I have a B.A in poly sci, some post-grad in Marketing and am working on a Masters of Theology. I know exactly what I want to do, that is raise money and participate in Mission activities. I'm Anglican, not LDS and my Church has a huge demand for people with my skill set. If I wasn't intent on getting the MTS, I could be sleeping under a palm tree, teaching English and the Gospel right now in some far off island.
I worked for the government for about 6 weeks. Terrific job, terrific pay and benefits. If you are a veteran, play that up. Point out that you were a small unit leader (a truck and 3 guys is a half-section if I recall my Cadet days) and you were involved in logistics. One of the sweetest deals is the girls who do the tours (and yes, they hire guys too) and run the gift shop up at the Alberta Legislature (where I worked as a Legislative Assistant). I've been told you call people who did my job, "pages" and I don't know what they pay is like but here it's really decent.
I started my own resume development company. I never did a lot of business, but I could take a high school dropout who worked at a pawn shop and turn them into a "mobile micro-finance expert" with "experience in front line customer service in completing cash style transactions". Seriously, I had like a 80% success rate. The trick is to keep morphing the resume, cover letter and CV to match the job, not send out the same resume and hope somebody has a need for your skill set. I keep applying for gov't jobs, and I've had some bites, so I must be doing something right.
As for networking, go to conferences. I'm going to the Conservative AGM next month. I'm paying 325+taxis+bus fare to get to the city+meals and am staying at an Aunt's house to save money during the trip. It's literally worth that kind of money because it could lead to a job in my love and field (poltiical science). I worked on a number of campaigns and the letters of reference are like gold. They basically show that you're dedicated to a cause enough to work on something which might pay out well (they always do and I have many politicians I count as friends) or might be a total loss of 40 evenings of doorknocking, phoning or running a FB page. If you don't like a particular political group, volunteer for their opposition (if the opposition has a chance of winning of course.). Employers respect the fact that you're willing to work for an abstract reward.
My grandfather was a publisher. Also an army Colonel. You would be amazed how many veterans there in that field. Lots of them have stories and my grandfather published dozens of books, often on spec. If you're willing to interview people and work say in a newspaper (we owned over a dozen) as a copywriter or assistant you might get a foot in the door. As somebody who works in commercial printing right now (grandfather's legacy stretched across generations) I find most books are published by people who either have money and are willing to gamble on a book's success, or people who want 500 books made for their Church so that fifty years from now, there will be a record book in every parish family's home. Seriously, we've printed lots of those and it was done totally at the cost of the people with the book. Forget the idea of working for a publisher and thinking you're going to recognize the next genius. You will find opportunities for books to get published and make a bit of cash in the business. The wages for a typesetter or graphics designer are very decent. Selling books out of a sample case? Not so much.
Tom
