My top marriage advice and my top job-hunt advice are exactly the same thing: Sometimes the nicest people just need a little do-over. I don't mean you need to get a divorce or quit your job today. I mean that sometimes you get a day in your marriage -- or a few months on the job hunt -- that is headed in the wrong direction. You just need to turn around and take a do-over. A fresh start. A mulligan.
As a veteran, transitioning military service member or job-seeking spouse, how do you know if your job hunt would benefit greatly from a do-over? As the transition master coach for Military.com's Veteran Employment Project, I've taught more than 16,000 job seekers the insights they need to get a job fast.
Here are the top five signs I've seen that indicate a do-over would make a huge difference.
1. You Clicked on This Article
You are the best expert on the topic of you. If you have the feeling that you did not get off to a good start, you are probably right. Trust yourself to change direction.
I say: Get your 2024 job hunt off to a fresh start with our newest master class, New Year, New Career featuring our experts from Western Governors University. Scheduled purposely at the end of the month, you will have time to get back on track in your current job before you rev up with the top three skills you need for your job hunt. Sign up today!
2. You Don't Really Know What You Are Supposed to Do Next
You know you had good intentions when you started your job hunt. You tried to follow the directions. You put in some hours. The problem is that there are so many resources and so many bits of advice, and somehow you ended up in a job-hunt cul-de-sac. You feel like you are going nowhere fast.
I say: Let's go back to the beginning and start methodically with what kind of job you are looking for. Now that you know a little more about what is out there, you can eliminate broad areas of employment. Once you do, you will be amazed to see the focused areas that are actually in your wheelhouse.
3. No One Is Reaching Out to You
You have applied to a lot of jobs online, but you have not scheduled more than a handful of interviews. You've talked to your network, but it is not like they have a job to offer you. Now what?
I say: This is the sign your networking needs a do-over. A lot of transitioning military members have the wrong idea about what networking means, who is in their network and how it actually works in our culture. In our newest master class, I will teach you a simple strategy to make networking a more practical, engaging, pleasurable part of the job-hunt process.
4. You Are Bored at Your First Civilian Job
If you are a veteran who is already working in the civilian world, you may be one of those lucky people who was offered "a soft landing." Someone from your past work life approached you, and you barely had to interview before you had a job offer in hand. Yay, you! The problem is that after just a few months, you are bored out of your mind.
I say: Get your do-over started, dude. You could do more than this, and you know it. I know you are a loyal person, yet in the civilian world, it is fair game to keep looking around for something that is better suited to you. Sometimes you can even find it in your current company.
5. You Don't Have Quite the Right Training
The military trained you to do a job -- your military job. But a lot of military jobs do not have a corresponding line of work in the outside world. You know you need additional training, but there are so many options out there. Which one is the right one?
I say: You need to talk to a human. I remember being in a job search and unsure which degree would be the right one for me. There were lots of options, and everyone in my family had an opinion, even though none of them had worked in my field. What I needed was an experienced guide who knew the options available to someone like me and, more importantly, knew the likely outcome for each option.
Recognizing that you have made a wrong turn on the job hunt or that you have crept into a career cul-de-sac is the most powerful thing that can happen to you. Give yourself the benefit of the doubt and take a job hunt do-over to find your way back on track.
Jacey Eckhart is Military.com's transition master coach. She is a certified professional career coach and military sociologist who helps military members get their first civilian job by offering career-level Master Classes through our Veteran Employment Project and on her website, SeniorMilitaryTransition.com. Reach her at Jacey.Eckhart@Monster.com.
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Transitioning military, veterans and spouses may be qualified for the job, but they are missing the secrets of civilian hiring. Find out everything you need to know with our FREE master class series, including our next class. You can view previous classes in our video library. Questions for Jacey? Visit our Facebook page.
