Retirement
Critical Retirement Step – Adapting Your CV to a Résumé
Throughout my career, I updated my academic curriculum vitae (CV) monthly. As a result, I thought it would be in good shape for transition, but I was wrong. Almost no one wanted to see my 40 page CV, and I needed a résumé.
My CV
Here is the CV I currently have and what I started with before getting all sorts of help condensing it down to a 2 page résumé:
During my job exploration so far, there were only two entities that were OK with my full CV, academic institutions and the VA. Other than that, every one else wanted a résumé that was only a few pages long.
Creating My Résumé
Initially, I just condensed my 40 page CV down to 2 pages, but that was not a polished résumé and I needed help. Similar to my LinkedIn profile update, many resources exist to help you create your résumé.
VetJobs
VetJobs gave me some detailed résumé and LinkedIn profile feedback, which you can read here:
They also partner with Hiring Our Heroes for an online résumé engine that I thought was cool.
Finally, they gave me a clean Applicant Tracking System (ATS) compliant résumé template that I liked and used:
ATS is the computer system that employers use to receive, organize, and screen résumés. If you have an overly complicated résumé format with photos, graphics, and other unnecessary things, it may impair the ATS screening of your résumé. It seems that when it comes to résumé format, simpler is better.
VetJobs regularly offers free virtual résumé sessions, which can be seen here.
Military Officers Association of America (MOAA)
I’ve spoken about MOAA before as I’m a lifetime member. They provided me free résumé feedback as well. To quote them, “Please don’t be concerned by all the comments—that is pretty standard for an initial draft.” Here was their feedback on my 2 page condensed CV:
Any MOAA members can send their résumés to transition@moaa.org. If you’re not a member, here is the membership link (basic membership is free):
COMMIT Foundation and Mr. Scott Vedder
The COMMIT Foundation helps transitioning veterans and they were able to get me a free hour with a resume/hiring coach who has literally written the book on resumes, Mr. Scott Vedder.
I talked to him for an hour and learned:
- Remove military jargon and titles. If I say I’m a “Captain”, civilians will think I drive a ship or fly a plane. Military titles are no longer my brand. I am a Veteran now, not a Navy Captain.
- Make sure everything on the résumé is true. For example, I shouldn’t say I’m the “CEO of US Naval Hospital Guam” because I’m not. Maybe I say I’m the “Senior Executive Leader” instead of “MTF Director” or “Commanding Officer”, both of which are military titles civilians won’t understand.
- All bulleted accomplishments should be unique to me. I shouldn’t have generic descriptions of my roles, but specific accomplishments that are mine. In other words, everything I list as an achievement during my time as XO of Portsmouth or CO of Guam should be unique to me. It should not be something my predecessors or successors could say too.
Here are a few links and tools that he said I could share:
- My web site is www.ScottVedder.com and I’ve got a trove of resources on it including:
- A PDF of My Top 5 Veteran Résumé Tips
- Another PDF with My Top 5 Veteran Interview Tips
- A page of veteran resources others have found helpful
- On LinkedIn I’ve got a few articles including:
- My “Smart 5th Grader Test” to ensure examples will always be understood by civilians or anyone in a different field
- Some great tips on networking including the approach we discussed to reach out to those with common backgrounds
- My books specifically for veterans, reservists, and MilSpouses include:
- Signs of a Great Résumé: Veterans Edition, and
- Signs of a Great Interview: Veterans Edition
- Side note: If you apply for federal agencies, be sure to follow the new USAJOBS résumé guidelines (including the 2-page limit) in compliance with the Merit Hiring Plan. I found this article from American Public University pretty insightful too and I agree with most of its points.
My Updated Résumé
While still a work in progress, if you want to see what my resume looks like after all of this, here it is:
Critical Retirement Step – The LinkedIn Profile Update
If you are retiring or separating and you have any interest in a civilian position, you probably need to update your LinkedIn profile. My profile was reasonably up-to-date and accurate, but as you’ll see it didn’t incorporate many of the best practices of a professional profile. Here is a brief story of my LinkedIn profile update…
First, I got some feedback from the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA). I think MOAA is a great organization. They lobby for military and veterans, they keep you informed about what is going on (many of the articles on MCCareer.org are from MOAA), and they offer a lot of services you may need, like LinkedIn profile reviews! I value my MOAA membership so much that even though basic membership is free, I’m a lifetime member.
The MOAA professional that did my LinkedIn review is Pat L. Williams, PhD, PHR, Captain, U.S. Navy (Ret.), Program Director, Engagement and Career Transition Services. She was very thorough, as you are about to read. Here is a summary of her feedback.
The e-mail she sent me made these points:
- Keep your profile up-to-date.
