The Military-to-Civilian Transition Guide

by Carl S. Savino, Ronald L. Krannich

Now in its fourteenth year with more than 3.3 million copies in print, The Military-to-Civilian Transition Guide remains the most widely used transition guide for the military services, veterans, and their families. Widely used by career counselors, trainers, and transitioning personnel alike, this book has become the gold standard for making a successful career transition to the civilian world. Written by two of America's leading military transition and career experts, the book's 16 chapters cover the most important aspects of finding employment and prospering in the civilian world.

Individual chapters focus on:

transition myths and realities

Organizing a 10-step job search process

discovering one's motivated abilities and skills (MAS)

developing employer-centered objectives

obtaining transition assistance

identifying skills, interests, and values

writing and distributing resumes and letters

networking for job leads and interviews

negotiating salary and benefits

conducting research and using social media

Special chapters examine:

finding government employment

starting a business

understanding military benefits and retirement

implementing goals

The book includes numerous self-assessment tests, sample resumes and letters, and recommended resources. Don't venture into the civilian work world or plan your retirement without first heeding the sage advice of this book.

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2010

Reviews

[Assja Good]

I was trying to hurry this up and read it before today, but did not happened. I slowly out-processed from May 2020-July 2021. The copy I read was the 2020 edition and gave a lot of reminders from tap program as well as new insight. Since March 2020 my job was sort of hybrid work as well as many of the office were not face to face but online. So if you can get the latest copy from one of your sit-in transition class I suggest grab one and keep it to brush on information and reminders. Since from my understanding transition class provides this book somewhere to guide military people that are leaving for free, I got a hold of this by borrowing it at the library at my work to see what I missed from my iPad being stolen back in 2021 when I got rob while transitioning (which I had a dream or nightmare I got rob, but mental break refused to see this or analyze it on time…and there was a shadow across the window even though the window was close luckily my kid niece, son, or me was not dead could be worst). Very easy common sense base book.

Keep this in mind when as individuals one wants to grow:

ANYONE WHO STOPS LEARNING IS OLD, whether at twenty or eighty.
Anyone who keeps learning stays young** - Henry Ford pg 31

Chapter 7:

THE OLD ADAGE THAT "knowledge is power" is especially true whe conducting a job search. Your job search is only as good as the knowledg you acquire and use for finding the job you want. Gathering, processing, and using information is the lifeblood of any job search. Research integrates the individual job search activities and provides feedback for adapting strategist the realities of the job market. Given the numerous individuals and organizations involve in your job search, you must develop an information gathering strategy that will help you gain knowledge about, as well as access to them.
Investigate Alternative Jobs and Careers
Your initial research should help familiarize you with job and career altemaines My example, the U.S. Department of Labor identifies approximately 13,000 job titles. Mor individuals are unaware of the vast array of available jobs and careers. Therefore its essential to investigate occupational alternatives to broaden your perspective on the it market. It is especially important for you to discover how your military job skills and is best correspond to specife civilian job skills and titles.

[Dolly]

I got this book at a Transition GPS class, a week-long course that helps military members and spouses prepare for a transition from military life to civilian life. I'm still a couple of years away from making that transition, but I've gotten well-placed advice that it's a good idea to take the course fairly early on, to get an idea of what's to come and then take it again as I approach my retirement from military service.

This is an informative book that is filled with resources and advertisements that help show ways in which military members can obtain employment, pursue continuing education, and take advantage of opportunities that are available to veterans. The book advertises a website, http://www.corporategray.com/welcome, that offers additional resources, advice, and up-to-date information.

The examples of resumes and letters are useful and I can imagine using this book as a reference resource as I continue my journey toward civilian life.

interesting quotes:

"The reality of military jobs and careers is that they eventually come to an end for everyone involved. And they often come to an end faster than most people ever expected." (p. 2)

"Whether you are being pushed or pulled into the civilian job arena doesn't really make much difference. The fact is that you're making a career transition in which your past may provide little guidance on how to best chart your future." (p. 2)

"Always keep your mind and eyes open for serendipity. It's what makes chaos tolerable, forgiving, and unexpectedly rewarding." (p. 3)

"The role of planning in your job search should approximate the art of sailing: you know where you want to go and the general direction for getting there. But the specific path, as well as the time for reaching your destination, will be determined by your environment, situation, and skills." (p. 5)

[Lori Grant]

A should-read book on transitioning from your military career to a civilian one.