Transition program preps Airmen for career, culture change Published Sept. 17, 2007 By Staff Sgt. Shawn J. Jones 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, NC -- Fifteen Airmen of various ranks prepared for post-military life during a transition assistance workshop hosted by the Airman and Family Readiness Center here Sept. 11 - 13. The three-day workshop provides information to help retiring or separating servicemembers find employment and gain a greater understanding of civilian work culture. The workshop is optional and does not replace the mandatory pre-separation briefing required by all servicemembers ninety days prior to separation or retirement. Through a collaborated effort by the Departments of Defense, Labor, Veteran Affairs and Transportation, transition workshops have provided employment assistance to more than one million servicemembers and spouses worldwide since 1990. "Statistics have proven that those who attend the three-day workshop find employment six weeks earlier than those who do not," said Richard Lambert, a community readiness consultant from the Airman and Family Readiness Center who manages the workshop. Planning ahead is a key lesson of the transition workshop. "Waiting until the last minute while trying to out-process can result in personal hardship and a significant delay in securing a new job," said Mr. Lambert, who emphasized that separating servicemembers should attend the three-day transition assistance workshop about 12 months before separation or retirement. The workshop features speakers from various perspectives of the employment process. Topics include resume writing, interviewing, networking, educational loans and scholarships, veteran's benefits and civilian professional dress among others. Another emphasis of the workshop is that Airmen need to translate their military-related experience and training into civilian-equivalent capabilities. Though the nature of their primary duties might not transfer directly into a civilian career, Airmen have valuable skill sets that make them desirable to a broad range of civilian employers. Most transitioning Airmen are drug-free professionals who have a good work ethic and have worked in high-pressure situations. Most have experience as supervisors, trainers, program managers or team members, said Ron Zeimmer of the North Carolina Employment Security Commission. The opinion that separating military members have many marketable skills for civilian employment is not lost on Jim Wall, a human resource manager for Cooper-Standard Automotive of Goldsboro who retired from Seymour Johnson AFB as a chief master sergeant. "The military has provided a very good compliment of tools to put in the tool box, but now they must learn to apply those to the civilian sector to be successful," Mr. Wall said. "All employers are looking for employees who posses the discipline that military retirees have and the skill sets they come equipped with from their military experience and education." One of the tools in a separating Airman's toolbox is a vast network of past and present coworkers and colleagues who can assist with the employment process. "Networking is vital during job search as companies typically use their current work force as recruiters," Mr. Lambert said. "Companies put their trust in the fact that if a current employee refers someone for a position, it's going to be a candidate similar to them. For this reason, transitioning military should let everyone they know that they are in the job search mode." The 50-minute briefing on professional networking along with the other transition assistance briefings aims to make the separation process much smoother for soon-to-be civilians. "Honestly, it is scary to spend over ten years in the military and make the decision to go back to the civilian world, not knowing what is out there," said Staff Sgt. Kevin Gamblin, a student in the transition workshop from the 4th Services Squadron. "The TAP program really hit on a lot of questions that we ask ourselves like: What do we do now? What is out there for us? What kind of benefits do we have?" Airmen who are considering separation should contact the career assistance advisor at 722-5857. ______________________________________________________ For more information on the transition assistance program or the mandatory pre-separation briefing, call 722-1123.