- Make sure your background photo is appropriate. If you Google for LinkedIn background photos, you’ll find thousands you can use. She though my photo was fine as it advertised my blog (and was my may to make sure the DoW social media disclaimer is there).
- Maintain a relationship with your contacts by sharing and liking their posts on the site. It just takes 2-3 “touches” a year.
- Don’t be afraid to reach out to people. That is why they are on the site, to cultivate and maintain strong professional networks. Today 80-85% of people get their next job via networking!
- Participate in MOAA’s LinkedIn Career Networking Group, which has 47K professionals/participants.
But the money was in this document:
You really need to read the above document if you want the full flavor of the review. Some highlights include:
- You can get 1 year of LinkedIn Premium for free if you are military affiliated (active duty, reserves, veteran, spouse). Here is an article that discusses the value of LinkedIn Premium.
- I needed a new headshot, so I had some professional headshots done when I was home on leave for Thanksgiving. I tried the AI tools, but the free ones didn’t work well for me. I just paid $100 and got them done by a local photographer. Boom!
- My headline needed to be revised. “CEO of US Naval Hospital Guam” was what it used to say. This was my attempt to follow current DoW guidance and not used military titles like “Commanding Officer” or “MTF Director.” Instead, it now says, “Chief Executive Officer | Experienced Senior Healthcare Executive Specializing in Medical Education, Communication, and Leading with Humor | Educating Physicians to Develop Their Careers | Veteran”.
- My LinkedIn profile URL had a bunch of random letters and numbers after my name. It now is https://www.linkedin.com/in/joel-schofer/. This looks much more professional on a resume or CV.
- I already had a lot of connections and activity from blog posts I was posting on LinkedIn, so I was good there.
- I needed to rewrite my summary.
- I had 7 skills, but I now have the maximum of 100. These took me a whole weekend to add. Skills are what gets you to pop when recruiters search for people.
- I now belong to a few groups.
- I have liked all the companies I’m interested in working for and have job alerts set up for them.
Seriously, download the Word document above and give it a look. It was a thorough review.
There were other LinkedIn resources shared including a multiple webinars on LinkedIn branding on this page, but they all require you to be a premium MOAA member (not the basic free membership).
She also tipped me off to a former Army Sergeant Major and LinkedIn expert named Michael Quinn who offers “The Ultimate LinkedIn Cheat Sheet” and “How To Set Up an Effective LinkedIn Profile” on his LinkedIn profile. The are both good resources I’m working through.
If you are a MOAA member and want a resume (more to follow on that fun) or LinkedIn profile review, Pat said to e-mail transition@moaa.org. If you want to join, and remember that basic membership is free, you can read all about joining MOAA here:
Holiday Retirement Update
I’m 3 months into this retirement journey. Here is an update on some important things:
Timing of Retirement Orders
I requested retirement on 2 OCT 2025.
On 15 NOV 2025, I received notification from NSIPS that my retirement date of 1 JUN 2026 was approved.
On 25 NOV 2025, my orders were released in NSIPS.
Not bad! PERS seems to be moving things along after the government shutdown.
Beware of Unsolicited Recruiters
Once you indicate on your LinkedIn profile that you are “#opentowork” you will probably be contacted by recruiters. So far, I’ve been contacted by three.
One is legit. He is from a legit firm. He helped me update my resume to apply for a position. He charged me nothing.
The other two both were eerily similar. First, both had e-mail addresses from gmail. Both claimed to have positions I was a fit for. Both reviewed my CV/resume, and then both tried to hand me off to someone else to develop my “executive portfolio” for a fee.
I don’t doubt that executive level jobs would require an executive portfolio, but I was not sure that the positions they said were open actually were. I’m suspicious that they just saw where I lived, what I was looking for, and made up positions that were a fit for me.
What’s the nearest hospitals to where he lives? Let’s just tell him that they are advertising their CEO or CMO position. And then we’ll ask him for money to develop an executive portfolio.
These two people may be legit, but I have my doubts.
The Retirement Physical
I had my retirement physical. At the recommendation of a friend who’s done this before, I had every major joint x-rayed. I’m 50 and they all hurt to some extent occasionally, so why not?
They all showed arthritis. This is not a shock, but perhaps will help me document the service related nature of any arthritis that progresses to the point where I need care at the VA. Consider x-rays of all major joints when you get your separation physical.
The VA
As I type this, I have my first appointment with the VA in 5 days. I’m using a Veterans Service Organization (VSO) in Guam to file my Benefit Delivery at Discharge (BDD) claim before I leave active duty. Here is an article that briefly explains why you should probably use a VSO rather than try to do it yourself:
Why should I use a Veterans Service Organization (VSO) to assist with a VA claim or appeal?
