What big companies would you apply to, after getting out of the military and why?

SPC Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 02:21:17 -0400

I'm getting out of the military on medical discharge in less than a matter of months and am hitting the job market very hard for a great job. I'm a 31B in the Army and am always able to ask for help. Any ideas?

Response by LTC David S. Chang, ChFC®, CLU® made Mar 12 at 2014 4:13 AM

LTC David S. Chang, ChFC®, CLU® — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 04:13:41 -0400

I would seriously look at military headhunting companies like lucasgroup, bradley-morris, etc. They can help navigate you the process. They have lots of experience with military members and how to place them in positions that will be a good fit.

Response by SSG Roderick Smith made Mar 12 at 2014 7:09 AM

SSG Roderick Smith — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 07:09:39 -0400

What kind of job are you looking for, SPC Whitton?

Response by Sgt Matthew O'Donnell made Mar 12 at 2014 9:24 AM

Sgt Matthew O'Donnell — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 09:24:41 -0400

If you are thinking about getting out of the military start
preparing at least 6 months or more in advance. It is a tough
transition for some back to civilian life. No one is going to show
you the ropes out here like they did in the service.

Get your finances straight- You probably are not going to
make the same amount of money that you are use too. Being married in
the service gives you housing or housing allowance. Kiss that good
bye. Plan now to pay down credit cards and debt, get your car paid
off, pretty much lower your bills while you have a good paycheck.

Ask other veterans what they did pre and post discharge that
made life easy or really hard. Mine was OK at first and took a
dramatic downfall. Just started recovering now from my discharge in
2007

There is a good chance that you are going to find work that
you can do, but are not qualified to do. So get an education while
you are active or as soon as you get out with your G.I. Bill. Pretty
much having a degree now is the norm to get an entry level position.

Employers don't care about anything to get the job done
mentality. They want specifics on what you are going to do, and what
you are qualified to do. They don't want the Marine, Soldier or
Sailor that you know you are. They want the civilian with those
experiences because they are loyal and show up everyday.

Use social media as a tool to network for employment, you can
still be yourself on there just remember that employers look to see
who you really are before and after your interview. Get a Linkedin
account, you can get a premium account for free for 1 year through
Ll Job Seeker Subscription- a subgroup of Veteran Mentor Network.
This will connect you with more veterans, classes on job seeking and
other forums pertaining to employment for veterans.

Finally just have a plan, without one it is very possible
that you will struggle out there.

Good luck.

Response by Sgt Matthew O'Donnell made Mar 12 at 2014 9:34 AM

Sgt Matthew O'Donnell — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 09:34:53 -0400

Use websites like this to help as well:
1. http://www.showyourstripes.org/
2. http://www.taonline.com/resources/tapoffices/
3. http://www.careeronestop.org/ReEmployment/Veterans/
4. http://www.dol.gov/vets/programs/tap/tap_fs.htm
5. http://www.mccscp.com/transition-assistance-veterans-benefits
(I was a Marine, I'm sure there are Army, Navy, Air force ones too)
6. http://www.gijobs.com/
7. http://www.militaryonesource.mil/transition

There are more out there, these are just a few I found on google.

Military OneSource Transition Assistance

Confidential services, including non-medical counseling and specialty consultations, are available through Military OneSource. Eligible individuals may receive confidential services at no cost. Check ...

G.I. Jobs: Civilian Careers & Education for Military Veterans

G.I. Jobs helps Army, Air Force, Marines, Navy, and National Guard veterans find civilian jobs with employers who understand vets' unique skills and experience.

Military Transition Readiness Programs | MCCS Camp Pendleton

Veterans Administration Benefits Counseling & Medical Records ScreeningBldg 13150, 2nd FlView location on Google Maps [login to see]

U.S. Department of Labor -- Veterans' Employment and TrainingService (VETS) -- Fact Sheet 1

The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) was established to meet
the needs of separating service members during their period of transition into
civilian life by offering job-search assi...

Job Search Tips | Veterans ReEmployment | CareerOneStop

Veterans ReEmployment is your one-stop site for employment, training and financial help after your military service.

Transition Assistance Program Information and Offices

Helps Veterans find jobs. Our Career site is dedicated to helping vets find jobs, and military-employers offer jobs for vets. Nearly 200,000 veterans, reservists, guardsmen, and military spouses have ...

Show Your Stripes

Join the iHeartRadio movement to support hiring veterans! iHeartRadio's Show Your Stripes helps America's returning veterans connect to real job opportunities, and encourages businesses across the co...

Response by LTC Paul Mullins made Mar 12 at 2014 12:26 PM

LTC Paul Mullins — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 12:26:24 -0400

I would start with an aptitude test to determine where my interests lay and what it says you have an aptitude for. Below is a link to a free one I had my high schooler take, it will also give you some Dept of Labor statistics about expected growth in the recommended careers. It is general knowledge that the cyber career field is rapidly growing. This includes jobs in telecommunications giants like Verizon, AT&T, etc. Everything from installing to managing wired and wireless systems. I recently saw a program for transitioning military to provide training and placement in this field called wireless4warriors.com. I don't know how good the program is, but there are other simliar programs on-post for transition assistance that ACAP and others sponsor.

All the other postings are correct in many of their assertions also. Definitely try to get your finances straight where you owe as little as possible as SGT O'Donnell stated. The headhunters are also a great resource as stated by MAJ Chang.

Take advantage of the G.I. Bill. I ETS'd in the late 80's and used mine to get a Batchelors. I have 12 months of 9/11 G.I. Bill and I am looking at getting certifications using it. The two highest paying certs are the Project Management Professional (PMP) and the Computer Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). You generally make $100K+ with one let alone both of these. They can be taken without experience, just hard studying, but in order to be fully credentialed, you will need to get job experience.

Spend some time researching resume writing (the ACAP one is not great and oriented more for USAJOBS.COM as I understand it). One great resource I would recommend would be a free membership to TheLadders.com. They are designed for people hunting $100K+ jobs, but they have great insights in a down-to-earth manner into resume writing, setting goals for job searches, interviews, dressing and they even have a Miltary-to-Civilian transition guide.

Aptitude test is on this page:

http://www.yourfreecareertest.com/

Career Tests and Career Aptitude Tests

Online career tests and tools including free personality tests, career aptitude tests, career quizzes and career assessment tests.

Response by 1SG Private RallyPoint Member made Aug 21 at 2014 8:36 AM

1SG Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 21 Aug 2014 08:36:39 -0400

Check out this section here on RallyPoint.

https://www.rallypoint.com/careers/civilian

RallyPoint | The Military's Professional Network

Response by COL Jean (John) F. B. made Aug 27 at 2014 10:47 AM

COL Jean (John) F. B. — Wed, 27 Aug 2014 10:47:08 -0400

Depending on your physical abilities (you stated you had a medical discharge), you may want to look at positions in the private security area. These companies range from "mom and pop" small businesses to some of the largest corporations in the world (G4S, Securitas, etc.). Armed, unarmed, para-military, they run the gamut. Pay can go from minimum wage for the smaller company, unarmed positions, to upwards of $100,000 for the para-military security positions at critical national security sites. Opportunities abound in both CONUS and OCONUS positions.

Most security companies, particularly those that offer customers the high-end para-military security personnel, favor military/military police applicants, even over former police officers.