It’ll take some time to fully build out this site, so I’m going to maintain this post with responses to some of the most common questions I encounter. I’ll add more information as I collect more of it from other successful transition folks.
Just a reminder that we’re specifically discussing transitions into the tech industry, which basically means Internet companies. This doesn’t include the energy, shipping, or manufacturing industries, though I am sure there are many similarities. If you are pursuing non-tech jobs as well (which you probably should be), you’ll want to do research specific to those areas as well. It’s also worth noting that this might not exactly apply to people who went to get advanced degrees right out of the military; chances are you got an MBA which sort of makes you a different type of candidate.
I just decided I’m getting out. What’s the first thing I should do?
When you are 100% decided that you will separate from the military, you can immediately start planning. Sure, certain things like (most) applications and referrals come closer to your terminal leave date, but those are NOT the most important functions of a career search. You could also decide to go back to school full-time, in which case you’d be researching other things. Sometimes you have to leave the service because of a family obligation. One of our survey contributors mentioned he left the Coast Guard to stay for family. Regardless of circumstance, if you are now at the point of no return, there is work to do.
It’s time to NETWORK. I will say repeatedly throughout this blog/site/whatever that networking is integral to success, and I under-appreciated this point during my transition. Your first should be research, but finding your network is the first important part of that research. There will be more on networking later as I talk to some people who are good at doing it.
RESEARCH is your main priority if you still have plenty of time. Do your best to confirm what kind of industry you would like to join. Just because you like computers & websites, doesn’t mean you necessarily would like the tech industry the best. If you have plenty of time to work with, spend a lot of it just finding the career areas that appeal to you.
If you are close to transition or already out of the military, you should be having more direct conversations with the members of your network. Information interviews with people who are in the industry are extremely helpful in figuring out what jobs you might like. Be sure to ask every question you need to, in order to find your preferences. If you are able to clearly articulate your qualifications and desires, you may find people willing to refer you to positions or companies, which is powerful help especially for us vets.
What kind of job should I do?
Your research should be heavily focused here until you figure it out. If you were an officer in the Army (and have real experience in leadership jobs) you are typically comparable to some level of management or mid-level individual contributor. If you were an NCO, then you range between the management and supervisory type of roles in a company. Some junior NCOs and others may not have a huge amount of supervisor/leadership credentials yet – in those cases, you are looking for junior supervisor or specialist roles to start. Have no idea what you want to do? One of our contributors has mentioned consulting as a way to see a variety of role types.
Not all companies are the same size, so it gets really hard to stay consistent with regards to job titles and roles. Just remember that the military isn’t THAT different from most other organizations, so you need to show ‘manager’ experience to be seen as a ‘manager.’
If you are looking at the tech industry, then you should be highly interested in the Internet, and the products built upon it. These products are mainly funded through advertising revenue, so expect the jobs to be in some way related to that aspect of the Internet. Also, since these products are not physical in nature, tech companies can operate in much more distributed environments. That means that tech employees are in general more diverse in terms of nationality and location. Big meetings and decisions happen over video-conferences all the time.
There will be much more information about the differences between tech and other industries as we build up our knowledge.
How do I make a resume?
The first thing I tell people, is to prepare to have a resume for nearly every different position. The resume is of critical importance for most job applications, and recruiters in the tech industry see so many of them, you cannot afford to submit a bad one. Obviously, you need to anticipate that the recruiter will not be familiar with military terminology, so you need to translate to civilian terms.
I recommend making one huge resume with all of your significant accomplishments, and then chopping that resume down to a 1-page version when you apply to a job. The goal is to leave only the most applicable experience on the resume, to maximize the recruiter’s time when they read this resume. You should only submit a multi-page resume if you are applying for a highly specialized or highly experienced job where you are sure the recruiter is going to be poring over the credentials. This is generally not the case for anyone who would be visiting my little site.
We’ll have plenty more about resume building in the future.
What are the most important things to remember for a successful transition?
1. If you don’t network completely, you are leaving points on the table. Use every avenue that you can to network, including websites, job fairs, recruitment firms, and family/friends.
2. Do not sell yourself short if the competition is strong. It can be a little jarring when you first transition and realize that some job that you really like is too far outside of your reach at the moment. Remember that you can always chart a path to the job you want. For example, most people can’t grab a high-profile product manager job at a huge tech company immediately. But you CAN get a similar job at a smaller company, or you can do other jobs that could lead there, such a technical program manager or a product marketing manager.
3. Put in work. I didn’t count the hours I spent researching and looking at job descriptions. Or prepping for career conferences and doing practice interviews. But I know it was a lot of effort, and you should be expecting to do the same. Some people will be lucky and find something based on their network or family, etc, but most of us need to be ready to learn and then ready to prove ourselves when the time comes. If you have gotten out of the ‘studying’ mindset since school, try to get back into it, and make yourself more aware of industry trends and current events.
What are the best questions to ask during a job interview?
What kind of expectations do you have for this role (or the first 90 days)?
Is this role an existing or a new position hoping to fulfill anticipated growth?
How does this role/team work and get along with other parts of the company?
Feedback culture – how receptive are teammates to feedback?
Growth – Where do people usually go after this position?
Balance – How is work/life balanced managed in this organization?
Growth – How is performance management done on this team?
