BTU #30 - Travis Collier: The US Coast Guard & Using Sprints to Find Your Passion

“It's so unfortunate that veterans don't practice their new life, until they're in their new life. And really by then, you're behind the eight ball. So really any chance you get to take now while you're in uniform - look at it this way: the military is funding you as the R&D project to find the best life and the best way you can serve others. Finding those condensed opportunities to gain that experience, to gain that data. It's really traingulating - you're taking a fix on geography, income, occupation and fit. If it works it works, if it doesn't then you just keep trying something else." – Travis Collier

Travis Collier is a Journeyman Marine Inspector with the US Coast Guard, where he has served for the last 15 years. He holds a Bachelors Degree in Government and International Affairs from the US Coast Guard Academy, and a Master’s in Instructional & Performance Technology from Boise State University. He is the author of the books "Command Your Transition" & “SCALE”, and works as a coach for military members with 8-10 years of service to implement an intent and strategy to transition out the military and achieve even greater success on the outside .

In this conversation, we cover a lot of topics, including:

• Travis' advice of embracing a transition strategy really early in the transition process
• How to set aside a budget for your own personal Research & Development and use sprints and "takeover weekends" to find your passion
• An overview on coaching and how it can help veterans reach their full potential
• How important sales is to any veteran
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• Eric's article on Top Talent
• Book Recommendations:
  • Command Your Transition: Declare your Intent, Craft your Mission, Make it on the Outside,
  • SCALE: Refuse to Settle Recognize What Matters Redefine Success
  • The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business
  • The 4-Hour Chef: The Simple Path to Cooking Like a Pro, Learning Anything, and Living the Good Life
• Stanford Ignite Program
• David Sedaris' essay on the Four Burer Theory

Show Notes

• 1:24 - Travis' background
• 2:38 - A few curve balls Travis has experienced while in the US Coast Guard
• 8:15 - Travis' advice of embracing a transition strategy really early in the transition process
• 12:10 - How to set aside a budget for your own personal Research & Development and use sprints and "takeover weekends" to find your passion
• 18:42 - Finding the lifestyle to live, serve, and be honored by
• 26:04 - An overview on coaching and how it can help veterans reach their full potential
• 32:42 - How important sales is to any veteran
• 36:16 - Common roadblocks Travis sees for veterans
• 38:18 - Final words of wisdom

BTU #18: Tom Wolfe - Everything you need to know to plan your transition

"Open your eyes, be receptive, try to learn about what's unknown to you, in addition to what you're already aware of."– Tom Wolfe

Tom Wolfe is a career coach, author, and columnist. He is the author of OUT OF UNIFORM -- Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Transition, as well as a columnist of 11 years for CivilianJobs.com. Tom has over 29 years of experience in the Career Development industry. Tom is a graduate of the US Naval Academy, and served as a Surface Warfare Officer and Admiral’s Aide.

In this interview we discuss:

• Stereotypes about veterans - how to use stories in interviews to reinforce the positive ones, and preemptively combat the negative ones
• Common mistakes veterans make - like being too humble or understated in an interview
• Job hunting techniques (like using informational interviews to see if you’d like a career and potentially get your foot in the door of an organization)
• Using Filters for your job search so you can avoid boiling the ocean when looking for your ideal job
• Using a career coach as a personal trainer for your career
• Tactical exercises you can use to improve your self knowledge as part of a job search
• And much, much more…

• • Listen to it on iTunes.
  • Stream by clicking here.
  • Download as an MP3 by right-clicking here and choosing “save as.”

QUESTION OF THE DAY: How can I make these episodes more valuable to active duty military personnel considering transitioning to the civilian world? Please let me know in the comments.

Scroll below for links and show notes…

Selected Links from the Episode

• Tom's book: Our of Uniform
• Contact Tom at: http://www.tomwolfe-careercoach.com/index.html
• Tom's book's website: http://www.out-of-uniform.com
• Canines for Service: http://www.caninesforservice.org/

Show Notes

• [3:10] - Tom’s background in writing and career coaching
• [4:10] - The most common mistakes Tom sees veterans make in their career transition
• [13:27] - Stereotypes - how to reinforce the positives and preempt the negatives
• [24:26] Reasons why veterans get rejected in interviews
• [27:00] - A surefire way to succeed in an interview
• [28:33] - How to gather information about what you want to do as efficiently as possible
• [33:18] - Using Informational Interviews to figure out what you want to do… and potentially get your foot in the door
• [36:12] - How to use filters to simplify your job search
• [43:20] - 1/2 of veterans end up working for a company they weren’t aware of at the start of their search..how to broaden your search to be aware of broader opportunities
• [47:50] - A personal trainer for your career - Career Coaching
• [57:03] - Using mistakes to learn in you job search
• [58:32] - Where you can learn more about Tom’s work