Each year nearly 250,000 servicemembers and their families leave the military. While a few (10 percent) go into full-time retirement, most expect to work for at least another 10, 20, or 30 years. So, what kind of employment decisions will they make? Where will they live? When and where will they retire? Faced with numerous forks in the road, most transitioning military want to make smart re-careering, relocation, and retirement decisions. They welcome useful advice. Like a good friend, Military-to-Civilian Success for Veterans and Their Families is designed to help anyone achieve transition success in the less structured and more chaotic civilian world. It forces readers to address one of the most important questions about their future: "What do you want to do with the rest of your life?" The answers hopefully involve more than just making money or acquiring more depreciating "stuff." Successfully managing this process begins with changing one's mindset about meaning and purpose in life. Ideally, one should find work that confirms what so many other people in transition have discovered: "If you pursue your passion, you'll be happy and healthy for the rest of your life!" When it comes time to re-career, don't just focus on jobs that look interesting or pay well.

Instead, explore those that directly relate to one's motivated abilities, skills, and values. This book shows how one can make that happen and thus direct one's focus toward those things that are the most important to them. Representing a greatly expanded version of the author's 4.5+ million copy Military-to-Civilian Transition Guide (annually distributed to all transitioning military), this book is filled with timeless tips for launching a successful transition into the civilian world. It also addresses important relocation, retirement, and benefit issues. Its 19 chapters cover the new world of work, transferable skills, best jobs, top 100 employers, attitudes, skills, goals, applications, resumes, letters, dress, online job search, job fairs, networking, interviews, salary, job offers, career advancement, overcoming setbacks, and much more. Special features include: - 150 military-friendly and best employers - 103 compensation elements for negotiating salaries - 47 tough interview questions you should be prepared to answer - 40 myths and realities of the job search process - 40 employment trends - 25 job-keeping and advancement strategies - 20 principles for job search success - 19 sample resumes - 14 things you need to know before starting a business - 11 samples letters and focus pieces - 7 sequential job search steps you must follow The book also includes numerous self-assessment tests and exercises, a realistic planning and implementation time line, job search contract, weekly performance reports, advice on relocation, tips on starting a business, questions about retirement, and useful military transition resources.