For starters, you may have no idea what you're getting into. Sure, you may have been privy to your spouse's and friends' job-search war stories, but for the most part you've been sheltered from the impetuousness and complexity of the business world's front lines. Enter this minefield cautiously. It may look harmless, but it's armed and ready. It's there to maximize profits only, and will happily do so at your expense without so much as a nod to casualties.
Now let's look at the military person turned civilian. The armed forces is a special world with its own parameters of conduct, dress, rank, discipline, etc. Many of your needs and wants (e.g., food, clothing, housing, security) were taken care of. No longer. Therefore, you may be in for a real culture shock as you maneuver into the contemporary job market. If the business world seems unfriendly, it's because it doesn't know what to make of you - or what to do with you.
Just as the reentering homemaker could benefit from an incubation period, so you should consider a debriefing period before you jump into the civilian job search arena. You, too, will be more effective in your career search if you take a needed breather. The best preparation for life on the outside is to take courses off-base and participate in civilian activities as much as possible.
Unless you've attained a high rank, though, don't count on anyone getting too excited by your military background. Probably just the opposite. In the civilian world you'll have to overcome a double-whammy of stereotypes: the older person and the military person. In the business world the perception of the military is a mixed bag: On the plus side is patriotism, on the minus side is the perception that because you're used to a heavy dose of structure, rules and regulations, you won't be effective in a less or non structured environment.
During your debriefing period define what you want to do, what you can do, what organizations would be interested in your abilities, and which ones are more structured than others. I also recommend enrollment in a training or educational program to update your skills and broaden your interests. This will give you the opportunity to interact in a group setting, on a give-and-take basis, where rank means nothing.
Every occupation and industry has its own jargon, and the military has more than its share. To succeed in civilian life, you'll also need to eliminate the ‘militarese’ from your speech.
It has been my experience that private nonprofits (Red Cross, Boy Scouts, Chambers of Commerce, etc.) are more accepting of career military persons than mainstream businesses. So you might try these first. Also think of ways to transfer what you learned in the military to civilian life. One retired Air Force pilot I know does helicopter traffic reports for an all-news radio station - a position he has held for the last 12 years.
Whatever path you choose, if you work to make your transition a smooth one, you will join the hundreds of thousands of homemakers and veterans who have successfully entered - or returned to the business world.
