March 2018 |
Transition-e-news Volume 4 Issue 140 |
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Transition Insight
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'til Death We Do Part . . . or Maybe Not© Tom Wolfe, author; all rights reserved; excerpts from Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition; used with the permission of the author and publisher, www.potomacbooksinc.com. During a recent career coaching session one of my clients, Bob, a captain in the Army who had just returned from deployment, shared with me his concerns about making sure he ended up in the right job. Several of his buddies separated from the Army a year earlier and a couple of them were not happy in their new jobs. Bob did not want to end up like them. Here is the gist of what I told him. Tell your buddies they are not alone in the woods! This happens more often than you would think. Although there are several possible reasons, in most cases the cause is simple—insufficient research on the front end. The What do you want to do when you get out? question is a tough one. How are you supposed to know what kind of a civilian job is best for you when all you have ever known is the military? You graduated from high school or college and joined the military. Here you are years later with solid leadership and management skills but little knowledge of the business world or the type of job or company that would be best for you. For most separating military personnel, career transition is as much an information gathering process as it is a job search. Done properly, this process will produce a byproduct called job offers, at least one of which will be acceptable and appropriate, for both the short and the long term. Although you can never be certain that you are making the correct choice when you accept an offer, you can buy down your risk by being thorough before making the decision. How? Talk to as many companies as possible, both formally and also for information purposes. Upon receipt of an offer, spend as much time as feasible on the company's turf before making your decision. Research the company on Indeed and Glassdoor. Follow the company on social media platforms. Use Linkedin to connect with as many employees as you can, get a feel for the corporate culture, ask lots of questions, and try to get a sense of fit. But, keep in mind that fit goes both ways. As critical as this knowledge of the company and the job is to making the right decision, it pales in significance when compared to a bigger issue—your knowledge of yourself. What are your attributes? Your strengths and weaknesses? Your skills and traits? What makes you tick? What is important to you? Your values? With what type of people are you most comfortable? Having the answers to those questions will help you make a good choice, although you will never know with certainty that you have made the right decision until you get there, get through training, and actually do the job. I estimate that more than half of those who transition from the military to civilian careers find themselves back in the job market in three to five years. Much like when two people decide to marry, a company and an employee decide to unite ‘til death (or retirement) we do part. However, as in marriage, it may not turn out that way. So, what is a prudent individual to do? Be thorough, know yourself, know the responsibilities of the position, know the company, trust your instincts, and take the plunge! If it works out for the long haul, great! If not, stay there long enough to eliminate any appearance of impatience, lack of stability, inability to commit, or poor judgment. It would also be helpful if the company has a strong REV factor. Resume Enhancement Value becomes very important when/if you find yourself back in the job market. © 2018; Tom Wolfe, is an author, columnist, career coach, veteran, and an expert in the field of military-to-civilian career transition. During his career he assisted thousands of service members in their searches for employment, placing more than 3000 in their new jobs. Prior to civilian life, he graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy and served as a surface warfare officer. He teaches transition courses, gives seminars on career and job change, writes about the career transition process, and continues to counsel current and former military personnel. His book, Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition, was published by Potomac Books in 2011. Tom lives on the North Carolina coast with his wife, Julie, and their Chesapeake Bay retriever, Maggie. |
Finding Affordable Housing With Homes for HeroesBy Chrissie Jones - Reprinted with Permission - Homes for Heroes Despite the humbling debt that they have given to the United States, many veterans find themselves homeless once their service has come to an end. Between the challenges faced by the demand to adjust to civilian life, to the presence of mental health diagnoses, to insufficient support networks at home, veterans can fall by the wayside. It goes without saying that these veterans deserve to be supported by all of us. Homes for Heroes are a nationwide network of patriotic estate agents looking to do right by service personnel (alongside blue light professions and teachers). By combining the awareness needed to find employment back home and their help, veterans can quash their concerns about adjusting to civilian life. What they do Homes for Heroes are dedicated to recognizing the sacrifices made by American servicemen and women by encouraging real estate to get on board with their savings offers. The result is that, to date, heroes from across the country have saved over $30m on their house sales and purchases. Open to both current and former service personnel, Home for Heroes creates home savings of $3,500 on a $500,000 purchase, that can be put towards to other projects. To keep the project involved at community level, Homes for Heroes invites local investors to employ their expertise and nous in the areas targeted. Helping those less fortunate Of course, the savings offered to those in the position to purchase their own home doesn’t cater for the full range of needs and concerns that veterans have. For those in dire straits, Homes for Heroes have set up a foundation that has sought to provide