From the Battlefield to the Boardroom Podcast - Episode 40 - Tom Wolfe, Author of 'Out of Uniform'

Tom Wolfe, former Naval Officer, career coach, and author of "Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military to Civilian Career Transition" joined the podcast again to provide more valuable insight into the military-to-civilian career transition.

To conclude his two-part episode, Tom discussed many topics pertinent to the final stages of the transition process.

To conclude his two-part episode, Tom discussed many topics pertinent to the final stages of the transition process, including the do's and don'ts of working with a military recruiting firm, estimating your market value, and choosing which job opportunity to accept.

"Having a professional, experienced recruiting firm help you find a civilian career is a no-brainer," Tom said. "The good ones know what they're doing, they do it well, and have already identified companies that are predisposed to hire veterans," Tom explained.

Tom outlined a few best practices to do when beginning to work with a military recruiting firm, including staying away from recruiting companies that make you sign an exclusivity agreement, and instead work with a company that supplements your job search efforts, but does not replace them. "You are in charge of your job search, not someone else," Tom advised.

He also suggested asking military recruiting firms to share their client list, or success stories of those that they have worked with in the past. "A good recruiting firm will be proud of the companies they represent, and will be happy to share testimonials from candidates who have been happy with their services," Tom explained.

Tom also cautioned transitioning military members not to hinder the work of the military recruiting firm by applying to the positions that the recruiting firm tells you about independently. "This will jeopardize your chances and is a conflict of interest," he warned.

For transitioning military, estimating your market value in a civilian career is difficult. In his book, Tom provided a helpful formula to help most transitioning military come up with a range of expectation when they are navigating their job search. Tom advised to take the non-taxable gross income you are currently receiving in the military and subtract by any proficiency pay that you are receiving that is not relevant to the new position. Next, take the final figure and add or subtract 20 percent. "By giving a window of plus or minus 20 percent, you are taking into account supply and demand and the geographical location of the position," Tom explained.

Lastly, Tom gave some helpful insights on how to choose the right job opportunity, most importantly to keep an open mind during the job search process. "Don't allow yourself to be pigeonholed, and don't allow yourself to be predisposed to a particular job or category of job just because someone says that you should," Tom cautioned. "Put yourself in a position where you are tracking down everything you're qualified for, prepare well, use a military recruiting firm, and maximize the chances that you'll end up in the right job the first time," Tom stated.