CAREER ADVICE FOR TRANSITIONING VETERANS

Wednesday, April 22nd, 2015

Fayetteville, NC – Moner Attwa, Oak Grove’s CFO/COO, shared advice with veterans and service members at American Dream U’s VETRACON, a free military veteran transition conference.

Mr. Attwa’s presentation centered on tips for veterans looking to successfully transition from the military into the corporate world. He also shared insights on the pros and cons he encounters in veteran applicant resumes.

Starting a job search? Mr. Attwa’s advice: ask yourself, “Do I have a resume? How have I built that resume? Then, make sure it’s applicable to the type of job you want.”

Not sure where to start? Mr. Attwa suggested a writing exercise called Mind Mapping. In this approach, choose a topic or position description within an industry that attracts you. Next, spend about 1-3 minutes writing down everything that you know about that topic. The idea is to not spend a lot of time overanalyzing every detail. You want to break it into quick, immediate steps, and take action quickly. Do not wait. There is no better time to get started, than now.

After figuring out what it is you WANT to do, Mr. Attwa talked about what you NEED to do, highlighting steps and suggestions for successful transition from the military into a dream career. Those included:

Translate work experience onto resume.
It is important to make sure that a resume is applicable to the specific job desired. Highlight your marketable skills by quantifying your successes onto your resume (i.e. lowered budget by X%, held a leadership role for X number of men within your regime, etc.).

Avoid jargon.
Mr. Attwa noted it is important to highlight experiences on your resume using common language. The company or individual looking over a resume may not be familiar with military-specific expressions and acronyms.

Network.
LinkedIn is a great way to establish a circle of network. The more people you connect with, the more opportunities will be presented to you. Networking with people who have already transitioned from the military is a great way to get started. You can seek advice from them as well as let them lead you into the marketplace.

Read.
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

It is a business and self-help book that challenges readers to think about things like “what can I influence? Who can I influence?”

Don’t give up.
Many people don’t have the level of drive and determination it takes to pursue their goals in the commercial world. Being in the military has taught you about accountability, teamwork, and making sure you get the mission complete. Having that is a tremendous skill-set.

Education is a means in understanding where you want to go. University of the People is the world’s first non-profit, tuition-free, accredited, online academic institution dedicated to opening access to higher education globally for all qualified individuals, despite financial, geographic or societal constraints. It currently offers degree programs in Business Administration and Computer Science and is the only OER (open educational resources) university in the world.

American Dream U is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing the best speakers, tools, and information possible to support service members’ transition into their dream jobs or business ownership.

---

About Oak Grove

Throughout the Armed Forces, across federal government agencies, in Law Enforcement, healthcare and beyond our expert staff is delivering results-oriented solutions that are changing the way people live and work for the better.

Our full suite of instructional services includes tactical field training and web-based and mobile learning solutions to prepare teams to successfully execute any mission. We specialize in language, regional expertise, and culture services, and develop truly immersive cultural environments and training programs. We deliver expert intelligence services to support the warfighter, and empower people and their message through strategic communications and information technology services.

Oak Grove mentors owners of veteran small businesses and sponsors special events that honor and aid our veteran community. Additionally, over 75% of our employees have served in the military. Our Service Continues…

Contact: 
[email protected]