What's the best piece of advice you would give someone who is transitioning out of the military?

In order to not repeat what I've said elsewhere, I'll give two pieces of advice I don't think I've hammered home.

1. Decide what you want to be when you "grow up." This doesn't necessarily mean you next job, it means your ultimate goal. You may well not get THERE, but you'll get closer than if you didn't plan. "Plans are useless, planning is essential." or some version of the quote.

2. WORK. The job search process should be a full-time thing, not something that you do occasionally or in spurts. I am a big fan of the "What color is your parachute?" book, but if you ignored all of the book both this one little bit, you would be ahead of 95% of job seekers. You are in the process of determining what you will do with the majority of your waking weekday hours for the next several years at least, what standard of living you will have, etc. If you take it with the seriousness it deserves, it is easily at least a 40 hour a week gig to look for a job. Before an interview, you can easily put in 10-16 hours with company research, interview prep, interview rehearsals, etc. Before an application, resume rewrites (resume should always be tailored to the job & industry), Cover letter drafts, research of company, etc can easily take 5-8 hours. Networking (which is work in this case) can take 15-20 hours easily. Add on working with a recruiter or really scouring high-quality job posting sites can take another 5-10 hours. So... If you Network, look for jobs, send out two applications, and have one interview a week, you are looking at 40 hours on the low end.

I am often struck with the fact that most people seem to put more rigor into planning their summer vacation than they do into getting the job that will pay for it. And we've hardly touched on the distinction between a job and a career...

Or luck into the right job. It does happen occasionally.

Unless you are locked into one Geographical Location, put your HHG into storage and look around. The grass may really be greener somewhere else. To often we lock ourselves into living in a place just because we are used to being there. If you have the flexibility to take a year or two off and travel to find out where you really want to live and where you can live for the rest of your life do it.

The best thing we ever did was sell our house, move into our RV and travel for 2 years before we settled down for the rest of our lives. Living in Norfolk, VA would have been easy. Getting out and looking for the place we wanted to settle was HARD. It took planning and courage to abandon our NEST and get away fro it all. If you take the time to plan it, it is much more that just a vacation.

Networking is good advice but for junior enlisted and those that don't make it to the NCO/SNCO ranks, that can be rather hard. Capt. Desmond brings up the valid point that it's often not what you know but WHO you know. Well, when you're that E-3 or maybe E-4 transitioning out after one tour, who DO you know?

Unless you were in a key position where you worked with key staff and senior officers, you don't know anyone so your search starts from the bottom rung.

I'd say your best asset is knowing how to truly transition your military skills into a language that civilians can understand. Terms we use as well as simple vernacular in day-to-day military life don't look good on a civilian résumé. Take a small class on writing a professional résumé or get assistance in writing one and also practice interviewing with someone.

Just like we drill over and over, your interview should be well rehearsed but true and accurate. And lastly, just because you're out of the military, don't co crazy in your appearance. Dress and look like you want the job. While a company may say they're equal opportunity, how you present yourself is HUGE! Just like you would report to a new unit in your service alphas, a nice suit, well groomed and shaved (or beard trimmed), with no outlandish visible piercings or tattoos.

These are what I consider to be small yet crucial keys to success, especially when you may not have been in a position to establish a network connection while in service.