Six Key Things To Consider Before Your Transition From The Military

Six Key Things To Consider Before Your Transition From The Military

Transitioning out of the military is actually a lot more complex than most active duty service members think, I have been through it and didn't even think about most of these things. I served 11 years in the military, serving in both the Navy (4 years) and the Marines (7 years). When I got out of the Navy I was only 21, and totally not prepared. I went back home to Cincinnati, OH and couldn't find a job that the Navy had trained me to do as a Parachute Rigger, no shocker there right. I did try working in a restaurant, but that was not the life I wanted and it barely paid the bills and took care of the family.

My solution for resolving this transition issue was to go back into the military, where I felt safe and secure, where I knew what to expect, and I was respected. After another 7 years I transitioned out of the Marines as a Staff Sergeant. Many, like me when I got out, think that if you save up some vacation days and just take 30 days of terminal leave at the end of your tour of duty you are all set. I mean 30 days to find a new job, no problem right, everyone wants to hire a veteran, it should be easy. Not true! There are many layers to consider when getting out. I wanted to address some of the most common things that those in transition need to consider! 

Preparation: This is an area that has certainly improved over time. It used to be that military members assumed they had what it takes to make it as a civilian with no extra preparation. That the job they learned in the military plus their years of experience and the rank they had worked their way up to was enough. But it's not! Rank doesn't even matter in the civilian world. Here's a mindbender, after serving for 20 years in the military and getting out in your 40s-50s as a senior enlisted or officer in charge of an entire command or hundreds of troops, you end up working for the CEO of a small or large company who's in their early 30s and has little to no leadership experience. Now that takes some mental preparation if you're going to make it as a civilian.

This is a real concern with the active duty military senior leaders that I run into often from MacDill AFB in Tampa, FL. With this being the home of SOCOM, CENTCOM, MARCENT, and other high profile commands it is a place where many senior enlisted and officers come to retire. I work with them on their transition and provide resume review, LinkedIn training, and mentoring to ensure their success. The very fact of the matter is many do not want to work for someone younger, others are able to embrace it and to be a mentor to the younger CEO and provide the needed leadership to the company. This is a decision point where you should decide before you get out of the military, do you want to be an employee and work for someone else, or do you want to be an entrepreneur, start your own company, and be your own boss?

What many that transition out of the military quickly learned is that it is not easy to transition, and they struggled to find a job, fit in, and figure out what it is that they wanted to do. All this takes preparation in order to make it as seamless as possible. These days many are getting a degree or certification, attending transition programs, or doing research before they get out. Personally I recommend the DOD SkillBridge program for a true jump start and advantage when getting out of the military. I wish it had existed when I got out.

Relocation: When you get out of the military you have to figure out if you're going to stay in the same area of that last duty station, or if you want to move to a completely new place that you've never been before, or do you just want to move back to where it all started (your home of record)? If you're overseas, it obviously gets more complicated as you often have to go from overseas to a specific point in the USA, where you do your final processing to get out of the military, and then you do your final move to where you want to settle down. When you break all that down, here are some of the finer points to consider.

What job do you have in the military? Some areas you move to have no need for that type of job depending on what it is, working on a submarine for example. If that's the case chances are you're not going to be moving back to Iowa when you get out if that's where you joined the military. You need to move somewhere near water, where they have submarines.

What environment do you want to live in, what makes you happy? Sunny all the time with beaches, fresh mountain air, do you like all four seasons? Personally after joining the military at 17 and getting to travel to many places in the world I realized I liked the warm places. I really didn't want to go back to shoveling snow in Ohio, so I chose sunny Florida as the place I wanted to live. Still here by the way, and loving it!

If you have a family, what about them? There's so much more to think about with a family and those things should weigh heavily into what decision you make. After all, having a happy family is a fantastic feeling, and they did their time as well when it comes to the military, things like moving and starting over with friends and jobs. That's especially hard on kids. Your spouse may have their own established career, or at least a job. Can they transfer to a new location or will they have to start over, do they have to give two weeks or 30 days notice? Sometimes the situation arises where you or the spouse has to go to the new location while the other remains until able to move, or the house is sold, etc. That requires extra thought and planning. The kids could be attending school at the time you're getting out. In this case, planning and timing is everything when it comes to relocation.

Luckily the military gives you relocation assistance when it comes to packing and moving all your stuff. But that's from point A to point B. If you have a lot of other steps or locations due to a complicated situation, that's normally all on you.

Finances: Fist of all, whether you're military or civilian hopefully you always save for a rainy day (or rainy month)!

Second, how close are you to retirement? I got out after 11 years instead of waiting the full 20 years. After the 20 years you can retire and know that you're going to get that check from the military every month. So if you start a new career after the military, like most do, you're getting a double income. I have many friends from the military that have used that extra income to either invest or buy a nice home and enjoy some of the finer things in life. I have mixed feelings on that. There have been times when as a civilian I have been laid off (technology is a fluctuating industry). During those times I wished I had that extra income I could have gotten from retirement. On the other hand, I got out to follow my dreams, settle down where I wanted to live, and the family, friends, and life I have today are due to that decision, and I wouldn't change any of that.

Aside from that, it's about planning for a new career that financially pays you enough to support your family and lifestyle. You don't get things like hazardous duty pay, or extra money to live off base. It's all on you to find a base salary that meets your needs.

You could start your own business, but know up front all the things that you really need to put into it and what that’s going to cost you. There will be a period of time before you're financially profitable. If you're interested in becoming an entrepreneur that's something that I can help you with.