specific grants to its heroes. Already in 2018, $5,000 in grants have been handed out, with historical statistics showing hundreds of thousands will be provided by year end. These payments are for anything from helping minor improvements, to supporting large families and through to entire house-building projects, as will be outlined below. The foundation, and the wider mission of Homes for Heroes, also focuses on providing support for the families of service personnel who are currently serving. Whilst modern communication methods have helped service personnel, challenges are thrown up by long periods of tour duty. Veterans can often do with a helping hand and some stability for their families during these times. Success stories With hundreds of service personnel served, Homes for Heroes has found positive feedback from customers, lauding everything from their customer service and specific care to the amount of money they were able to save. A veteran was granted a new home in recognition of his service, the veteran diagnosed with a life-changing disability following sacrifices he made in Iraq for the USA. The veterans and active personnel that represent US interests abroad and protect every citizen from existential threat should never be abandoned once back on American soil. Filling a significant gap in the support network, Homes for Heroes are providing the opportunity for America's bravest warriors to succeed away from the battlefields. |
Should You Quit Your Job Before You Have a New One? NO!!!!!© Copyright, 2018, Susan P. Joyce.All rights reserved. Unless your life is in danger or doing your job is bad for your health or requires you to do something illegal, don’t quit your current job until you have a new job! I know that’s not what you want to hear, but, in this job market, it is reality. You are more appealing — MUCH more appealing — to an employer when you have a job. that means someone else is willing to pay you to work. Why not quit?Until you have another job lined up, quitting is not a good idea. Ever heard the saying, “Out of the frying pan, into the fire”? That’s what quitting your old job before you have a new job often is for most people. 5 Reasons NOT to Quit Your Job YET1. No more paychecks. Until you land a new job and work a week or two, sometimes longer, it will be a while until that next payday. 2. No guarantees on the length of your job search. You have no guarantee that you’ll land a new job quickly. It could be several weeks or months before you get that new job (and then the usual lag – see # 1 – until that first payday). 3. Explanation required. Looking for a new job, you will need to explain to everyone who interviews you why you left your job. 4. Tougher job search. You are more attractive to a new employer if you are currently employed. 5. No unemployment benefits. You usually won’t qualify for unemployment benefits if you have resigned. All good reasons not to resign, yet. But that doesn’t mean you are permanently stuck in a job you hate. 5 Things to Do Instead of Quitting Now
Get ready to leave. Don’t obviously pack your bags and head for the door, but lay the groundwork for your departure. 1. Establish non-work contact information for your job search.You need separate contact information for your job search, if you don’t already have it. Hopefully, this contact information will serve you for many years (and several jobs). It should be independent of where you work or live, so when/if either of those change, you don’t lose track of your network and they don’t lose track of you. Looking for a new job from your current place of work is often a very big mistake. Employers don’t want you looking for a new job on their time (when they want you to be focused on doing your current job). They also tend not to trust employees who are job hunting. So, using your work email, phone number, and cell phone for your job search could cost you your job. Right now, I’d recommend setting up a Gmail.com email account, and purchasing your own cell phone. Update your LinkedIn Profile with your new contact information so you can always access your LinkedIn account and so that people can reach you on LinkedIn without going through your employer. 2. Ramp up your visibility on LinkedIn.Don’t go from 0 to 110 MPG in one week – or even in one month – that’s a dead give away to your plans for departing. Assume your employer is paying attention, so be active in ways that will help your with your job, if possible, as well as your job search.
To protect your current job, don’t announce your job search to the entire LinkedIn community or have “seeking a position as…” in your LinkedIn Professional Headline. 3. Figure out what you want to do next.Leaping blindly from job to job can work out fine, or, more often, can be a disaster (just ask me, I’ve done it). It’s much better to have a goal in mind that is more well-considered than simply receiving a paycheck. Since my Big Mistake, whenever I’ve been at a career crossroads, I read the latest edition of What Color Is Your Parachute? by Dick Bolles. It always helps me, and it has helped millions of other people. If your library has only one career book, this one is it. As you figure out what you want to do, adjust your LinkedIn Profile appropriately to emphasize your accomplishments, education, etc. that support that goal. 4. Select target employers.Once you have figured out what you want to do next, start considering where you want to work next. Develop some criteria: size, industry, location, reputation, age – whatever is important to you. This doesn’t have to be a big list or even a permanent list, but you need to have some employers in mind, learning as much as you can about them. And keep looking for more to add. As you develop your list of target employers, research them on LinkedIn:
When you find an employer you like, check to see if companies which compete with them would also be good places for you to work. If you find one or two (or more) that look promising, add them to your list. 5. Increase your visibility with your target employers.You may be able to do this by attending local meetings of relevant groups – Chambers of Commerce are a great place to meet small business owners, industry expos are excellent “hunting grounds” for job seekers, as are almost any professional organization.
