Monster.com and The Pivot Network Team Up To #FindBetter Ways To Help Transitioning Military Vets…My Exclusive Visit To The Take Part Live Taping

Another hurdle that I find is that there can be a lack of support or follow through within the service member’s unit, and/or family.  For instance, my husband was completely lucky to have a unit, that not only stressed transitional classes, career counseling, but stayed on my husband (almost to the point of annoyance), regarding completing all steps necessary.  Keeping those transitional steps fresh in my husband’s head, made it wholly easier to finish tasks that were submitted, and he was much more prepared for the interview process. However, not every service member has that advantage. Believe me, I’ve heard the horror stories; the units that sort of just left their transitioning members in the dust, so to speak.

Given some of the common issues listed above, how do we even go about fixing and furthermore combating these issues for our Veterans? Well, Recently I was presented with the opportunity to attend a taping that would address just this, and more. Monster.com, which is the number one job searching network on the net, and Pivot Channel recently combined and created the Find Better Initiative.  Pivot Channel has a segment that is called the Take Part Series, where they highlight different topics in the community, and find ways to provide solutions for the most controversial issues, (such as birth control/Plan B, etc.) In honor of Veterans Day, they decided to have a segment on the struggles that many Veterans face when transitioning from the military world back into the civilian sector. My job was to attend a taping, and write about my experience.

The taping began with an interview of a young Veteran by the name of James Nottingham. James discussed his experiences as a veteran transitioning from a decade long career to the civilian world. I appreciated the frank nature of the conversation, as I feel like it’s very important to be as honest as possible with transitioning service members regarding some of the bumps and obstacles they may face in the process. The first realization: You are not entitled to, nor will you automatically be given a job just for the sole reason of being a Veteran. At the end of the day, while being a Veteran may bump you up a few notches in the selection process, it will be your skills, (resume and interview included), that will ultimately land you the job. I don’t know how many transitioning veterans I’ve encountered with busted bubbles, because they assumed that as soon as they ETSed there would offers just knocking down their doors. First off, we are very much still in a recession. Job offers, especially in certain geographic areas,  are not as plentiful as they used to be.

So with that being said, let’s focus on the positive, because it’s not all doom and gloom! However, you will need to put in some work in order to ensure you and your family’s future will be secure. After the interview was concluded, we were then treated to the host interviewing Military.com president, T Mcleary. T . Mcleary is a retired Navy Admiral, who I believe, knows a few things about the military world, as well as the civilian sector. Mr. Mcleary gave GREAT advice, which I definitely want to share with everyone. Here are some of the key suggestions that he made:

The earlier you begin…the better. Another common mistake by transitioning Veterans is that they start too late in their process. For instance, your ETS date is April 2014, and you do not attend a transitional class, or submit a resume until March 2014. That is setting yourself up for a lot of stress and pressure. Mcleary said that ideally, starting the process 18 months in advance would be best. Now, I know that this is not always the case, as sometimes many members do not know if they are even going to leave the military until in some cases 1 year, or even six months out. The point of the matter: do not procrastinate and wait too late

Use your resources. Many sites, including Monster.com and Military.com provide EXCELLENT guides for those in transition. Trying to convert you military resume into a civilian friendly one? Well, try the very user friendly civilian translator, which is located under the Federal/Military tab on Monster.com. Military.com has an ENTIRE section dedicated just to Military Transition. I had a chance to use this tool, and I have to say it is incredibly helpful. I would definitely recommend this not only to the transitioning member, but also for the family of the service member, which brings me to my other point:

As family of military members, some of us can remain blissfully ignorant about the military world. This is NOT smart at all. As a young Army wife, one of the first things I did was educate myself about my husband’s job, (who his supervisors were, what his job entailed, unit numbers, paperwork) Why is this important, you ask? Well, because as we spouses are all too familiar, our members can be sent away at a moment’s notice, for long periods of time, i.e.: deployments, and training. It’s important to know important things like how to register in DEERS, unit info, signing up for Tricare, in case the situation arises where your spouse will not be available, or even in the physical capacity to complete important tasks. Well, if you have a spouse that is transitioning, it’s important that you educate yourself about the tools available as well. Remember the part where I said that many members are intimidated by the process? It is intimidating, for many members the civilian sector is unchartered territory. As a spouse you are there to encourage, support, and well, give a nice firm push or kick in the butt when necessary! So, once you and your family have made the decision to exit/not reenlist, it’s time for the wheels to get moving!

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