Finding a new career: Does your military career even translate to a civilian job? Driving a tank for example, who needs that? What new career do you want if you're starting over, have you thought about it? Do you have the position qualifications or do you need training for a new job? Can you afford the time it takes to complete the training? How do you determine what job is a fit for you? Can you leverage your security clearance? The list goes on but there are so many questions that need answered in this area. Several things to take note of here.

Researching- In addition to location and job translation already mentioned, there is going to be a lot of research needed on your part. There are tools out there to help with all of this from resumes, to job searching, to personal branding. One of my favorites tools is LinkedIn. Another great tool is the knowledge of people around you and already in the civilian space.

For active duty military, veterans, and spouses I would look up:

Project Transition USA for LinkedIn training.

Veterati and ACP for mentorship.

You need to create a resume, one master resume with your entire history of experience and targeted resumes for specific positions. Research what positions match your experience. One way to do this is with LinkedIn's Career Explorer.

You need to create a LinkedIn profile as it's the number one business network in the world. I can help you in this area for job seekers as well as entrepreneurs.

You need to determine if you want to stay in the same job field or move to something new.

If interested in something new, a lot of research needs to be done to consider which direction to go. Is it a passion, is it something you are extremely skilled at aside from your career in the military? What about public speaking or leadership consulting, two popular choices for retiring military personnel.

Networking- In person networking is of course great, especially if you're staying in your local area. But for those moving to another state or coming back from overseas I would again suggest using LinkedIn as a networking tool.

Continuing education- A degree or certification in the industry you're interested in is certainly a great help. When you search for a position on LinkedIn it actually tells you about your competition and where you stand with others that have applied. You can see the number of people that have a degree, and other qualifying things like skills needed for the position.

Other than degrees and certifications companies like to see lifelong learners who are interested in pursuing continuing education. It shows a dedication to enhancing your knowledge and skills. It sets you apart from those that do not invest the time.

The DOD SkillBridge program- This is one of those amazing opportunities that every single active duty service member should take advantage of if they get the opportunity. How it works is, this Department of Defense program allows service members up to 180 days prior to retiring/separating from the military to work at a company in an internship type of capacity. The company does not pay you so it’s a win for them and the military continues to pay your salary, so it’s a win for you.

The greatest thing about this is you can work full-time at a company for up to 6 months, learn about the company and the industry, and learn about corporate. Understanding corporate culture is key to fitting into a company or industry. Additionally, if you like the company and they like you there is a very high potential of getting hired upon completion of the internship. More info here.

Reintegration into the family: This is an interesting one and a very important one! In the military we deploy often, sometimes back to back deployments. Our spouse and kids get into a routine without us. We miss birthdays, holidays, and more. How do we interact when we return, what do we do? The spouse takes charge and runs the show when we're gone, doing everything their way. How do we reintegrate with our family and decide what changes have to be made, if any?

The thing we have to remember is for up to 20 years or more our brains have been wired by default to command, give orders, expect immediate action, and nothing else is acceptable. You cannot do that. Your spouse and your kids are not troops. We have to remember to treat them lovingly and keep in perspective who they are, how old they are, and they do not have a military mentality.

This will also apply to the civilians you end up working with, they are not your troops, they are your equals and peers. You will go further by listening and understanding rather than commanding and criticizing.

One big thing is to celebrate your spouse for all they have done and managed alone while you were not there. It's like they were on duty the entire time with no relief. Rely on them to fill you in on all the intricate details of the home, the kids, and even the job your spouse may have had while dealing with everything else.

Our calling to serve others: One thing that never really changes when we get out is wanting to continue serving a mission. It becomes part of us in the military. Often times it centers around helping our military veteran brothers and sisters but it could be something else as well, a cause we care about like taking care of the elderly or orphaned children. It's good to have purpose and many getting out of the military feel like their purpose is gone. They no longer have the rank and they feel less important. Sometimes they try to compensate by filling that loss of belonging with something else.

I am a true believer in helping others and I do dedicate time towards doing this almost daily. Employers love to see volunteering on a resume or profile as it shows them dedication. It also fits in with many companies corporate culture these days. But we cannot let it consume us. If we do enough of this and we're never home, it's kind of like being deployed. We have to make time for our families. They are one of the most precious things that we have and when they're gone we can't get them back.

With all of the things I have mentioned so far, how do you even know where to start, with any of them, and all of them at the same time?

One thing I did was to personally cut back on volunteering. I was spreading myself too thin, helping others and not always leaving time to do family things. One of the things that helped me to do that was using personal agility. Applying personal agility can help so much with prioritizing, addressing, and solving the things mentioned in this article.

Personal agility, and more specifically, the Personal Agility System is made up of many tools that can greatly improve your direction and future success. It also focuses on a couple of critical things that I want to talk about in my next article, what really matters, and efficiently determining your priorities.

Thanks for reading!

Pete

Richard Gelles

Continuing the Journey!

3y

Pete, great article! I just finished my TAP class. Can you believe that there was not a single mention of Skillbridge!? I couldn’t believe it.

Nancy Laine

U.S. Veteran Advocate ♦ Connecting World Class Leaders with Worldwide Opportunities for the Greatest Good™ ♦ American Patriot

3y

Pete, this article is such a gift. Thank you for writing it from your heart, and for all the YEARS you have dedicated to supporting your transitioning brothers and sisters. You've made such a huge positive difference in our veteran community! 🙏

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