There are countless books on the shelves on the subject of career transition. So what makes this one different? It is different because it is written by a military officer who suffered through the ordeal of career transition, found a great job in the private sector, lost a great job, found another great private sector job in career consulting, and now owns a business specializing in military to civilian career transition. Of equal importance is that the book shares the experiences of thousands of successful military job hunters, both officer and enlisted and civil service, and combines that knowledge with a process which has been proven over and over to be right on target. By the time you finish reading this book, you will be able to teach the course!
This book is written for senior military and civil service careerists transitioning to private sector careers. However, anyone leaving one career and moving to another will benefit from reading this book. The book will not be enjoyed by someone who intends to sit on a stump and vegetate for the rest of their years. It is for someone who would like to pursue another career in any field, be it your own business, a major corporation, a non-profit organization, or a local place where you just want to lend a hand. The techniques described will benefit all of those efforts.
There is little doubt the majority of military personnel wait too long to begin considering a second career. There is always something else to do. I have had hundreds of officers and senior enlisted personnel tell me that they should have taken our seminar years before leaving active duty - one four star admiral told me that he should have taken the seminar five years before retirement. I would recommend reading this book about every five years during a career. This is not to encourage anyone to think about leaving active duty before the appropriate time, but to keep you thinking about what you will do when the time comes. Remember, there are only two ways for a careerist to leave the service . . . retire or in a pine box. This means, of course, that you cannot stay forever! Sooner or later you will have to leave, and most of us do so sometime between 20 and 30 years . . . or at 40 to 50 years of age. Just think, you will have another 20-25 more years to work, and that’s enough time to build a whole new career. What an opportunity!
A major reason for considering your “career after service” now is so that you can give consideration to any preparation that might be needed. That could mean additional education or the kind of jobs you ask for while on active duty or the affiliations you might belong to while on active duty. Keeping the second career active in your sub conscious will also keep you alert to contacts that might be able to help you when the time comes. I can’t tell you the number of times that a private sector business person handed me his/her business card and said “call me when you get ready to retire from the service,” and the same number of times I pitched those cards in the circular file. Not good planning!
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