Josh Rojas - Navy Flag Aide Transitions to Facilities Management and Commercial Real Estate

Josh Rojas is a Facilities Manager with Jones Lang Lasalle, a leading professional services firm specializing in real estate and investment management. He describes his role as a great fit for the maintenance and operations leadership skills he developed serving as a U.S. Navy Surface Warfare officer for eight years following graduation from the Naval Academy in 2005. In today's conversation we discuss his path to this role as he went through his military-to-civilian transition seven years ago at the same time his wife was applying to medical school.

If you are considering your last set of orders before you plan your transition, this episode is full of advice based on Josh's experience transitioning while serving as an Aide to a three-star Admiral. Josh admits that it was a lot of work at a time when he was also dealing with the challenges of being a new father and trying to study to get into business school. The key to success was transparency about his plans with his chain of command. Through some key conversations with his Navy Detailer, Josh was able to extend his orders in San Diego while awaiting admissions decisions from the medical schools where his wife had applied.

Josh also emphasizes the importance of remaining associated with the Navy Reserves during his transition; he was supporting his spouse and her education while also managing his own job search and the kids. The Reserves gave him a place to reconnect with Sailors and remain grounded while everything else was new and different, and also develop a new network of fellow Reservists to help him achieve his career goals.

Finally, Josh shares some really genuine feedback about how he got it wrong when selecting employers for culture and fit to his personality, and what questions to ask to understand if the company you're going to work for will be a great match for who you are and who you wish to become.