"Well, what are you going to do?"

So you've had a successful career in the military, but have decided that you'd like to take your life in a new direction.

In 2002, I was facing this exact same challenge.  I came home from work and told my wife that I was going to leave the Army...and her response was "well, what are you going to do?" After pausing for a moment to consider her question, my response was also succinctly, simple, "I am going to get a job, just like everyone else does."

This simple answer set me on the traditional transition path of working with JMO headhunters and finding a job.  I then proceeded to spend the next 10 years of my professional life "trying on" jobs and companies, while STILL trying to determine exactly where I was supposed to fit in the civilian world. Over those 10 years, I've had the opportunity to work for large public corporations, US and European-based, as well as smaller private companies. I've worked in manufacturing and operations, the retail industry, in market research and marketing...I've worked closely with sales people.  I've gotten a really good sense of what theses types of roles and companies offer to JMOs coming from the military.

I wrote this JMOHelp blog, with the intention of helping JMOs find their own career direction BEFORE entering the workforce and avoiding the most common pitfalls of transitioning into the civilian world. I am not a recruiter...I simply want to help JMOs find their career direction and provide any coaching I can that will enable them to find the right job...not just any job.

I look forward to sharing my experiences with you on this blog.  The first posts I will share with you are entitled "10 Things Every JMO Should Know When Leaving the Military."

I compiled this list of  "8 Things" over the last 10 years from 100s of hours of conversations with classmates, peers, colleagues and friends who have struggled with finding the right career and company for them after successful careers in the military. It is by no means inclusive of everything you will need to think about, but taking some time to consider these 10 simple things will put you in a much better position to find your way more easily than 99% of your peers who will simply take the path of least resistance. I've tried to limit suggestions to the most critical issues and concerns I think JMOs should be thinking about when determining what they want to do with the rest of their life. I hope you enjoy this blog and my suggestions and wish you the best of luck in your search.