Military to civilian career search blog

Developing a Career as a Military Spouse: How to utilize your skills for a successful career in the workforce

2012-05-30T18:24:16Z

Military spouses can find it challenging to start or sustain a career in their chosen field because of the various challenges that come with being the husband or wife of a soldier. Though it may be challenging, having a career while being a military spouse is entirely possible with the knowledge of a few tips and helpful advice for how to find the right career field and consistently translate your abilities into skill sets attractive to employers.

Employers are Looking for Your Talents

Translate Your Household Management Skills into Job Skills

Often times, military spouses want to start their own careers but are apprehensive about the process either because they have never been in the traditional workforce or have been out of it for a longer period of time. These individuals have, in addition to the concerns and perceived barriers mentioned above, the added challenge of building a resume and articulating a skill set they acquired primarily from household management.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, though it often does, that organizations look for exactly these types of skills. A spouse with a background in household management already has great planning and organizational skills. Military spouses should know that if you can run a household, you’re flexible and possess logistic skills that are necessary to many private sector positions. Articulating your skills so that the potential employer can easily envision utilizing your skills in the workplace will be a focus for you as you write your resume and cover letter, among other things.

Military Employment Transition in the News - May 28

2012-05-28T10:50:55Z

Today a few good articles about military to civilian career transition were published. Here are our top picks for your Monday morning:

Mission: Career Transition
The Ultimate Guide for the Military to Civilian Transition

Here's a preview of what's inside:

151 Pages of Expert Guidance - A 10-briefing guide that will teach you how to complete a successful transition.
30 Worksheets - The worksheets take you through the steps of your transition using what you've learned in the text.
13 Supplemental Videos - Career transition expertise directly from our founders, Jean & Margey.
2 Transition Case Studies - Listen to others' stories.

Find out more by clicking here!

Career change cover letter template

2012-05-25T12:00:09Z

A cover letter is an elegant way to introduce yourself. A career change cover letter on the other hand, has to impress and persuade.

It is your chance to explain, in no more than 3-4 paragraphs, why you bring value to the prospective employer.

If a cover letter is a handshake, a career change cover letter is your sales pitch, to stimulate the curiosity of the hiring manager to turn the page to your accompanying resume. It’s not what you have done and it’s not just all about you. It’s more importantly about what you can bring to the table and how. You should devote at least half the cover letter to your transferable skills, and how they will create value to your new employer.

You need a career change cover letter when you want to leave the job you are in behind to move to a new direction. As your letter competes against others already in your new field of choice, your resume cover letter has to be a standout.

What is a Resume and How to Write One

2012-05-22T15:55:05Z

What is An Effective Resume?

First of all, let’s be clear about what’s not. The most common—and worst!— type we see from clients is a boring list of “the things I did.” This is a resume-to-nowhere except frustration, disappointment and failure.

Better, but still not good enough, is the resume that says: “Here are the things I did in my last job (or jobs), and here are the results these things achieved.” OK, we’re moving in the right direction, but we’re not there yet.

Why? Because list of results all by itself doesn’t mean much in isolation. This type or resume lacks context; it doesn’t explain why the accomplished mattered. It doesn’t answer the all-important “So What” question.

A Career Change Resume Is Different

A career change resume has to do all of that and more. All good resumes showcases meaningful results by saying: “Here are the things I did. Here are the results we achieved, and this is why those results mattered.” Furthermore, a career change resume...

Military Employment Transition in the News - May 18

2012-05-18T10:43:03Z

Lots of great military career transition articles in the news this week. Here are just a few of our favorites:

Top Myths about Personal Branding

2012-05-16T15:23:53Z

When you hear the words personal branding, do you think, "That's for people who are into how they dress," or "That's for people who are into self-promotion?" Unfortunately, those are just two of the myths that people often believe about personal branding. As a result of these myths, the concept of personal branding has gotten a bit of a bad rap that it simply doesn't deserve. Let's put these Personal Brand Myths to rest once and for all and uncover what "YOU(TM)" - yes, the trademarked you - is really all about.

Myth #1: "Personal Branding is all about self-promotion."

This couldn't be further from the truth! Smart personal branding isn't about marketing yourself in an obvious or intrusive way. You can consciously but subtly communicate your personal brand through the five key activities you do every day: your Actions, Reactions, Look, Sound, and Thoughts.

Through these activities, you can exemplify and live your brand every single day without the need to blow your own horn. As a result, those around you will simply become more and more aware of the contribution you can make in the workplace, for example. Your boss, colleagues, and customers will begin to notice "YOU(TM)" more, and they will begin to count on you to deliver in the areas that you have defined for your personal brand.

Have You Heard About Got Your 6?

2012-05-14T13:02:05Z

Have you heard about Got Your 6? It's a campaign led by the entertainment industry that will help create a new conversation in America, one where veterans and military families are perceived as both leaders and civic assets.

From the Got Your 6 website...

In order to set up military veterans for success in civilian life, the Got Your 6 campaign focuses on the six pillars of reintegration: Jobs, Education, Health, Housing, Family, & Leadership.

