Where Do I Go From Here? Civilian Transition InCharge Debt Solutions Copyright © 2012 InCharge Debt Solutions Published by InCharge Debt Solutions Publishing at Smashwords This guidebook is a compilation of articles by various authors intended to help military service members transition back to civilian life. All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced – mechanically, electronically, or by any other means, including photocopying – without written permission of the publisher or the author of the article. Requests to the publisher for approval should be addressed to: Administrative Department, InCharge Debt Solutions 5750 Major Blvd., Suite 175, Orlando, FL 32819. Disclaimer: This compilation of articles is intended to provide general information relative to a military service member’s return to civilian life and reflects only the opinion of the author. It is presented with the understanding that the author, publisher, and publisher’s agents are not engaged in rendering legal, investment, accounting, or other professional services; and this book is not a substitute for such services. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. The information, methods and techniques described in this book may not work for you. If you need advice tailored to your particular financial or legal situation, please contact a licensed attorney, accountant, or financial advisor. Please note that federal, state and local laws change often and the current state of the law may not be reflected in this book. The author, publisher, and publisher’s agents make no warranties with respect to the information contained herein and assume no liability or responsibility to any person or entity in connection with any loss or damage whatsoever caused or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly, by such information. There are no warranties as to the results that may be obtained from using this guidebook or the information contained therein. While every effort has been made to verify the accuracy of all content contained herein, there may be errors (typographical, mathematical, or in content). Cover design and book layout by: Devin Joy All logos, trademarks, services marks, images and copyrighted words and/or titles used in this guidebook remain the intellectual property of their owners and are used with permission. Printed in the United States of America by Progressive Communications, Lake Mary, Florida. www.incharge.org Table Of Contents Forward Dedication Your Military Service Will Serve You Well Translating Military Skills Into Civilian Terms Welcome Back to Civilian Life Marketable Skills? You Have Them! Planning a Civilian Career Getting the Job You Want Top 10 Best Jobs Overall for the 21st Century 7 Tips for Nailing the Job Interview Transitioning to Civilian Life Profiles in Courage: Alexandra Jansen Your Transition Checklist Life After Service The After Life Getting the Most Bang for Your Post-911 GI Bill Buck Staying Covered: Life Insurance Military to Civilian Retirement Tips Will Your Credit History Pass Employer Screening? Budget Worksheet Transitions Resource Directory About the Authors: DEDICATION This guidebook is dedicated to the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces and Reserve who put their civilian lives on hold to serve and protect our nation. It is also dedicated to service families who make daily sacrifices in support of their loved one serving in uniform. It’s our sincere hope that the information herein is useful in making the transition back to civilian life. Thanks for your service and best of luck! Your Military Service Will Serve You Well I was honored to wear the uniform for over 32 years, and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your service to our nation. You have faced tough challenges while in uniform. Transitioning back to civilian life will be a challenge, but not as great as those you’ve already overcome! It takes a little work, yes. You’ll have to learn how to translate military skills into civilian terms. You’ll have to get used to the “civilian way” rather than the “military way.” You’ll find in this fast-paced world that a lot has changed since you traded in your civvies for a uniform. I made the transition to the civilian business world after serving for many years as a career officer. I’m confident you can too. Remember to always value the BIG things your military experience brings to your skill set and your resume. Things with great value no matter what endeavor you pursue; things that position you to succeed in any field. The words themselves don’t reflect their true value. People sometimes talk casually about “discipline,” “commitment,” “camaraderie,” “can-do attitude,” “teamwork,” “loyalty” and “calmness under pressure.” You’ve experienced the true and absolute value of these characteristics; you’ve embodied them and you’ve seen them in trusted comrades on the front lines. As a corporate executive, I sought these qualities in the people I selected for employment in my company just as I did for those in my military commands. I can tell you that all savvy business leaders want these qualities. So remember not to discount the discipline you learned, the teamwork skills you mastered and the ability to do complicated and difficult tasks while under great stress. Though the jargon and type of work