9 Things that will Help You to Succeed as a Transitioning Military Service Member to Civilian Life
The above picture is of a transitioning military service member shaking hands with a civilian.
9 Things that will Help You to Succeed as a Transitioning Military Service Member to Civilian Life
1. Maximize Transition Assistance. The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) provides information, tools, and training to ensure service members, and their spouses, are prepared for the next step in civilian life. The DOL VETS Apprenticeship Pilot – launched in April 2020 – will provide counseling and apprenticeship placement services to transitioning service members (TSMs) and their spouses who are interested in exploring apprenticeship as a post-separation career pathway.
Second, The Gold Card is a treatment card that provides you with clinically required treatment for all medical conditions.
You can also access a range of services and support.
The Gold Card has been redesigned and is also known as a Veteran Gold Card or a Repatriation Health Card for all conditions.
2. What are Your Strengths? Use the Veterans Job Matcher to find civilian careers that might be a good match for your military skills. You’ll get information on matching occupations including wages, education, outlook, and a link to current local job postings. https://www.careeronestop.org/Toolkit/Jobs/match-veteran-jobs.aspx
The National Veterans’ Training Institute (NVTI) provides specialized training and professional skills enhancement for veterans’ service providers staff. Focusing primarily on training individuals who help veterans secure long-term employment, NVTI is committed to ensuring that those who are tasked with this critical responsibility have the knowledge and tools necessary to perform their jobs effectively. 21 Strengths Arising from Military Experience.
3.What Interests You? Whatever you do, you want to make sure that you do what you enjoy doing. What interests you. Make a list of activities that you enjoy and that motivate you. Look for work that incorporates at least some of these activities. Transitioning service members should not rush into just anything. At least not right off the bat. Entering the civilian workforce is entering new territory for you. so look at your options.
4. Military Veterans, Research Civilian Jobs. The first thing to do is to identify your interests and skill strengths. Once you have done that, research how your military skills will translate into a civilian job. You don't want to fall into an unfulfilling and unsatisfactory job so make sure you conduct thorough civilian workforce research.
The more you research for the appropriate job for you, the happier you'll be, and the more successful.
5. As a Military Veteran you have Access to Additional Training/Education. Your research may tell you that you are in need of additional training to pursue the career that most interests you. You may need to go back to school to attain a degree or a certification. Can you delay entering the workforce so that you can get the education you need? Only you can answer that. It is a personal decision.
The good news for all military veterans is that there is a GI Bill that provides educational benefits. GI Bill benefits help you pay for college, graduate school, and training programs. Since 1944, the GI Bill has helped qualifying Veterans and their family members get money to cover all or some of the costs for school or training. Learn more about GI Bill benefits below—and how to apply for them.
If you applied for and were awarded Post-9/11 GI Bill education benefits, your GI Bill Statement of Benefits will show you how much of your benefits you’ve used and how much you have left to use. View your GI Bill Statement of Benefits.
6. Drop the Military Slang when searching for a civilian job. This must be done both on your resume and in your interview.
O*NET OnLine has detailed descriptions of the world of work for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more! Keyword or O*NET-SOC Code: Browse groups of similar occupations to explore careers. Check out Military to Civilian Crosswalk, it shows military occupational classification codes to similar civilian positions.
7.Write a Professional Resume. Now that you've gone through the previous steps, it's time to tackle writing your job-search resume.
Your resume is essential, and I even would say critical in your job search. This is it. Studies have shown that hiring managers know if they want to move to the next step with a person after the first 18 seconds of reading their resume. You must be Clear, Concise, and Stand Out to garner the hiring manager's attention. Our organization has a free resume builder that you can access at https://www.disabledperson.com/build_resumes/new
8. Conduct research for employers who have initiatives to hire a military veteran. There are plenty out there. Federal contractors who are companies who are contracted with the federal government are required by the U.S. Department of Labor to hire former military members. With this kind of approach, you will have a greater chance of landing that civilian job.
9. How Do You Conduct Your Job-Search? First of all, you cannot simply use one source. The first place for former military members to go is to friends and family. Networking works well. Your former armed forces buddies may be able to help. Put yourself out there on social media. Proudly display your military service and lets those who follow you and more know that you are a military veteran entering the civilian workforce. By all means, please don't forget transition assistance programs.
Finally, there are job boards. Our Job Board, Job Opportunities for Disabled Veterans, or www.JOFDAV.com boasts thousands of new jobs daily from employers who have initiatives to hire military veterans. So what are you waiting for? Register, conduct your job search, and find yourself that civilian job.