And – of course! – become more active and visible on LinkedIn!
Bottom Line Yes, you may still need to work at a job you don’t want for a while longer. But, it’s better for your bank account and your resume to move smoothly from one job to another if you can. Yes, the logistics of looking for a job while you are still employed can be more complicated, but the payoff is real and long-term. More on How and When to Quit Your Job and What to Say in InterviewsThe Interviewer Asked Me Why I Left, and I Said Too Much! How to Answer Why You Left Your Last Job When You Really Quit Reason for Leaving Your Job After 15 Years How to Leave Your Job in Good Hands (and Why You Should) Be Careful What You Say When Leaving Your Job © Copyright Susan P. Joyce. All rights reserved. About the Author… Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce Online job search expert Susan P. Joyce has been observing the online job search world and teaching online job search skills since 1995. Susan is a two-time layoff “graduate” who has worked in human resources at Harvard University and in a compensation consulting firm. In 2011, NETability purchased WorkCoachCafe.com, and Susan has been editor and publisher of WorkCoach since then. Susan also edits and publishes Job-Hunt.org, is a Visiting Scholar at the MIT Sloan School of Management, and a columnist on HuffingtonPost. Follow Susan on Twitter at @jobhuntorg and on Google+ |
Help vets start, grow their small businesses
By REPS. CLAUDIA TENNEY AND JULIA BROWNLEY | Special to Stars and Stripes U.S. service members are among our nation’s most highly trained leaders, yet many veterans experience trouble transitioning into a post-military career. As Americans, we must ensure our veterans have the resources to find success in the private sector when they come home from serving our nation. Our service men and women upend their lives to serve our country. It is our duty to help them when they return to civilian life. Thousands of former servicemembers transition out of the military each year. It must be a national priority to provide every opportunity for veterans to succeed in whatever career path they choose. We have both supported legislation to help veterans transition from service to civilian life, including last year’s Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017. This will improve and expand the GI Bill, enabling current and future veterans to pursue higher education. For many veterans, their dream after serving is the pride and the freedom of owning their own business. Our service branches instill leadership, a strong work ethic, and a sense of duty to accomplish goals under tremendous pressures — all skills required to be successful as an entrepreneur. But for many veterans, starting a business from scratch can be daunting. It not only requires significant financial investment, but the likelihood of success can be quite steep as the owner is learning how to run a business for the first time. Veterans programs exist to help veterans realize their dream of owning their own business. The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers special lending, training and contracting programs to help veterans enter the world of business and ensure their business is a success. Another way to mitigate the risk of owning a small business is by purchasing a franchise. Franchises offer training, a business model that works, marketing support, and a supply chain already in place that makes it easier for first-time business owners to succeed — especially for veterans who are accustomed to a chain-of-command structure. There are 733,000 franchise establishments nationwide, and a study by PricewaterhouseCoopers showed that franchise businesses owned by veterans are more successful than the average veteran-owned small business. This is a win for the veterans, and for the communities in which they create jobs and economic opportunity. While the franchise industry offers numerous resources to help a new business owner be successful, they also charge a franchise fee in return, which adds to the already-large start-up cost of opening a new business. That is why we introduced the Veteran Entrepreneurs Act. This bipartisan legislation would help solve this problem by creating a tax credit of up to 25 percent of initial franchise fees for veterans seeking to own a franchise. It also gives the veteran the option to pass on that tax credit in exchange for a lower franchise fee. Small businesses are the lifeblood of our economy and our communities, and they provide tremendous satisfaction to the entrepreneurs who have an idea, take a chance, and reap the rewards of calling their own shots. Small businesses know the needs of their communities best. They create jobs and support families in cities and towns across America. We as a nation have made a promise to the heroes who put on the uniform. Small-business ownership must be accessible to all the men and women who have sacrificed on our behalf. The Veteran Entrepreneurs Act is one idea, among many, that can tear down the barriers to help veterans fulfill their dream of becoming entrepreneurs. Rep. Claudia Tenney, a Republican, represents New York’s 22nd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Her son, Marine Corps Capt. Trey Cleary, recently returned from deployment in the Middle East. Rep. Julia Brownley, a Democrat, represents California’s 26th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She serves on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and is the ranking member of the Veterans’ Affairs subcommittee on health. |
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