you’ll be doing may be different, the qualities you’ve picked up or honed while in the military can positively differentiate you as you transition to civilian life in a depressed and difficult economy. I hope the information you find in this collection of articles will help you with your transition and position you for great success as you return from the field of honor. Thank you for your service and my best wishes for success in the future. With warm regards, Brig. Gen. Norris W. Overton, U.S.A.F. (Ret.) InCharge Board of Trustees (1999-2012) Welcome Back to Civilian Life It is a delight to be able to publish this transition guidebook for service members preparing to return to civilian life. We are so grateful for the sacrifice that your service represents, not only for yourself but for your husbands, wives, mothers, fathers and the many other family and loved ones who also carried the burden of your absence and deep concern for your safety and well-being. Your service to our nation required you to enter and learn all the particulars of an entirely different world. You learned so many new things: different terminology; different policies and procedures; a different culture and doing extraordinary and complicated tasks. You learned how to work as a team to get the job done no matter the weather, no matter the circumstance and often with a lot riding on the outcome. We salute you for that! Now, though you were a civilian before, you’re facing another tough transition. You put your civilian life on hold and, lo and behold, a lot’s changed since you first donned the uniform. Businesses change, skills and requirements for various jobs change, the economy has been in flux, and you’re not “tuned” to the realities of today’s civilian life. That’s why we published this collection of articles, all written by very experienced and knowledgeable experts who we think can help you as you begin the re-integration process. On behalf of all of us at InCharge and USAA we again thank you for your service and hope that the information you find herein will be very helpful as you retire your uniform and reenter civilian life. We wish you great success! Etta Money President, InCharge Debt Solutions Marketable Skills? You Have Them! By Janet Farley You have the in-demand technical skills that any employer would love to hire. You know it. When you find yourself knee deep in job search mode, however, it’s easy to overlook those other skills you may possess, compliments of a life in uniform. Disdainfully call them your soft skills or the touchy feely ones if you must. Whatever you do, however, don’t discount the importance of them in your job search. After all, not everyone has the right fluff. You can see the big picture. “Both officers and enlisted [service members] are particularly adept at figuring out what is important to accomplishing the relevant tasks in working toward a goal without being distracted by the hurdles that are often placed in our path,” said Dr. Darryl Ahner, an Assistant Professor and Professional Engineer stationed at the Air Force Institute of Technology on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Ahner is an active duty Lieutenant Colonel facing his own military retirement and career transition. “In short, we can see the big picture clearly while accomplishing critical tasks,” said Ahner. You can inspire and lead others. “We have strong leadership skills. We are able to know what drives people to do things, I think, in a weird way because of the War in Afghanistan where we have worked to ‘win the hearts and minds of others’ psychologically or otherwise,” said Craig Preston, a Navy Lieutenant Commander (a Sub Officer) who is also in the process of retiring and transitioning into the civilian workplace. Preston is currently stationed in Portsmouth, England where he works with the Royal Navy. He hopes to land a civilian job soon as an engineer, a program manager or an efficiency expert within the nuclear energy industry. His dream job would be one that allowed him to build components that fit inside of nuclear power plants. “You can imagine, after all the issues in Japan with the reactors, that there is plenty of need to do things better,” said Preston. “I’ve applied for a huge number of jobs within the private sector and some within the defense industry as well. I’ve already turned down two jobs on the defense side. It’s easy to go back to something you know and I just want to do something different now,” said Preston. You can be a true team player. Hidden within the art of being a good leader lays the skill of being a true team player as well. “Being in the military teaches you have to effectively work with others towards a common goal,” said Preston. “This is a highly marketable skill that can apply across career areas,” he said. Teamwork, indeed, is critical to any organization’s success and the best employers to work for understand that concept. Not everyone can work around the personal drama and individual agendas that all too often override the organizational goals. Teamwork involves personal sacrifice for the greater good and anyone who has worn the uniform honorably lives and breathes this skill knowingly or not. You know how to manage diversity. “Having the ability to understand and appreciate diversity among people or cultures is also important,” said