By Dominique Rabine-Bucknor

The Army Career and Alumni Program (ACAP) have counselors available to address the many questions available to transitioning military. For my training program, I’m organizing the following basic principles into a concrete step by step guide spread over 2 days.

Personal Assessment of Skills: Identify goals (type of work, location, etc.), skills, needs (schools, salary, benefits, etc.); consider family's needs and desires. Gather transcripts, training certificates, award citations, etc. Job Market Search and Overview Talk with those who work in the field. Look on the web to find job announcements. Check out where they jobs are. Find out what employers are demanding (experience, training, education).

1. Filling out ITP Packet 2. “Chain Note.” The soldiers’ in a participating class will pass around an envelope on which I have written one question to the class- “What is your biggest concern about getting out of the Army?” When the envelope reaches a student he/she spends a moment to respond to the question and then places the response in the envelope. As the soldiers are filling out their job search plans quietly, I will go through the student responses and determine the best criteria for categorizing the data with the goal of detecting response patterns. I will then open a discussion on the patterns of responses with soldiers. 1. This will lead to live feedback, suggestions, help lessen anxiety, and promote a classroom environment of trust and respect where communication can flow better through other parts of the course.

1. Create/Fill Out Resumes 1. Analyze - Review skills, training, education and experience and make sure that a soldier can qualify. 2. Ask for Help - At any time in a soldier’s job search it may be necessary to seek help from an ACAP counselor. 3. Focus and Tailor - One size never fits all. As a soldier responds to job opportunities, tailor a basic resume to match exactly with the employer's requirements. 4. Translate – Taking military language and transferring it into understandable civilian terminology. This will include avoiding terminology, abbreviations and acronyms that are typically military and writing out or explaining terms as a soldier develop a soldier’s resume. 5. Summarize - A summary of soldier’s qualifications, written as bullet statements, a paragraph or keywords, can be an effective way to introduce a resume and a quick way for the employer to view ability and areas of expertise. 6. Format - There is a resume style that's best for every soldier, but only the soldier can decide what that style is. Generally, resumes, whether printed or electronic, are presented in one of three formats: chronological, functional or a combination of chronological and functional. While a counselor can help a soldier to select the format that will best display soldier’s abilities, only a soldier can make the final decision about the format that works best for a soldier. Which resume a soldier choose will depend, in part, on the type of work they have performed and whether or not they are going to continue to do the same work.

If they spend this time writing, make sure they also have the chance to talk about their responses with each other. After you call on a few groups for feedback, present the lecture's goals. Reinforce the importance of the opening activity by connecting it directly to those goals. Explain briefly at the beginning of the term why you're using groups in your lecture class, then relate different group activities to some daily goals.

1. Attend a counseling session: 1. Critique printed draft resume. 2. Contact references, get approval, send copy of resume. 3. Contact network members and send resumes. 4. Make contacts through networking and refine list. 2. Find Job Opportunities 1. Attend job fairs; answer job ads with resume and tailored cover letters. 2. Contact employment agencies, companies. 3. Answer ads and web job listings. 3. Apply for Jobs 1. Complete and submit job applications and/or resume.

Open Discussions on: 1. Debt Counseling - If a soldier’s financial situation is shaky; a soldier needs to stabilize finances before a soldier leave federal service. An Army Community Service office has trained debt counselors who can help a soldier take control of a soldier’s money and debts. Being leery of commercials for debt consolidation. Consolidation may help, but only if it's part of a total financial management plan. 2. Retirement - If a soldier is planning to retire, schedule an appointment with the installation Retirement Services Officer (RSO). The RSO is a valuable resource for all retirement issues who can provide a wealth of information and help ease a soldier’s retirement concerns. 3. Separation Pay - A soldier may be eligible for separation pay. The type of separation and conditions under which a soldier are being separated will determine if a soldier qualify for separation pay. The Finance Office at a soldier’s installation can compute the actual amount. Separation pay entitlement must be specified on a soldier’s separation order to be payable. Separation pay is authorized only: 1. If a soldier have finished a soldier’s first term of enlistment or period of obligated service, AND 2. have at least six years of service, AND 3. are separating involuntarily, AND 4. are not yet eligible for retirement, AND 5. Are separating with a fully honorable discharge. 4. Completion of ITP Packet

Once the workshop has successfully been delivered take time to review what went well, what didn't, and how you can build on its strengths and avoid pitfalls.