University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
How to Take Control of Your Job Search & Career After Military Duty
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How to Take Control of Your Job Search & Career After Military Duty

Lida Citroën
Talks at Google, 2020
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8

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  • Applicable
  • Eye Opening
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For the 200,000 men and women who leave military service every year, the transition to civilian life offers vast opportunities and a multitude of challenges. To help service members prepare for and move smoothly through the transition out of uniform and into the workforce, Lida Citroën offers helpful insights in an hour-long conversation for Talks at Google. Citroën is a branding and reputation management expert with 20 years’ experience, specializing in helping veterans navigate the military-to-civilian transition. Tricia McGrath Hess, lead recruiter for Google’s VetNet NYC, moderates. The video opens with an informative introduction by Charlene Clee, program manager for staffing of Google’s Veteran Hiring Initiatives. Clee describes Google’s approach to hiring veterans and offers online resources for the veteran community.

Summary

Members of the military transitioning to the civilian workforce should start by learning to speak in the first person and learning how to make choices.

As a veteran, you probably absorbed the military culture of talking about your unit or platoon but not about yourself – taking responsibility and holding accountability, but not taking individual credit. As a civilian, you’ll need to learn to speak in the first person – to talk about yourself, your accomplishments and your professional value proposition, without boasting or being arrogant.

You will face an array of choices – what to wear, what kind of work to do, when to get up in the morning – and those choices may become overwhelming and paralyzing. Choosing a career path should start with setting non-negotiables and then prioritizing your values and each job’s benefits and future potentials.

In addition to conventional employment, veterans can consider continuing their education or becoming entrepreneurs.

Within conventional employment, veterans can consider working in a corporate environment, small business, the nonprofit...

About the Speaker

Lida Citroën is a branding and reputation management expert specializing in helping veterans navigate the military-to-civilian transition. She is the author of Success After Service: How to Take Control of Your Job Search after Military Duty.

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