Preston. Ahner, who hopes to land a teaching job soon, agrees. “Military members learn people skills that are seldom learned outside the military. They must interact with people from all walks of life and likely do not have the option of changing co-workers, roommates, etc.,” said Ahner. The global workplace is just that: global. Having an under-standing, an appreciation and the skill to effectively navigate diversity is a plus for any employer today. You know how to effectively communicate with others. You have excellent communication skills but you don’t always recognize that fact, according to Ahner. “Service members habitually discount their communications and organization skills when talking to employers. It’s not because they can’t communicate, but rather because it’s the norm in their day-to-day military lives,” said Ahner. Ahner offers fellow job seekers a bit of helpful advice to help employers and others understand what you did in the military. “Don’t communicate your skills [to employers] in military terms but as if you were talking to your distant uncle back home who did not have a military background,” said Ahner. You strive for the next level. In your military career, you set the bar high. Whether your goal was to reach the next rank or to be involved in a specific career-enhancing mission, you creatively took it upon yourself to get there somehow. In the process, you may have committed yourself to learning and mastering new skills. Strangely enough, not everyone shares that desire to learn and achieve new personal or professional levels. “Transitioning military personnel are life-long learners that adapt to accomplishing new unfamiliar missions by independently learning new knowledge and effectively applying that knowledge,” said Ahner. What employer doesn’t want to hire someone like that? For More Help Channeling Your Inner Fluff… While you may have these marketable skills, you may not always be skilled in clearly identifying all of them that apply to you. You may need help to further clarify your particular skill set. Lucky for you, help is available. Visit the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) on the installation nearest you and tap into (pun intended) the services of trained career transition counselors. Take advantage of the one-on-one career counseling services and attend the job search workshops. You just might learn a thing or two in the process to better market all of your skills, soft and otherwise. You can also access DoD’s TurboTap online for more help or if logistics prevent you from visiting a transition center in person. Consider working with a no-fee (to you) military placement agency. Preston has been working with one such agency, Bradley- Morris, Inc. (BMI). “It has bought me a certain level of continuity that wasn’t there before in my job search. BMI gets you in front of employers very quickly,” said Preston who has found that process beneficial. “As you go through interviews with potential employers, you start to realize what you’re really interested in yourself. You begin to hone in on specific jobs, focusing your job search more,” said Preston. Eric Salzman, a BMI Executive Consultant based in Austin, Texas, agrees that using a military placement firm can be helpful. “We have the direct connections to the hiring managers. We know how to word and quantify particular training, qualifications, awards and certificates in ways civilian hiring managers can understand,” said Salzman adding that some of their company clients will even pay for certifications and training, for candidates that have particular backgrounds such as a PLC certification, Six Sigma certifications, and Project Engineering (P.E.) license. Visit your installation education center. Finally, make an appointment with the education center counselor and ask to take any number of available skills inventory instruments designed to analyze your unique skills. And never, ever underestimate your fluffabilties. Translating Your Resume into English By Janet Farley You’ve served your country proudly and now it’s time to move on professionally. More than anything, you want your transition from boots to suits to be a smooth one. You want to land a good job that pays well. The only thing standing in your way is your so-called resume. Explaining to would be employers what you did in the military in a way that makes sense to them can be difficult. Often, skills, experiences and accomplishments get lost in translation or in the lack thereof. To Translate or Not to Translate? That is the question to answer before you start drafting your resume. Will you be sending it to someone within the defense industry? Or will you be targeting employers outside of it? If the answer is yes to the former, then you may not need to spend a great deal of time translating your job titles, descriptions, awards and training into English. Those within the defense industry usually understand what you are communicating, but not always. Keep in mind that there are a lot of people who work in the industry who have never worn a uniform and may not fully understand what you’ve accomplished. If you are targeting a job outside of the defense world, then you most certainly need to translate your skills, experiences and accomplishments into the English Language. It can be challenging, but not