More updates to follow as this progresses…
2 Months Into Retirement Prep – What I’ve Learned So Far
I’m about 2 months into my decision to retire. What have I learned so far? Here is a summary:
Retiring is Nearly a Full-Time Job
There is a lot to do. In summary, you’ve got to do all of the items on this timeline:
Here is another very thorough retirement checklist that is the best I’ve found so far.
There are Tons of Civilian Jobs Available
I’m not even sure I want a job, but there is no shortage of opportunity out there, especially if you are not geographically constrained. After setting up job searches on LinkedIn, Glassdoor, Indeed, USAJobs, American Association for Physician Leadership, and HigherEdJobs, I have been deluged by e-mails. Think long and hard about what frequency you want to receive these e-mails when you sign up for them. I’d recommend weekly. Daily is overwhelming.
Almost No One Wants to See Your Full Academic CV
I have a 40 page CV:
The VA recruiter was fine with a full CV and I also uploaded it to HigherEdJobs since those jobs are academically focused, but almost immediately after starting a job hunt I needed a 1-2 page resume, which I didn’t have at the time. Here is what I’m currently using:
I was asked for my “executive portfolio” and I don’t have one of those ready yet, but it came from an unsolicited “recruiter” who wanted me to charge me $800 to develop one. Blocked/Spam!
There are A Lot of People Willing to Help You Out
There are a lot of organizations willing to help out a separating veteran. I’m still working through many of them, but the ones with the most promise so far are here with their missions highlighted. So far I’ve explored using them for resume and LinkedIn profile help and some job searches:
AAPL – The American Association for Physician Leadership (Formerly ACPE) is the only association focused on the personal transformation of all physicians, and through them the organizations they serve. (I’ve used AAPL to become a Certified Physician Executive and could not recommend them more highly. The CME I’ve received from them has been the highest quality I’ve experienced. Plus, unlike the American College of Healthcare Executives, there is no requirement to attend CME/conferences every year once you are certified, which seems like a bit of a pyramid scheme to me.)
Boundless Horizon Coaching – My Sister-In-Law is an executive coach and has helped me out. She could help you out too!
COMMIT Foundation – COMMIT focuses on senior military personnel transitioning out of service. They were able to link me with a free resume coach, and they are searching their alumni for people who work in healthcare in Hampton Roads, which may be helpful.
Military Officers Association of America – MOAA is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan association of officers from America’s military services and the commissioned corps of the U.S. Public Health Service and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, comprising the nation’s uniformed services. They are 350,000 active duty, retired, former, and National Guard and Reserve officers, and surviving spouses, of all ranks and branches who serve or have served, as well as their family members. MOAA advocates with Congress, DoD, the VA, Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and other departments to preserve and protect earned benefits for our uniformed services, veterans, their families, and surviving spouses through advocacy, leadership, education, and service, fulfilling MOAA’s promise to “Never Stop Serving.” (I’m a lifetime member of MOAA and feel like the resources and information they provide are top notch.)
VetJobs – VetJobs expands employment opportunities for service members and veterans through one-on-one employment placement assistance, focused on the use of gap skills training and targeted resume and interview assistance, LinkedIn optimization, and connections to employer partners in order to create a smoother transition process. (They are currently reviewing my LinkedIn profile and resume for free. They also introduced me to this Resume Engine that I thought was a pretty cool tool.)
WendySchoferMD.com – My wife is an Executive Coach like my Sister-In-Law, and a retired Navy Captain in the Reserves. She has helped me out during this process and could help you too!
Just Because Your Retirement Date is Approved Doesn’t Mean You Have Orders Yet
On November 15th I got this e-mail:
From: “noreply@navy.mil” noreply@navy.mil
Date: Saturday, November 15, 2025 at 2:40:53 AM
To: “Schofer, Joel M CAPT USN DHA GUAM NH (USA)”
Subject: NSIPS R&S Request Finalized Notification
Your Retirement/FLTRES/Separation has been finalized. Details are available via NSIPS, Member SelfService. Navigate to Employee Self Service > Retirements and Separations > Request Home.It means that your retirement date is approved. It does not mean you have retirement orders in the system.
I Can’t Comment on the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) Yet
I’m not scheduled to do TAP (there is not “s” on the end anymore) class until January. There will be more to follow once that is done.
Filling Out a Separation Questionnaire
One of my first tasks during my retirement journey is to fill out this separation questionnaire. Note that I couldn’t open with Preview on my Mac, but it worked fine using Adobe for Mac. If the version below gives you trouble, you can find it on this page (it is NPPSC 1900/1):
Largely, it was pretty self-explanatory to fill out. Tips include:
- If you need to find your official home of record, it can be found in your OMPF on BOL. Here is mine highlighted in orange at the bottom:
- For question #15, DD 214-1 is for reservists and is N/A for active duty.
