Episode #38:

Prioritizing Your Mental Health to Achieve Post-military Success with Ray Jokie

After a unique Air Force career that included time as a Training Instructor and Recruiter, Ray Jokie faced several challenges during his transition. He learned to lean on supportive groups and people, create an identity apart from the military and put in the work to see desirable results. Currently, Ray is finishing up a contractor position as a Talent Acquisition Specialist for Lockheed Martin and ready to attract top talent for his next contracted position. He gives excellent advice for keeping a positive attitude during the job search process and maintaining professional contact with recruiters.

Lessons Learned:

• Mental health is at least as important as physical health—maybe more.
• Don’t put on a charade that all is well when it isn’t.
• To defeat depressive thoughts, focus on the people in your life who count on you and surround yourself with positivity.
• Supportive groups help—and there are so many! You can find them in multiple places, such as:
  • The VA
  • LinkedIn
  • Through friends
• Have a timeline and know when you’re planning to get out of the military.
• Plug into a group outside of the military to create an identity apart from it, because you have more than one interest, skill and talent.
• Relying on the TAP class for your transition is like building a complicated Lego set with just the finished picture.
• Resumes are not like promotion statements; they should be understandable by a 5^th
• Networking is key, because you’ll find more opportunities through people you’ve connected with than through blind applications.
• Large organizations may only have 5-10% of recruiters who have military experience, so consider your audience.
• Don’t waste time in complaining about the broken job-search process.
• Tell your story and listen to other people tell theirs.
• Be open to new ideas, things, companies, etc. This keeps you flexible.
• You can connect with Ray on LinkedIn at:
  • https://www.linkedin.com/in/rjokie/