How was your transition from service?

Expect multiple rejections in your job search and don't take it personal.

Lousy. Even after "civilianizing" my resume and learning to speak "civilian-ese" companies made me feel like my military experience and leadership skills were inferior to others who had been in the civilian sect for the three years I was AD. I think they saw military on my resume and thought, "shoot'em up, bang-bang, PTSD" even before they interviewed me. A few years later I was going for a management position and I was told right out that leadership in an IT position supporting a retail banking business is quite different than military leadership. Yes very different - have to be ready to react 24/7, manage a staff 40 hrs a week and, brief your superiors on current status an future plans & how to depend on and train the talent in your section. I could see how I was so not qualified -my left a$$ cheek!! Needless to say I didn't get that position. Instead they hired someone who was a department store manager with limited technical experience. I $hit you not!

My departure from military service was not my choice – the powers that be decided that I had been in long enough and decided that I should retire. Right after all the paperwork was signed, higher rank positions opened up in multiple units – go figure. I used terminal leave for my last month in the service. For seven months I looked and applied to multitudes of employment opportunities – both CONUS and OCONUS. While there was a lot of talk about hiring veterans – most didn’t. In my case, I was 50, and retired out of the military (civilian world thinks for the most part, if you’re retired you don’t want to really work and you probably don’t have the best health, plus they think everyone in the military has PTSD). In my case though, my health was great (better than majority of civilians my age), I don’t have PTSD and I wanted to work (still have a mortgage and other bills).
Finally, when the savings were really running low – I found a job opening with AMTRAK in my home town. I applied, went through all the pre-employment and at the end there were 4 of us for 2 openings. The Road Foreman doing the hiring liked me and told the recruiters to find me a job with AMTRAK. About a month later an opening came up in St. Louis, MO. I went for the interview and got the job – then it was off to Delaware for 8 weeks of paid training. Then it was off to Chicago, IL for final signal and rules tests before heading to ST. Louis, MO. I had to get an apartment there (while my family stayed back in our home in Michigan). I worked as an Assistant Conductor on the Lincoln Service and the Texas Eagle (St. Louis to Chicago and back) and the Missouri River Runner (St. Louis to Kansas City and back). After my first year I moved up to Full Conductor. My family would come and visit when they could. It was a good job but I was always looking for something that would get me back home.
Towards the end of my 2nd year with AMTRAK, I saw an opening on USA JOBS for the Defense Logistics Agency back in my home town. I put in for the job and used some vacation to go to the interview. Just at my 2 year mark with AMTRAK – I got hired by the DLA. I used my remaining vacation time to move back home for my new job. The DLA has been and is a great place to work – I can even telework from home now too if I want.