- For question #19, sending your DD 214 directly to your state of residence or the VA can expedite things when you try to access veteran benefits, so I elected to send it.
If anyone else has any tips or tricks for filling this out, please comment below.
I’m Retiring! Let’s Take This Journey Together
I’ve decided to retire on 1 JUN 2026 at the 25 year mark. This may surprise some people. It surprised me, but it is time to do something else.
As this process progresses over the next 9 months, I plan on documenting what I go through to help others who decide to do the same one day.
How to Request Retirement on NSIPS
This is the Google AI overview, which I found to be accurate and made minor edits to:
To request retirement on NSIPS, log in and navigate to Main Menu > Employee Self Service > Retirements and Separations > Retirement/Separation Request. Here is a screenshot I took to show you where to go:
Select the appropriate request type and fill out the details, including your desired retirement date. Keep in mind that you must retire on the 1st of the month. After entering your contact information, route the request to your Command Reviewer for processing and attach any required supporting documents.
Overall, I found the process surprisingly simple. I only had one issue I couldn’t figure out, and my Command Career Counselor showed me that I needed to add my “PSA” or “Planned Separation Address”:
Detailed Steps:
- Log In to NSIPS: Access the Navy Standard Integrated Personnel System (NSIPS) and log in to your self-service account.
- Navigate to Retirements and Separations: From the main menu, select Employee Self Service, then Retirements and Separations.
- Initiate Your Request: Select Retirement/Separation Request.
- Choose Request Type: From the dropdown menu, select the appropriate type of retirement or resignation.
- Enter Details: On the “Contact Information” tab, ensure both your current home address and your planned retirement address are accurate.
- Route Your Request: Click the “route” button at the bottom of the page to send your request for review by your command.
- Attach Documentation: After routing, you will proceed to an attachment screen to upload any necessary supporting documents, such as a copy of your DD Form 2648 (Pre-separation Counseling Checklist).
- Submit for Final Decision: Once all steps are complete, submit the request to Navy Personnel Command for a final decision.
Important Considerations:
- Timing: Officers should submit their voluntary retirement requests 9-12 months before their projected rotation date (PRD).
- Check Eligibility: You can check your eligibility for retirement within NSIPS by going to Employee Self Service > Retirements and Separations > Check Eligibility.
- Pre-Separation Counseling: A mandatory prerequisite to attending the Transition Assistance Program (TAP) is completing the Pre-separation Counseling Checklist (DD Form 2648), which must be signed by your Command Career Counselor.
- Contact Support: If your command lacks NSIPS capability, or you need assistance, contact Officer Retirements Branch (PERS-835) for guidance on submitting your request.
Also, here is a checklist I was given by my Career Planner that I plan on working through:
Guest Post – The COLA Trap Review
The COLA Trap Review
Colonel Douglas Fowler graduated the Air War College in June 2020 and wrote The COLA Trap for one of his papers. He has three simple recommendations to optimize your retirement pay based on the first year COLA that influences your annual pension in following years:
Retire at the end of a fiscal quarter: 01MAR, 01JUN, 01SEP, 01DEC
Avoid retiring at the beginning of the fiscal year 01OCT
Maximize your COLA by retiring 01MAR (This means retire in FEB, retirement pay starts 01MAR)
Colonel Fowler explains how the legacy High-3 pension system is calculated using the average of the service member’s highest 36 months of base pay. Active duty pay is determined by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), while the retiree COLA is associated with inflation, and determined by the Consumer Price Index, not the NDAA. Because the COLA is calculated by an automated formula, it is possible to have a pay inversion, a concept where a service member who retires a couple months earlier than a control matched peer can earn a larger pension. This happens because the Consumer Price Index is used to determine inflation. The difference is taken between the base quarter (July-September) of the calendar year you retire and the quarter before retirement. If you retire October-December, you subtract the quarter before retirement (July-September) from your base quarter (July-September) which equals zero months difference in inflation and your COLA is zero. However if you retire January-March, you subtract the quarter before retirement (October-December of the previous year) from your base quarter (July-September of the current year), which has six months of spacing for a larger difference in inflation. This COLA formula applies to both officers and enlisted. Also note service members retiring (not medically) can only retire on the first day of the month. Colonel Fowler’s “The COLA Trap” lays out his three recommendations to optimize your military retirement.
After reading his paper, you can follow the most recent retirement COLAs here:
https://militarypay.defense.gov/Pay/Retirement/cola/
Dr. Jesse Schonau
The views expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy of the department of the Navy, Department of Defense, or U.S. Government.
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