"Networking" - Intermountain West

[Stoic]

Tribe,

I really hate putting this up here; the idea of "networking" has never appealed to me, but I don't guess I can afford not to.

Bottom line, I'm currently employed as an Army officer, but in about two months, that will no longer be the case. Thus, I'm looking for a job, specifically in the Salt Lake City area.

Hard to say exactly what I'm looking for, as my experience and training are fairly broad and cover a number of areas. I suppose by default, I'm looking for a management job. Naturally, as an officer, I have extensive experience building and leading teams, with all that entails.

I also have experience and training in project management, material development and acquisition, test and evaluation, contracting, purchasing, and quality assurance.

If anyone has any leads, or even just tips for my job search, they would be greatly appreciated.

[Allen]

SLC has a huge startup and light manufacturing scene:
http://www.inc.com/search?q=SLC

Get business cards. Get a real email address eg. First.Last@Gmail.com or another modern provider. ditch AOL or SBC etc, needs to appear somewhat modern.
Find an open house, Friday kegger or social event.Talk, hang out find out what their problems are, then offer solutions that involve you. Don't ask for a job, just offer a solution.

Start with basic goal setting:
I will find 10 companies who are doing something interesting in SLC each week.
I will find 5 roles that I think these companies will need in the near future, and figure out how I can be the only candidate
I will talk to 2 of them each week, Face to face, at my expense, to discover what I don't know about their business and offer solutions.

Hope this helps, I went through 2 years of part time jobs and pointless interviews. Only when I offered solutions instead of asking questions did I find work.
Allen

[Axzys]

Congratulations on your upcoming retirement. Utah is a great place to look for a job as our unemployment rate is one of the lowest in the country and there is a lot of growth happening in a number of sectors that are heating up the economy.

If you have not done so already, get on LinkedIn. This is a great way to find jobs as well as connect with professionals that can help you in finding the hidden jobs.

Have a professional write a resume for you. Preferably, several that are tailored to the segments you are looking at. Civilians do not understand Mil- speak and you need someone that can translate what you know and did to civilian terminology. You don't even realize you are doing it anymore, it has become part of your life.

Either get over the reluctance to ask everyone you know for help and referrals or pay for a job search professional. You have to have someone in your corner that will toot your horn louder than everyone else.

Most of the commercial job boards are a waste of time and will get you hundreds of calls to sell MLM or insurance. Go to cleared job sites. Your clearance is valuable and people look for it specifically.

I live in Utah but my circle of influence is mostly in the D.C. Area, but I am happy to help a fellow member of the superior service. Feel free to PM me, and I will do everything I can to assist.

Welcome home Brother, and thank you for your service.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[Stoic]

Thanks for the advice, gents. Looks like I will probably be in training for a new job with the Army Reserve for a few months.