Do you go to a job fair, speak to a recruiter, and when they ask you what you're looking for you say, "Well, here is my resume. What jobs do you have open?"
If you (truthfully) answered "yes" to the above, then you are stuck in a Branch Manager mentality. You need to fire your Branch Manager, and craft your own path.
Fortunately, when you volunteer for military service, it came with a guarantee of getting a Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) and a job. It might not have been the job you wanted, but you always got something, and there was usually a career progression mapped out for you. Even if you got a "needs of the Army" job, wound up in Ft. Irwin, and got passed up for 1st Lieutenant, there was still a plan for you that your branch manager was tracking. This is probably when you realized that the branch manager is there to serve the military, not you. If you’re reading this, you’re likely transitioning and realized that having the freedom to choose your course in life is much more desirable... and hopefully that a career in product management might be a good fit!
So if you're now you're own branch manager, what do you need to do?
Your branch manager had two jobs:
Keep a listing of open jobs and fill them.
Ensure service members are progressing along their career timelines and checkpoints.
Branch Manager Job 1: Find jobs and fill them.
The first one is easy. It's taken care of by a free market system, and usually accessible through sites like LinkedIn and Glassdoor. To be a good member of that system you will need to know what you are looking for...
But what if you don't know what you're looking for?
First, take comfort that this is the vast majority of your peers.
Second, I'll offer these two points to start:
Find your preferred industry
Find your preferred function
Once you know this, recruiting will becoming much easier. You can create a tailored resume that will impress, and recruiters won't have to guess what you're good at. However, finding these two characteristics will require you do some introspection.
Preferred industry:
This can be tough coming out of the military. Many veterans come out of service with an altruistic sense. Unfortunately, unless you work for a non-profit, you'll be hard pressed to find that same satisfaction. Instead you may look at what you are personally interested in. Yes - you will have to actually ask yourself what you are interested in. Again, there is no branch manager to tell you what you should be doing. There are countless blogs out there on how to find your passions. Explore a few of these as a quick test. The good news is that regardless of what industry you aligned with (airlines, consumer products, healthcare, etc) there is likely a technology component to that, and in that case a product manager that looks after their products!
Preferred function:
Hopefully, if you're on this site, you are at least exploring Product Management as your future career. There are a number of resources (this blog, books, videos, etc) for you to get a good sense of whether product management is a good fit for you. This is really where some honest introspection will be necessary. Make sure you conduct both primary (talk to people) and secondary (read) research. Do as much of it as you can. A good technique is to also eliminate functions you absolutely know you don't want to do. Keep in mind that recruiters often see the most correlation between military experience and the Operations function. Both have to do with maintaining process and schedules (think project management). Be aware of this, and don't let them pigeon-hole you into it if you're passionate about being a product manager. It will be important to know why you don't want to be a project manager and the difference between that and Product Management (post coming soon).
Hopefully, by this point you have at least identified that technology Product Management is something you're pursuing. Great!
Branch Manager Job 2: Ensure Member is Progressing on Career Timeline
The other objective of your Branch Manager was to give you a standard roadmap for your career. Unfortunately, there is no such clarity in the private sector. Promotions, bonuses, stock, etc. are awarded in different ways, and have no correlation to your "time in service." In the most ideal settings, these are awarded on merit and your performance as a product manager. Mentors and experience are the best teachers here. There are however, several lessons we can learn from how the military manages your career, and how you can take a similar approach in your Product Management career.
External promotions are preferred: Whether in the military method of time based promotions or the private sector method of external hires, moving up the ladder often includes changing organizations.
Career broadening experiences can set you apart: For senior leadership roles, a breadth of quality experiences can be seen as a precursor to creative out-of-the-box thinking.
Education milestones are important: For both the Soldier and the Product Manager, there is a baseline of formal education that is important to begin your career and continue to progress it. In Product Management, we are seeing a trend towards formalization around recruiting from MBA programs, because of the fundamental business education coupled with a variety of candidate pre-MBA experiences.
Your career should culminate in the highest position: A Product Manager and a military officer both have the possibility of becoming the highest ranking member of their organization. This is unlike some other functions (HR, Finance, etc) or military ranks (enlisted or warrant officers). Product management is often a proving ground for many aspiring CEOs.
In the end, you own your own career and there are no right answers to your path. Undoubtedly, you will make many pivots and adjustments along the way. Find mentors and a strong network (like this one!) to help you get exposure to hiring managers for jobs you're interested in.
Hopefully this has helped you realize that branch managers are there to help the military, not you. You should act like your own branch manager and make career decisions that are best for you.