Create your own SkillBridge
Roughly 6,000 companies are SkillBridge-approved — and a few million aren't yet. If your dream company isn't in the directory, you can be the reason they join. Service members do this every month. Here's the playbook.
Check the math on your timeline
DoW approval for a new company historically takes 2–4 months, and you need command approval on top. If you're more than 8 months out: green light. 6–8 months: move this week. Under 6 months: pitch the company anyway, but line up an already-approved backup program in parallel.
Pick the right person to pitch
Not the recruiter — they optimize for open reqs. Find the hiring manager or a veteran already inside (LinkedIn: search the company + your branch). Veterans inside the company are your best allies; they know exactly what you're offering and often carry the pitch internally for you.
Lead with the deal, not your resume
The pitch that works is brutally simple: "The DoW keeps paying my salary and benefits for up to 180 days while I work for you full-time. You pay nothing. If I'm as good as I say, you hire me having already seen the proof."Companies don't know this program exists — you are delivering good news.
Hand them the approval path
Their objection will be "this sounds like paperwork." Defuse it: the company applies once at skillbridge.osd.mil ↗ (Industry Employers → "Become a SkillBridge Partner"), signs an MOU, and names a point of contact. Offer to draft the training plan yourself — you need one for your command packet anyway.
Work your command in parallel
Don't wait for the company's approval to start yours. Brief your chain early, get the packet template from your installation's SkillBridge office (find yours on the installations page), and keep both approvals moving at once. The #1 killer of create-your-own SkillBridges is serial processing.
Track it like any other application
Add the company to your tracker as an off-platform entry the day you send the pitch. Follow up at day 7 and day 14 — with companies new to the program, silence usually means "lost in someone's inbox," not "no."
Subject: Free 90–180 day trial of a {your specialty{"}"} — DoW pays my salary
Hi {name},
I'm an active-duty {branch} {specialty} separating on {date}, and I'd like to spend my last months of service working for {company} — at zero cost to you.
The DoW SkillBridge program keeps paying my full salary and benefits for up to 180 days while I work for you as an intern. Your side: a one-time company approval (I can walk you through it — takes one application and an MOU) and someone willing to point me at real work.
What you get: {2-3 lines on your actual skills — lead with certifications, clearance, and the closest civilian job title. Check the MOS translator if you're stuck.}
If I'm what you need, you hire me at the end having watched me work for months. If not, you've lost nothing.
Can I get 15 minutes this week to explain how the approval works?
{Name}
{LinkedIn} · {phone}Stuck on the skills paragraph? The MOS translator gives you the civilian titles, and your profile generates resume bullets you can lift straight into the email.
This works — but it's the slow path. Run it alongside applications to already-approved programs, never instead of them. Your separation date doesn't move because a company's legal department is slow.
Search approved programs →