3 Ways to Grow Your Civilian Network Before Your Military Transition
How big is your civilian network? Chances are, if you are transitioning out of the military your civilian network is not only small, it’s not very efficient in helping you land to opportunities.
1. Create a Linkedin profile worth connecting with. LinkedIn is an essential personal branding tool in the civilian job market. Not having one, or having a poorly set-up profile will make your search search efforts a waste of time.
If your cover letter and resume make it past the no pile, the next place a hiring manager will head to learn about you is Linkedin. If you don;t have one, don’t be expected to be taken seriously as a career-minded individual.
With over 700 million members, LinkedIn is currently the largest professional network on the plant. When preparing to transition out of the military, your goal should be to build meaningful connections in your desired industry on LinkedIn.
Building meaningful connections starts with people seeing all you have to offer. LinkedIn members with complete profiles are 40 times more likely to receive opportunities via LinkedIn. Make sure your headline, summary, and photo tell a compelling story of who you are and what you bring to the table.
2. Join a Facebook Group related to your next mission in life. Don’t have a Facebook account because you “don’t do Facebook/social media”? I get it. But understand that you are likely going to have to make some compromises and work-arounds to the way you currently do things if you want to advance in the real world.
If you need to, set up a profile and only use your middle and last name, or the first letter of your first name and your last name. Then utilize it to only connect with people and groups in your desired profession.
If you are looking for product marketing opportunities, for example, search “product marketing” in the Facebook search bar to find groups in that career field. Some groups may be private or “secret” so also try the same search in Google by typing the career field and Facebook groups (“product marketing Facebook groups).
Once inside a Facebook group of your desired field, search the group’s history to find answers to your questions. If the group is large and active it is very likely someone has asked the same question you’d like answered. If it hasn’t been answered, go ahead and ask your question. One great question you can ask is for help with your job search. You’d be surprised how generous people inside these groups are with giving advice and making connections for you.
Not all groups are created equal. If you find yourself in a Facebook group that isn’t helpful or active, simply leave. Your goal is to join and spend time in Facebook groups that provide actionable information and have members you’d like to connect with.
3. Transition in public. “If you want to go fast, go alone; but if you want to go far, go together?” - African Proverb. How will you get support, advice, and make connections that help you reach your military transition goals if nobody knows about them?
Transitioning in public helps you tap into the hidden job market. 80% of civilian jobs are filled without being advertised.
Transitioning in public is about rallying a community around your job search and overall transition efforts. This is accomplished by sharing stories (wins/lessons), while being authentic and vulnerable about your transition to civilian life.
Transitioning in public takes time, intention, and consistency. You can transition in public both off-line and on-line (you should do both). People love stories, especially when they unfold in front of their own eyes, and they get to be a part of your journey.
It takes a ton of courage to reach out to someone and ask for help. We are often taught to fix everything ourselves and don’t show weakness in the military. You might think being vulnerable during your job search makes you look weak. When in all actuality, networking helps people help you.