MMC six months away from retirement

[Ragnar]

The subject says it all...and yes, I'm another one of THOSE wives    After this many years dealing with the whims of the Navy, I will fully cop to being a control freak!

Let's get down to brass tacks--he has (or will have) 21 years upon retirement and is a surface nuke (MMC [SW/AW]) with all sorts of quals/classes/journeymen thingies under his belt.   He's working with a headhunter from Bradley Morris, but is there another company you can recommend?  Obviously we aren't putting all of our eggs in the Bradley Morris basket, but it's kind of overwhelming to look at job postings and not really know where to start.  We have a preferred location (Minnesota) and a rough start date (beginning of April), but other than that...

... so what would you do if you were (or have been) in his shoes?  Would you blanket everyone with resumes or would you let the headhunter do the work?  How did you figure out what was the right job for you?  Business cards, yes or no?  He's a Master Training Specialist, so would you say to go for a training job before any others?

If you could answer any of these questions or just have some general advice, I would appreciate it all.  If anything, it will help me get a handle on this major life change that we're about to go through.  And believe you me, I need all the help I can get

[Creeker]

Does he want to work in the commercial nuclear field?  If so, I frankly wouldn't use a head hunter, as MY plant doesn't use them, and I believe most other plants don't as well.

As far as MTS... I looked at 4 resumes this evening, and all had MTS on them.  One cracked me up.. he wasn't only a Master Training Specialist... He was a Renowned master Training Specialist.  Yes, put it on there, no, don't glorify it above all other things, or feel like you have to explain it in detail, unless of course, you're looking outside of commercial power. 

I wouldn't blanket everyone with resumes.  I would respond to desired advertised jobs, with a specific cover sheet, and an attached resume.  When a company advertises a job, they get plenty of response, and I don't think that they look too heavily in the drawer for those special resumes they've been saving up for a special occasion.

You might want to be a little flexible with the location and start date.  Training opportunities are along the lines of technical training (teaching maintenance workers) and operations training (teaching operators).  Unfortunately, teaching and operating in the navy doesn't quite prepare you for operations training, but technical training is another matter.

Does your husband have a 4 year technical degree?  That would enable him to look at instant SRO positions.  Otherwise, despite working hard for 21 years in the Navy, he's looking at entry level operations positions, which start off kind of low, but raise in pay rapidly, and have great growth in the long run. 

Business cards?  Maybe outside of commercial power... I don't think they're worth your outlay in the business. 

Hope that helps a little.

Bill

[bradley535]

   There are a lot of jobs out there, but what you may not know is that in order to get them you have to have impeccable timing or a willingness to relocate. True, almost every station is hiring people. True, almost every nuclear job is pretty much being hired. However, not every station is hiring every nuclear job.

   When I was getting out I put in over 10 applications a week for four months. Out of those applications I got about 20 phone interviews. Out of those interviews I got six followup interviews at the sites. Out of those interviews I got four job offers. Now I will admit that a few of the early phone interviews fell through because I wasn't interested in the job they were pitching me, but that still leaves about one phone interview per week of applications (Or one for ten, if you prefer).

   Also keep in mind that there is a delay period between application and contact. When I put out an application I never got called back about it until a good three months later. So don't get disheartened because of delays, especially since you aren't out yet. Many companies won't try to contact you until you are less than a month from EAOS; due to people changing their minds and reenlisting.

   Go ahead and also throw out some blanket resumes at job-hunter sites. In the end, it was my resume here at Nukeworker that got me the job I currently have. My advice is to keep posting applications in mass quantities to all positions that you think sound desirable to increase the odds of finding the right job for you.

    Good luck and keep us posted,
       Bradley


PS- As an additional hint, many online applications have very similar elements. In order to streamline your application process, keep a word document with a list of your skills, qualifications, education background, and answers to questions that you will find keep cropping up in the application process. Having something to cut and paste from makes filling out an application much quicker.

[RDTroja]

Most (not all) training positions favor commercial experience over either Navy experience or a degree and an Ops instructor usually requires (or at least strongly favors) an RO or SRO license or certification, so training may not be the best place to start looking. Getting into Ops at any level would be a great start and with his background could lead to a teaching position later... and the pay is not bad with all the overtime. If you don't want overtime, there will be a problem, since it is pretty much mandatory (at least until he gets into a training position.)

Minnesota is a fairly limiting location for commercial nuclear... only one plant. Creeker is right about expanding your search, unless you get lucky. He is also right about targeting resumes. If the recruiter is not looking for him at that time, it does little or no good to apply, in most cases. Fortunately, lots of plants have a regular stream of ops positions available, so there should be some opportunities if you are flexible. Creeker is also right about the Business Cards... once he has a job the utility will provide them if he needs them. I know this sounds redundant, but I am trying to reinforce the advice you already got.

