Questions people actually ask.
What happens when I click Get started?
A few questions about your service, timeline, location, and direction set your initial hypothesis, which is a guess about the role and industry that might fit. From there the platform builds you a list of companies, and you find veterans inside them who share an uncommon commonality with you.
Do I need to create an account?
Not to start. We ask for an email once you've got something worth saving.
What if my answers are wrong?
They're supposed to be revisable. The whole first phase exists to test that guess against reality. Change any answer and everything re-ranks.
How long does this take?
Your first Trend Analysis appears after five rated conversations. Keep going until you feel confident in your direction; the pace is up to you.
What if I disappear for a month?
Nothing breaks. Come back and pick it up.
What happens in Phase 1?
You talk with veterans at companies you're curious about and rate each conversation 1 to 10. After 5, Trend Analysis shows which roles, industries and companies keep scoring high. Phase 1 is done when you're a 9 or 10 out of 10 sure about your direction. That usually takes 30 or more conversations.
What's Phase 2?
Pressure-test your fit. It opens once you're at 9/10 confidence. It's coming soon.
What's Phase 3?
Apply with confidence: a tracker for your applications. Also coming soon.
Is anything I enter shared with employers?
No. Nothing you enter is shown to an employer, a recruiter, or a hiring manager. There's no employer-facing side of this platform.
Do you sell my information?
No. We may use de-identified, aggregated data to understand what's working across the platform. That means patterns across many veterans, never anything traceable to you.
Why do you ask about my clearance?
Because it materially changes which roles and companies are realistic for you. It's the only sensitive field we collect. We don't ask about your disability rating or your discharge characterization, and we don't want to know.
Will you text me?
Only if you check the box for it, which is separate from everything else. You can stop anytime.
Is this actually free?
Yes. There's no paid tier today and no card required.
Then how does it stay running?
I pay for it. No sponsors, no employers, no placement firms.
Will it always be free?
I'm not going to promise something I can't control. What I can tell you is that nobody is paying me to point you toward a particular company, and that isn't going to change.
Am I too early?
Probably not. Conversations are worth more when you don't need anything yet.
Am I too late? I'm already out.
It still runs. It was built around a transition, but it's the same process you'd use to change jobs ten years from now.
I'm still on active duty. Can I use this?
Yes. Most people who use it are.
I already know what I want. Is there any point?
If you're a nine or ten out of ten on the role and the industry, you've already done Phase 1. Come back for Phase 2 when it ships.
Are you affiliated with the DoD or the VA?
No. Civilian Compass is an independent LLC. Not affiliated with either one.
Is there a person I can talk to?
I host office hours Thursdays at 8 AM PT, with 15 seats. Bring whatever you've got. Reserve your seat.
Who built this?
One veteran and one developer. That's the whole team.
I'm in the Guard or the Reserve. Does this work for me?
Yes. If you're figuring out what you want your civilian career to be, you're the person this was built for.
I'm a military spouse. Can I use this?
Yes. The process is the same. One honest difference: the outreach method runs on uncommon commonality, and for a spouse the strongest one is usually the milspouse network rather than the veteran network. Everything else works the way it does for anyone else.
Are office hours recorded?
No. Nothing is recorded. Show up and ask whatever you want.
How long do you keep my data?
As long as your account is active. Ask us to delete it and it's gone, along with everything in it.
What happens to my data if Civilian Compass shuts down or gets acquired?
You get advance notice and a way to export everything you've entered before anything changes hands. That commitment lives in the terms, not just here.
Didn't answer it?
Office hours are every week, and you can ask me directly.
Still deciding? Office hours are Thursdays at 8 AM PT, with 15 seats. Bring the questions you don't want to ask your chain of command. Reserve your seat →