Taking courses, studying, obtaining a degree and earning certifications are all highly beneficial in enhancing your professional profile. However, the key to success is often having the right self-marketing strategy to connect yourself with employers who are looking for candidates with your skill set. Perfecting your resume, crafting your cover letter, having a website that includes sample work, and utilizing job boards are the first steps to showing off your IT knowledge and the transferable skills you learned in the military!
Earn Certifications
If you’re looking to expand upon the skills you have learned in the military, earning tech certifications is a great place to start! This will not only increase your knowledge but also your professional marketability. Our VET TEC program allows you to gain in-demand cloud, cyber security and Java certifications.
Update Your Professional Profile
This is your time to show off all of your hard work! Take the time to update your resume, create a strong cover letter template, build a website to promote your skills, and enhance your LinkedIn profile by adding new skills. Make sure to post Credly badges on LinkedIn to show your network that you’ve obtained certifications.
Additionally, we recommend researching the candidate qualities employers are looking for. Be sure to add keywords that apply to your tech and military experience. If you still have military clearances, showcase them on your resume. Companies that work in the federal space are often looking for candidates who can work with classified documents and showing that you have an active clearance can give you a leg up. Also, remember to highlight your soft skills in both your resume and cover letter. Transferable skills from the military are unique and can certainly help you stand out among other candidates.
Begin the Job Application and Interview Processes
Job boards such as Indeed and LinkedIn are ideal places for job searching, and they can even help simplify the application process with features like preloaded resumes and cover letters.
Once you have landed an interview, it’s important to ensure that you are adequately prepared. Researching the company, reviewing the job description and preparing a list of questions to ask your interviewer(s) are all fantastic ways to prepare for an interview. You’ll also want to conduct a practice interview with a career advisor, friend or family members. Remember to dress professionally for the interview, no matter if the interview is virtual or in-person. Many candidates assume that they don’t need to dress up for virtual interviews, however, this can count against you. Make sure also to clean up or blur your background for virtual interviews.
Download our Checklist for Marketing Yourself as a Tech Professional
Learn More About COOL
Transitioning out of the military can be a difficult task but SkillStorm is here to help you throughout the process. As an active Army, Air Force or Coast Guard service member, you can start earning certifications before you transition out of the military.