Season 3 Episode 144: Winning the Military Transition Game with Shawn Welsh

Shawn Welsh recently retired from the US Army after serving in the intelligence field, but he started his transition years prior. Using his intel skills, Shawn took advantage of 26 military transition programs and obtained 7 different certifications. He currently works in business continuity and is the host of the VET S.O.S. podcast, which he launched in May of 2022.Shawn teamed up with a fellow transitioning service member, and together they explored different events and programs in the months leading up to his retirement. One of the most beneficial events for Shawn was experiencing a Who Ya Know Show Career Summit. This event allowed Shawn to understand what civilians are looking for in a new hire. The Who Ya Know Show encouraged Shawn to start his own podcast. As a result, the VET S.O.S. podcast launched with their support and sponsorship. Through LinkedIn, Shawn connected with others who recommended programs like FourBlock, Vets2Industry and Veterati. The tagline for the VET S.O.S. podcast is Don’t drown in the sea of transition; grab the S.O.S. lifeline. With thousands of transition resources available, the amount of information can be overwhelming to navigate, not to mention time consuming to research. To help service members organize their military transition, Shawn hosts different organizations each week on his podcast and allows them 30 minutes to showcase their services.Shawn recently presented at the VET Summit and shared his tactic for organizing the 40,000 VSOs to a more manageable number. He narrowed down his top 3 VSOs to Vets2Industry, The KEY Community and 50strong. Vets2Industry hosts virtual events that bring in 200 attendees and dozens of vetted recruiters and organizations. After the event, a summary is emailed to all the attendees for their reference. The KEY Community and 50strong also offer virtual events and networking opportunities.  Of the 26 military transition programs that Shawn participated in, Veterati ranks in his top 5. The informational interviews with the mentors at Veterati helped him figure out what he didn’t want to do. Another organization that Shawn used was American Corporate Partners (ACP). The mentor he was given was such a good match that they continue to regularly talk. FourBlock hosts companies and recruiters that are interested in hiring veterans. The COMMIT Foundation and Leader Transition Institute round out his top 5. Shawn was methodical in his transition preparation. He and his wife had many conversations about finances, moving and career paths. After settling on a location, he networked and conducted informational interviews to help him find his focus. From there he used Hire Our Heroes to find an internship in business consulting. The internship became his current full-time job. You may be wondering how Shawn was able to use so many resources during his transition and still fulfill his military duties. It’s not that he had leadership that just let him stop coming to work. Instead, he planned ahead and started 2 years prior to his retirement. Little by little, he slowly went through the programs and earned certifications. He fit in informational interviews when he could and took advantage of virtual opportunities.Subscribe to our YouTube channel at https://tinyurl.com/llforvets22Connect with Shawn at AAFMA, the American Armed Forces Mutual Aid Association is the longest-standing nonprofit association offering life insurance, wealth management, mortgages, survivor assistance and more. AAFMA is dedicated to helping servicemembers be ready for life after the military.  AAFMAA would like to offer you their free Transition Timeline, a guide to help you create a solid military transition plan. Let AAFMAA help you get ready for your next step by visiting www.aafmaa.com/ll4v.