[Zor]

What creek and Bradley said holds very true. I am getting out in January and have been in contact with Bradley Morris and Orion. Neither one of them has produced results for me. I just took the POSS test (do a forum search for an explanation) and interviewed at Palo Verde yesterday. If commercial nuclear power is what your husband wants to do then tell him to search the web sites of the companies/plants he is interested in. Find their job board, search for jobs that fit his qualifications and jobs that he is interested in doing. I applied for operator positions at a lot of plants. I've tested for two so far and interviewed with one and need to schedule an interview for another. The leg work and communication needs to be done by your husband not a headhunter. If you read the responses to my questions from the post "ELT getting out looking for NLO position I think" (or something like that) there is a lot of good advice. I followed most of it and it got me some interviews.

Is you husband out to sea?
Has he attended TAP?
Has he gone to any job fairs?

These are all things that will make a difference in his search. But, as previously stated, timing is everything. Don't feel bad about taking work somewhere other than Minnesota and waiting for a position to open up in the area where you want to be and pursuing it when the time is right.

PM me if you have more questions, I will try to help.

Zor

[Neutron_Herder]

To help out with the flexibility part, take a look at the NRC page.  They have a link to a map that shows all the plants in the country.  It's on the bar at the top that say "Nuclear Reactors".  Very handy to help look at locations.  Also take a look at what the state itself offers military retirees.  There are several states out there that don't tax the military retirement.

There are some other headhunters that do work with the plants.  I'm not sure how much direct work Bradley-Morris does with them, I thought they mainly did engineering stuff.  Take a look at Orion International.  I'm pretty sure they work with Entergy, and Entergy has plants up in that general area.

I would still do most of the job hunting myself though.  Headhunters say they're free, but they're getting paid somewhere, right?  The only people who are going to have the true motivation to get the job you want in the location you want are you and your husband.

Most of all is patience...  Most companies will have very specific start dates in mind when they post their jobs, and most of the time that's not more than 3 months out from the time they post it (if they list a start date at all).  By restricting yourself to one area, you're going limit you possibilities... trust me!  It takes a while for the companies to get around to making the calls for interviews too.  This is all coming from experience...  I started terminal leave next week and still don't have a job.  I knew I was taking that chance by the time of year I was retiring, and the fact that I'm limiting my job search to a geographic area.  That's why it's good to have all sorts of leave saved up.  Taking the last three months of my Navy time off and still getting paid is a nice cushion while I keep looking.

As far as the MTS thing goes, I think there's a job on the job board on this site specifically looking for Navy MTS.  If I remember correctly it's in Il.

Good luck!

Jay

[Ragnar]

Thank you all for your responses!

Honestly, if he even knew I was on here asking questions he would kill me--he keeps all his knowledge in his head and shares it on a "need to know" basis.  He's pretty well set so far, but because *I* don't know the process, it's making me a little bit more crazy.

To clarify a little bit: he does have a degree, we are flexible in location, and Minnesota has two plants (Monticello and Prairie Island, both Excel).  There have been three guys from this command to get hired on at the Monticello facility in the past two/three years (all working with the headhunter he is using now), so obviously that's what we're hoping for, but not counting on.  In other words, it's all about the job--if it's the right one with the right pay, he's going to take it regardless of location.

As for operations, is it going to help that he's comm'd, decomm'd, refueled, RCTQS, PQE, LCPO at a NRMD, etc.?  He's gotten job offers from the shipyard we are currently at for SrRCT and PQE but this isn't where we want to stay (too expensive and the schools stink) so those are filed in the "oh crap, I don't have a job yet" category.  He's said before that he doesn't want to be in a shipyard, so commercial power is the plan. 

I can't tell you enough how much I appreciate this forum and the members.  Obviously I have a lot to catch up on, and the first thing I'm going to do once he gets home is have him post his resume.  Oh, that's another question--it's a chronological rather than targeted (yes, he's been to TAP), do you think that's a better one to post here?

I saw the thread down below about the nuclear cruisers coming back; for you old timers (and I say that with love) on here, my husband's first boat was the only ship hotter than the Mobile Chernobyl--the Truxton 

Thank you again!

[Len61]

As far as Operations is concerned, you did not say what the 4 year degree was in. If it is an engineering type or nuclear technology degree, or he has qualified PPWS or EWS he would qualify for an instant SRO position otherwise it would be an AUO position or operations support.

[Ragnar]

Len, his degree is in Math and he has qualified PPWS--I guess that's a good thing, right?  He went ahead and posted his resume on here, too, so here's hoping the right person sees it!