impossible. From a Tank to a Cubicle “You have to be patient because there is no such thing as a perfect resume,” said Philip Lapple, a former M1 Main Battletank Crewmember (19K-Armor Crewman) in the U.S. Army. Lapple wants to switch career gears completely and get a job in business. To reach that goal, he is currently attending the University of Maryland, University College and working on a degree in Management Studies. “I really don’t think I will get a good job until I finish my degree but I’m trying,” said Lapple. In the mean time, he is working on creating a basic master resume that he can tailor to individual job opportunities as they arise. “On my resume, I try to show that I am a well-rounded package of education and expertise,” said Lapple adding that it continues to be a work in progress. Lapple has attended the Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) courses and has also used the services of the local [...]... and discharged military personnel returning to civilian employment www.militaryexits.com Troop Transition Troop Transition offers industry leading job training and education for military transitioning to civilian life We provide onbase job courses for active duty servicemen and women, reservists and National Guardsmen transitioning from military to civilian careers in one of these great industries:... planning education and training, transition to civilian life, and disabled/injured resources www.careeronestop.org/militarytransition/transitionResources Turbo Tap TurboTAP.org is the Department of Defense’s official website providing information for servicemembers on transitioning from military service This site is also supported by the Departments of Labor and Veterans Affairs TurboTAP.org is intended... www.fedworld.gov Transition Assistance Online Transition Assistance Online, TAOnline.com, is the largest source of transition assistance information, jobs, and tools for today’s separating military On this career site for military veterans, service members can find the resources needed to transition from their much appreciated military service, to the perfect civilian career www.taonline.com Recruit Military... education, transition assistance, and job opportunities for military personnel www.gijobs.com Career Command Post Specializes in bringing transitioning active duty military personnel and armed forces veterans together with civilian employers hiring for executive, managerial, professional, technical, skilled and semi-skilled positions, from the Military Transition Group, Inc www.carrercommandpost.com Midwest... officer “In my first job out, I worked for a division within the Internal Revenue Service where I helped with the hiring and placement of military veterans and disabled individuals within their information technology workforce,” he said According to Holliman, the level of esprit de corps wasn’t quite the same as he found in uniform I was lucky, though I ended up with an organization where I worked with... Website that offers services and resources for military personnel and their families www.4militaryfamilies.com Military Financial Help Military Money Military Money.com is a leading personal finance resource for service members, their families and veterans From the GI Bill to VA Loans, Thrift Savings to the financial challenges of PCS-ing, MilitaryMoney is the go- to website for practical tips, advice... little or no warning Minimizing the Pain of Transition For all the good points you leave behind in a military-to -civilian career transition, there are many good ones to be found in the after life “Career-wise, my transition out of the Corps was a fairly easy one I was able to secure a job right away and that made the transition stress less of a factor for me,” said Holliman Holliman advises those in... bond with them that isn’t easily formed outside of military service “The thing I missed the most about being in uniform was the camaraderie found in the Marine Corps There’s nothing quite like it on the outside,” said Chip Holliman, a retired U.S Marine Holliman served in the Marines for 20 years before retiring in 2007 He enlisted in 1987 and later was given a meritorious commission to be an intelligence... resources for military personnel and their families making the transistion to civilian life www.youmilitary.com BaseOps Baseops is short for Base Operations Baseops.net is your virtual online version of the Base Operations Beaseops provide pilots the best flight preparation tools, mission planning information, and data available on the Internet www.baseops.net /transition/ Military Handbooks Military Handbooks... said Wright Tip 4| Listen During the interview, chances are good you will be slightly on edge That’s a good thing It’s your body chemically preparing you for the fight rather than the flight In that process, however, listening to what the employer says is crucial Active listening prevents you from asking stupid questions and saying stupid things It facilitates the conversation in a positive sense It . Where Do I Go From Here? Civilian Transition InCharge Debt Solutions Copyright © 2012 InCharge Debt Solutions Published by InCharge Debt Solutions. Contents Forward Dedication Your Military Service Will Serve You Well Translating Military Skills Into Civilian Terms Welcome Back to Civilian Life Marketable Skills?