Category: Career

Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile

I spent a lot of time and money learning how to use LinkedIn. I’m going to give it all to you here, for FREE, and without any fluff. There are three pillars to using LinkedIn. You want 1) Authority, 2) Search Optimization, and 3) a Large Network.

We will discuss how to increase the authority of your profile and how to search optimize your profile first, then discuss strategies for increasing your network. Implementing these strategies can increase your chances of getting a job on LinkedIn or they can increase the amount of revenue your business or recruiting service brings in year after year.

The Importance of Search Optimization

People search for you on LinkedIn. If a Recruiter is looking for a navy nuke to fill an engineering position, she goes to that little search box and types in “navy nuclear,” or “reactor operator,” or “quality assurance technician”.

LI Search Box

It works the same in any industry. If someone is looking for a divorce attorney in Houston, they go to this search box and type in something like “Houston Divorce Attorney.” If a Nuke is looking for a good Recruiter in Virginia to help with his job search, he goes to this little box and types in “Navy Nuke Recruiter in Virginia.”

When you begin to optimize your LinkedIn profile you need to determine what you want to be associated with, i.e., what keywords do you want to be found by? Long ago, I optimized my profile for the keywords “navy nuke.” Go to your LinkedIn profile and search on the words “navy nuke” without the quotations.

yourehiredDoes my profile pop up on the first page? It might not anymore because I have since optimized for different keywords but a lot of the Nuke stuff is still in there. Now whenever recruiters use LinkedIn to find Navy Nukes they see my profile and ask to connect with me.

Your first step in making a LinkedIn profile is deciding what keywords you want to optimize for. Then you want to create your profile with the goal of being on the first page of search results for that particular keyword (the top 10 search results). Continue reading “Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile”

The End of Navy Nuke Job Finder

I started this website circa 2010 as a way to give back to the Navy Nuke Community. At the time I saw a need for an increased ability for Nukes to network with eachother vis a vis the acquisition of gainful employment. The idea came to me when I was in law school because my 2.9 GPA meant that networking was the ONLY way I was ever going to get a job in the legal profession.

The good thing about building a network is that you are able to bypass all the BS that goes hand and hand with the job search process that we know today. If you network properly, the entire application process becomes little more than a formality. This is how people in the 6 figure world do it. The last 2 jobs I was hired for didn’t involve filling out any online application, no resume submission, and no interview process (other than this is how we do things here…when can you start).

That’s kind of what I was going for when I built this website and with that in mind, I have been contemplating a few changes that could mean the end of Navy Nuke Job Finder…as we currently know it. Continue reading “The End of Navy Nuke Job Finder”

Should Navy Nukes Go To Law School?

I get a few questions from the Navy Nuke Community that tend to repeat themselves. One of those questions is, “Should I go to Law School after the Navy?” or “Could you advise my son/daughter who is thinking about going to Law School?”

I have composed several long emails on this topic over the years and I think it’s time I just made a post on NavyNukeJobFinder.com so that you will have a resource to consider before you take the plunge.

I’m going to make a few assumptions in answering this question. I’m going to assume you are a Navy Nuke or an ex-Navy Nuke. That means you are probably in the top 10% of the entire world as far as intelligence goes. And you have excelled in every academic program that you have encountered.

This is who I am answering this question for. If you somehow found this website and you are not a member of the Navy Nuke community, this post will still be helpful to you, but you might seek the advice of someone who knows more about your background than I do.

I only ask one favor: Make no judgment about me or about the validity of this article until you read the paragraph titled “DISCLAIMER.” Continue reading “Should Navy Nukes Go To Law School?”

The Most Important Lesson I Learned in the Navy

“It’s not about you. The Purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness.” Rick Warren, The Purpose Driven Life

Jeff Gazaway is a very smart man. People fall into and out of your life. Some will have an impact on your life; some will have no bearing on your life. This is especially true if you ever join the Navy or the military. I didn’t know much about Jeff Gazaway before we met. It was only a random coincidence that we were both assigned to the same duty section.  This meant that while the USS John C. Stennis was in port, Jeff was the Load Dispatcher in charge of the ship’s electrical power distribution and I was the Shut Down Electrical Operator (who’s main duty is to keep the Load Dispatcher awake on the Balls to Seven watch).

The thing I remember most about my 6 years in the Navy is that Continue reading “The Most Important Lesson I Learned in the Navy”