It is a universal truth that everyone in the military hates networking. Active-duty service members hate networking. New veterans hate networking. Old veterans hate networking. Military spouses especially hate networking.
And why not? It is part of our military culture to believe in the “assignment,” not the job hunt. You get your assignment to report to a new duty station. You work hard. You take care of your people. Your career takes care of itself.
Yet when it comes to the civilian world, the research says that we are most likely going to get our jobs through weak ties in our network, not by getting an assignment. And not by submitting blind resumes to job listings. Curses!
How are we supposed to get over our deep inner loathing of networking and get a job already? Especially when you do not have time to network? Especially when it is summer and the beach is calling?
Networking Is Never Easy for Veterans or Spouses
Well, finding that nonexistent time is the key skill of job hunting, isn’t it? As the transition master coach for Military.com’s Veteran Employment Project, I can swear to you that you will never have time to network during your transition. Never. There will never be time or energy to work on something as whimsical and ethereal as networking.
Yet, you still have to do it. Seriously. So how do you make this as painless as possible?
Make a habit app do the work.
When it comes to job hunting during transition or a military move, I’m a fan of automating as many tasks as possible. A habit-building app can help you get past your aversion to networking by turning it into a lot of itsy-bitsy nothing tasks -- networking microhabits.
What Is the Best App for Networking Habits?
My favorite for this is Habit Tracker. For a one-time fee of $8.99, you can edit your networking habits forever and solve your networking problems with ease. How? By gamifying the microhabits of networking on the app.
Instead of trying to make yourself do tasks that are against your current nature (such as cold-calling or attending networking events), you can identify networking microhabits that really turn into job-hunting leads. Then track each habit you have done this week and see the chart of how each task gets tallied up every month and over the year of your military transition.
Big plus? It is pretty -- which is super motivating for me. Depending on what is motivating for you, you could also use Habit Rabbit, Habitify or Streaks.
How to Turn Networking into a Habit
Six months before you transition, load your app of choice with the networking microhabits you need to hit on every week. Every little bit you count adds up so it is motivating.
Resist the urge to make the habit app a checklist. This is not a checklist of things you do one time. These are networking microhabits that are so small, they should take you no time at all to complete. And completing your microhabits for the week feels so good that you do it more.
12 Networking Microhabits for Military Transition
Ready to get started? From the following list, pick three networking habits to do every week. Concentrate on being hugely consistent in small tasks, not doing huge asks.
- Identify a recruiter from a target company on LinkedIn and click “connect.”
- Comment on a LinkedIn post from a friend (likes don’t count).
- Open Military.com’s Veteran Jobs newsletter in your inbox and click on one article.
- Share or reshare Jacey’s latest article, which usually comes with the kind of funny graphic that people cruising LinkedIn need to see.
- Practice your answer to: Tell me about yourself. Out loud. In front of a mirror.
- Practice your answer to: What kind of job are you looking for?
- Practice a very short answer to: Why are you leaving the military? (Female veterans get extra points if you do not “build a birdhouse.” Find out why birdhouses are a problem in our Connect and Conquer master class for female veterans and female spouses.)
- Circle back around with a recent workmate or former boss who is now in the civilian world. They circle back around a lot out here.
- Wake up a sleeper connection -- someone you used to like working with that you haven’t heard from in at least five years.
- Before attending a social event or sports outing, prepare a job-hunt-related response to: What’s new? Or, What have you been up to? It’s amazing how much traction you get when you say something like, “I’ve been working on my resume, and man, does it suck.”
- Send a LinkedIn request to three people who have had your exact military role.
- Brainstorm one positive thought or action to keep you moving forward.
Making networking microhabits a part of your normal day and workweek is a great way to move forward. Rewarding those habits a little at a time will make real networking a part of your normal business life. Because it is nice out here in civilian land. Jump in. The water is fine.
Find the Right Veteran Job
Whether you want to polish your resume, find veteran job fairs in your area or connect with employers looking to hire veterans, Military.com can help. Subscribe to Military.com to have job postings, guides and advice, and more delivered directly to your inbox.
