going right. So I want you to continue to network. I want you to continue to have presence on LinkedIn. You may not have the same level of presence you had before you were, you know, when you were job searching, but I don't want you to just fall off the face of the earth and then you come back a year and a half later like, oh, by the way, I need another job again and now you have to start all over right. You've probably heard me say that like networking is like growing a garden and you've got to plant the seeds way before you want to eat, right? So it's important to really continue to take care of that garden and to weed it and prune it and grow it and continue planting seeds so that your network will always be there for you, okay, and I think it's important for you to also have a plan in place to manage your own wellness, right, your physical health.
Speaker 1:Some people are like I don't want to run ever again. Want to run ever again. Great, me either. I've never been a runner, um, but I also know that I feel so much better when I am physically active, right? So you may not want to run anymore or do pull-ups and time your sit-ups, but stay active, whether that's, I don don't know. You can come play pickleball with me, or you can come do pilates with me. Um, I do very like. They're both, um, a little less uh, let's see impactful, but they're no less intense than I've ever. You know anything I've ever done. You know anything I've ever done, so you can find a way. You know I love to get outdoors. I. You know that's one of the biggest issues for me, living in Arizona in the summer. As soon as I finished recording this, today I'm heading north where it is less than 70 degrees I think it's in the mid sixties today so that I can go outside and enjoy nature.
Speaker 1:And so there's a way you can figure out what you love to do but still remain physically active and focus on your physical health, but also your mental health, right? So monitor that mental health. Don't just shove those feelings down Like seek help if you need it down like seek help if you need it. Seek friendship, and find that tribe of people that make you happy, that give you something fun to do, but also give you a place to to vent if you need to. Right so? And then you know, keep checking on your family, keep checking on how they're doing, because you are not the only one who is transitioning. Your children's lives are uprooted. Your spouse's life is uprooted, like your parents' lives are different. With you out of the military, like, everybody around you is also navigating some changes. So open those lines of communication and really have a good connection and conversation with them as well, but really also to protect yourself and your mental health.
Speaker 1:Okay, and then the last thing I have on this list is start thinking about what's next right? And I don't mean that I want you to change jobs every few months. I just want you to start thinking about, like, where can I go from here? And just check in and like how am I liking this role? How do I like this company? Is the culture what I thought? Is this kind of a position right for me? Like, am I enjoying what I'm doing Right? Like am I enjoying what I'm doing right? And I think you know, sometimes we have to pay bills and we have to keep a roof over our head and food in our, ours and our family's stomachs, but we don't have to stay if it's not what we want to do. I don't know that we wouldn't just leave every time on a whim, do I don't know that we wouldn't just leave every time on a whim. But can we start thinking about, like again, start making that list what do I like, what do I dislike? What skills am I using that I don't really want to use? What skills am I not using and exercising that I would like to maybe put into plan or put into action and start creating a plan to do that down the road.
Speaker 1:Okay, so always look at your, your career benchmarks. Like what does the next? What do you want to happen in a year from today? What's the next path forward for you? What do you want to happen in five years? And we, you know we don't have to like what do you want to happen in five years? And we, you know we don't have to like I don't know, I guess, obsess over the five-year plan, but just to have an idea of, like, what's my path forward and where do I want to go?
Speaker 1:Okay, so one of the things I like to say is that military transition is a lot like the military mission planning process, right? You wouldn't execute a military mission without a plan and you shouldn't do your military transition without a plan. So take it step by step. You know how to plan, you know how to look at all the details, you know how to assess risks and hazards and you know how to proactively prepare to overcome those obstacles. Take that same approach, that same mindset, to how you're going to do this, okay, so if you're less than 12 months out and you haven't done a lot of these things I talked about today, it's never too late to get started. You're just gonna have to accelerate your timeline. If you're, you know, three months out and you don't figure it out what you want to do next and you don't have a resume yet. You really need to get things started. But again, it's never too late. I just want this process to be as smooth as possible. It's why I started this show back in 2020.
Speaker 1:Like I say, I always say we kind of serve as that curves ahead sign, not going to change the fact that there's curves, that there's bumps in the road, but just want to give you some resources to navigate it.
Speaker 1:If you found this episode helpful, please share it with others. The one thing that I want more than anything is for every active duty service member all you know millions of them to know we're here. I want them to know that we're here to educate and inform and guide them as they are starting to think about what's going to happen next. And if they haven't thought about what's next again, we're here to help guide and inform that as well. So thanks for listening, thank you for showing up for me and I wish you luck and let me know if I can help you in any way. Thanks for listening to today's episode. My goal is to give you actionable strategies to help you learn to market your military skills and smooth your transition to the next phase of your career. If you learned something valuable today, share it, subscribe to our podcast and our YouTube channel, leave us a review and write a post on social media about the lessons that helped you today from this episode.