For each of the six pillars, a group of expert activation partners establish a concrete set of tangible goals that can be identified, measured, and reported in quantifiable terms. Activation partners develop a plan to track progress toward the goals, establish a method to engage the general public, and formulate a strategy to utilize the resources of the campaign.

What we love about the organization is the recognition of the role that today's media superstars have on influencing public opinion. It is critical that we help all Americans -- and, in particular, emploers -- understand just how valuable veterans are to their country, companies and communities.

Bravo Got Your 6!

Job Interview Tips for Second Interviews

2012-05-10T11:04:25Z

You did it! You followed all the job interview tips you know and impressed that manager job interviewer the first time around and so now you're invited for a second round of 'talks'. Now what? You read everything you could about job interviews (e.g., resume writing tips, business etiquette during a job interview, etc.) but now you feel that you need a different type of job interview tip. What do you do during second job interviews?

Second Job Interview Tips to Land You that Job Offer
For the first job interview for that manager job, you spared nothing concerning your job resume. You may have even hired a professional resume writer just to ensure that you present yourself as a 'perfect fit' to the company's manager job description.

You invested in your appearance too. You 'aligned' your wardrobe to fit your career plans and even
invested in an at-home tooth whitening system to improve the appearance of your smile (important for first impressions!).

But now that you've been called for a second job interview, the panic sets in again. Relax, you must have done something right the first time so just focus on these job interview tips we have for you and you'll be fine.

Military Employment Transition in the News!

2012-05-07T11:38:33Z

Two great articles hit major publications today. Both the New York Times and Wall Street Journal feature articles about the military employment transition process.

From the Wall Street Journal...

For U.S. troops returning from overseas, personal-finance issues can be a sobering part of homecoming.

Nearly 150,000 service members returned from Iraq and Afghanistan last year, and 35,000 more came home from Afghanistan in the first two months of 2012, according to the Defense Department

"It's a feel-good moment, but it's also a time of adjustment," says Brenda Linnington, director of the Better Business Bureau's Military Line, a program covering consumer issues for service members. For reunited families, and young couples especially, desires to celebrate or make a big purchase can collide with realities such as reduced income and increased expenses.

Recognizing the challenges its personnel face, the military provides financial counseling for troops both before and after deployment in combat, though it doesn't say how many service members seek such assistance.

The article in the New York Times focuses on retired military officers recreating themselves as university professors. It's a really fascinating look at a unique career path.

Monster and Military.com Continue Commitment to Get Veterans Back to Work

2012-05-01T10:58:55Z

Continuing its leadership position in veterans’ employment issues, Monster®, the worldwide leader in connecting people to job opportunities and the flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc. , and Military.com, the nation’s largest military and veteran community, recently held its second free Virtual Career Fair for Veterans.

More than 30 companies came together giving recruiters and more than 10,000 Veteran, active duty, guard and reservists the chance to connect in a collaborative virtual environment, featuring jobs in the technology, retail, entertainment, finance, and sales sectors, ranging from entry-level and middle-manager positions, to senior roles. The next Virtual Career Fair in this free series for veterans will take place August 21 – 23.

Monster currently works with thousands of companies that recognize the unique talents veterans bring to the workforce. Monster and Military.com are also the official online partners in the U.S. Chamber of Commerce "Hiring our Heroes" initiative, providing online tools for veterans to use before and after career fairs to translate their military skills, prepare a marketable resume, and to connect with both mentors and employers online.

“One of the biggest challenges veterans face as they transition from military to civilian life according to both vets and hiring managers, is translating military skills into civilian-equivalent skills. That is particularly true for those serving in traditional combat roles, where it may not be obvious how their skill sets translate into the private sector,” said Rear Adm. T.L. McCreary, U.S. Navy (Ret.) and President of Military.com.

In an effort to conquer this challenge, Monster and Military.com introduced its Military Skills Translator (developed by Military.com), to help veterans decode their military abilities into civilian equivalents and connect them to employers. Once veterans have translated their skills to civilian terms, they can then build a resume through Military.com's Resume Builder that will match the format of other civilians applying for the same job. Because military resumes are often written in a unique style, they don't always translate well to the civilian employers. The Resume Builder bridges that gap.

As part of Monster’s ongoing commitment to veteran hiring needs, in November 2011, the company introduced the first Veterans Talent Index (VTI), an innovative new tool that helps connect veteran job seekers and employers more effectively. The VTI provides a snapshot of the skills veterans possess, identifies the attributes employers admire in candidates, and gauges how well they are matching up at any given point in time. Released on a semi-annual basis, this tool provides a more accurate picture of the hiring landscape for veterans. The next VTI will be introduced just prior to Memorial Day.

These initiatives are all a part of Monster’s ongoing commitment to transition service members into meaningful employment opportunities, to both recognize and demonstrate the value that veterans bring to the American workforce.

To learn more about hiring veterans, including recruitment solutions for employers, visit the Veteran Employment Center of Monster and Military.com.