Are you ready to stop working a job and find your career?
It goes without saying that finding a job is one of the most important steps for veterans to take. The transition to civilian life is not usually easy. The rigorous structure of the military is replaced with a much more open-ended system. But that can be exciting instead of intimidating once a veteran is armed with the right tools and resources. And luckily, for vets in Indiana, there are a multitude of open positions in a startlingly diverse range of industries.
Some of the industries wanting veterans are easy to see: security, government, and information technology are all fields where military experience can be easily translated. But there are so many more options! More employers are looking to hire veterans, but how do you find those employers? And why then are veterans working in fields that don’t match their expertise? While the individual situations are complex, the answer is simple: people are often scared of fixing what isn’t necessarily broken and don’t know where to start.
Where to Start
If you’re a veteran in Indiana, there are many resources to help you find employment. For example, the Indiana Department of Veteran Affairs (DVA) has a veteran job search page. But, while this is helpful, it does not do the work of connecting with an individual veteran and leveraging that individual’s skills in the job search. In order to do that, a veteran must connect to one of many non-profit organizations focused on assisting veterans. Here in Indiana, there’s INvets, as well as our partner organization Operation: Job Ready Veterans.
Indiana is home to growing industries with a huge number of job openings statewide, but especially for jobs in manufacturing, the public sector, health, technology, energy, and logistics. That may seem like a lot, but those are just the industries growing the fastest that are the most applicable to veterans. There are a lot more jobs that exist outside those industries too. And there are several ways you can get connected to those job postings.
One of the best ways to learn more about an industry and how to get a job within it is networking! A great place to start is LinkedIn. The site will guide you through the steps necessary in order to have the most effective profile page, but that’s not where the value of LinkedIn lies. The best way to effectively network using LinkedIn is to tap into your existing network. It’s surprising how often a mutual connection will have the job that you’re looking for, and those are the people with the answers to your important questions. It’s also a good idea to get in touch with other veterans in the area you’re in or are looking to relocate to (we make a strong case for Indiana). This can be done through your local VA, LinkedIn, or a non-profit organization like INvets.
Where to End
Like anyone else, veterans are looking for a job that will let them stop job hunting. This means that the company is in the ideal industry and provides an excellent work life, but it also means that the job must be somewhere worth settling down in. There may be other important considerations like educational costs for children, climate, or even the natural beauty of the area. Finding a job isn’t just finding a job: it’s finding a new lifestyle.
INvets believes that every veteran can be connected with not just a job, but a career. If you’re a veteran in Indiana, we’d love to help you find the great job that launches your civilian career. And you can get started today.