Building Successful Military Pathways & Workforce Solutions
Tools & Tips to Assist in your SkillBridge Journey
Join the Community
Join the DoD SkillBridge Community of Practice LinkedIn group; a Center of Excellence assisting the transformation of our transitioning service members into the right career pathways. A place for U.S. Active Duty service members, Coast Guard, National Guard, and Reservists to share knowledge and best practices on landing a SkillBridge opportunity across all federally legal industries and organizations.
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This is also a place where DOD-approved company leaders, and practitioners, can contribute to, and gain knowledge, in building quality programs.
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Service members, Transition Counselors, and DoD-approved organization POC's are welcome to join.
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Decide What Makes You Happy Professionally
Decide what you want to do and where you want to live. Recruiters can't and won't help people who say they can do anything and live anywhere. If you're unsure of what you want to do, or you're having trouble narrowing your interests, take career assessments to better understand what'll make you happy
www.MyNextMove.org from the Department of Labor
https://vets2industry.org/indigo-assessment/ Indigo Assessment through VETS2INDUSTRY
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Become familiar with your Branch and DoD instructions - https://skillbridge.osd.mil/resources.htm
Narrow Down Organizations & Networking
Start running WEEKLY keyword searches on the SkillBridge Locations page to help narrow down which approved orgs may be able to offer you the kind of opportunities you're interested in - https://skillbridge.osd.mil/locations.htm
The SkillBridge site is update every Friday with newly approved potential opportunities.
After each search, reach out to ALL of the POC's to learn more about their company and SkillBridge program. Start tracking the orgs you reach out to, who their POC is, what you've learned about them, and whether you'd like to join them.
Here's a great template to use when messaging or emailing POC's:
“Hi ___________________ (recruiters name),
I’ll be transitioning from the ______________ (Branch of service) in ___________ (# of months) and have been verbally approved to participate in a SkillBridge opportunity. I’d love to learn more about the (position name i.e. Project Manager) positions that ______________ (name of company) has!
Looking forward to connecting,
________________ (your name)”
Application Timelines
You have at least two applications to submit:
- one to your Chain of Command
- one to each organization or opportunity you want to apply to
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Your application with your CoC should be submitted IAW your Branch SkillBridge instruction.
All DoD and Branch SkillBridge instructions can be found here - https://skillbridge.osd.mil/resources.htm
Service members are permitted to participate in one SkillBridge opportunity, so only one SkillBridge application should be submitted to your CoC.
It's your job to narrow down your options and submit your application for the opportunity you believe is the best for you
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Separately, after you've conducted keyword searches and informational interviews with approved organizations, you should apply to ALL of the approved organizations and opportunities as you feel you're well-aligned for. NEVER put all of your eggs into one company's basket.​
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If you apply to one opportunity, you'll only receive one acceptance letter... or you could receive nothing. But if you apply to ten opportunities, maybe seven recruiters interview you, and maybe four companies make you an offer. This keeps you in the drivers seat and allows you to decide which opportunity is best for you and your family.
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*** For opportunities requiring a TS clearance, or higher, with Federal Intelligence Agencies and Defense contracting organizations with opportunities supporting the IC, service members should apply 4-6 months before being eligible to begin their opportunity. Most Federal Agencies don't have reciprocity with the DoD, so service members will have to go through a full background investigation before beginning their opportunity. Don't waste your SkillBridge time with background investigation events.
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For SkillBridge opportunities requiring a Secret clearance or lower, most recruiters don't look any further than 90 days in advance. So within 90 days of being eligible to begin a SkillBridge opportunity, that is the best time to apply​. ***
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Locating Current SkillBridge Opportunities
Besides the DoD SkillBridge Community of Practice group, the best places to find current SkillBridge opportunities are LinkedIn Jobs and the National Labor Exchange - https://veterans.usnlx.com/ ​
