What kind of job can you get if you held a certain role in the military? When you are beginning your military transition, it seems like this should be a really easy question for your military network to answer. After all, you are not the first person to leave the military from your particular job, so it should not be that hard to figure out what kind of roles you can do in the civilian world, right?
Right. Even if your network is completely stumped by this question, LinkedIn is not. You can use LinkedIn to research what kind of civilian job title you should look for after completing a certain job in the military.
I have put together the instructions so you can see it in seven simple steps.
1. Search for Your Current Job Title
You might want to go really general at first, such as “commanding officer,” “command sergeant major” or “operations planner.” Then add a little detail such as the kind of command you had or the area it was in. For example, add keywords such as LPD, battalion, 82nd Airborne or Joint Special Operations Command.
2. Click the ‘People’ Button
This will pull up a list of people who either currently have this job title in their background or had this job title in their past.
3. Click ‘All Filters’
When you have your free LinkedIn premium account for active-duty service members, veterans or spouses set up, you can do this research. Scroll down until you see “past company.” If you don’t see your branch listed, click “+Add a company” and type in your branch until you see the icon below. Click it.
4. Look at ‘Industry’ and ‘Services’
Scroll down until you see “industry” or “service category.” LinkedIn will suggest all the industries and/or services in this group of people who once had your military job title. You can click on one that interests you. Or …
5. Click on Companies that Interest You
Scroll to the “current company” listing. Click on the profiles of people you know first or add companies you are interested in working for.
6. Sort by Known Connections
Click on individuals you know first — your first connections. Remind yourself where they served, when and in what capacity. Make note of their first job when they got out of the military and how they climbed to their current position.
7. Look at Roles With the Company
Remember, the best predictor of future behavior for companies is past behavior. If they hired someone like you before, they will hire someone like you again. Research current roles on the company’s website, using either the job title or the name of the group.
Doing research such as this on LinkedIn is a great way to start to identify your future job title. Not only does it give you some examples to follow, but it offers you a path into your network in a logical way.
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