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Supporting Veterans – Career Resource List

On a new journey

IN SERVICE TO THOSE WHO HAVE SERVED

FACT: The majority of veterans who are referred to our California executive search firm are smart, educated, resourceful and entrepreneurial, leaders, honest to a fault, fiercely loyal and will be relentless on their pursuit to succeed.

Dear Veterans – YOU are a tremendous source of untapped talent and you come with a wealth of skills and experience beyond those of typical civilian employees.

Many organizations are committed to helping veterans find civilian jobs, and some also sponsor programs targeted at putting military spouses back to work. We started with a list over 200 resources and decided that may be a bit overwhelming for you to try to filter through, so we did our best to organize the list and here are our favorite 45 resources.

We wish you the best of luck on your new journey.

FIND A MENTOR

  • American Corporate Partners (ACP)– A mentor can assist an entrepreneur in connecting them with potential investors, advisors and maybe even customers. They can also share valuable business lessons and life experiences that are often hard to come by in books and blogs. ACP will match a veteran with a mentor that shares the same personal and business interests for a 12 month mentorship. The number of mentors a veteran can have through ACP are limitless as there are an abundance of business professionals that are seeking to help returning veterans transition into the business sector.
  • Joining Forces for Women Veterans and Military Spouses Mentoring Plus offers free coaching, mentoring, and professional guidance for women Veterans, spouses, and caregivers.
  • AT&T Operation Hand Salute AT&T Operation Hand Salute is a national education and mentoring program designed by John F. Kennedy (JFK) University to help service disabled veteran-owned businesses improve operations and be better positioned for business growth.

 

NETWORKING

FACT: Over 70% of America’s job openings are never posted or advertised.

Getting a job takes work. And the work is called networking.

FACT: Networking, by an enormous margin is the single most effective technique for effective and productive job hunting.

FIRST Start by creating a Linkedin Account. Get your FREE 1-year Premium Job Seeker account to access advanced job search tools, stand out, and contact hiring managers. Then, join the Veteran Mentor Network (VMN) Group and discuss your transition and career plans in a community of veterans.

Not sure how to create a Linkedin Profile? Quick tips here.

If you want to learn how to strategically network successfully feel free to email us at info@wejungo.com to receive our complimentary Networking Tips for Veterans.

 

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

FACT: The resources are available for Veterans to explore starting your own business. For example, in Minnesota, there are 43,484 veteran-owned businesses with annual receipts of $25.7 million, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

FACT: Across the country, universities, the government and nonprofits are beginning to focus on assisting veterans who want to begin start-ups. There’s even a magazine called Vetrepreneur.

Here are some places you can go if you want to pursue a career of Entrepreneurship:

  1. The US Small Business Administration (SBA) has an Office of Veterans Business Development that provides Veterans counseling to start, grow, and succeed in their businesses. The site also provides information on how you can get help accessing capital, competing for federal contracts, and creating jobs. In addition, SBA also supports the National Guard and Reserve and their military families when a small business owner is called to serve. Some of the programs funded by the SBA and run by the Institute for Veterans and Military Families include (but are not limited to):

Entrepreneurship Boot Camp for Veterans with Disabilities (EBV) Training in entrepreneurship and small business management to post-9/11 Veterans with service-related disabilities.

Women Veterans Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship (V-WISE) Training, networking, and mentorship for women Veterans.

National Center for the Veteran Institute for Procurement The Veteran Institute for Procurement [VIP] is the country’s first-ever program to train veteran service-disabled and veteran owned small businesses to succeed in the federal contracting market.

Operation Endure & Grow Online business training for National Guard and Reserve members, their families, and business partners.

  1. VetNet is a technology-based platform positioned to assist Veterans, transitioning service members, and their spouses, find and prepare for meaningful post-service careers. VetNet is a dynamic and interactive platform, where each week live content will be delivered and focused across three ?tracks’ of workforce preparation and training. These tracks include:
  1. There are several universities that have no-cost entrepreneurship boot camp programs focusing on service-disabled veterans and their families.

CAREER RESOURCES:

  • CTAP Organization created by a group of dedicated veterans to empower other veterans, members of the military, and their families by providing needed career support and resources.
  • Employer Support of the Guard Reserve (ESGR). ESGR is a Department of Defense office established to promote cooperation and understanding between Reserve Component Service members and the civilian employers and to assist wins the resolution of conflicts arising from employees’ military commitment. Offers employers programs, local job fairs.
  • Military Spouse Employment Partnership (MSEP)
  • InclineHq ? Do you want to learn how to code? InclineHq teaches military veterans the tools you need to become a junior programmer. Furthermore, they will set you up with a job after you successfully complete the six week intensive. Because they are sponsored by leading technology companies, the cost of the program is free to the veteran.
  • Military job fairs: Military MOJO – Veteran hiring events that connects transitioning veterans with well-known companies looking to hire top military talent.
  • Hiring Our Heroes. This initiative serves to support U.S. veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses in finding employment opportunities. Resources include hiring fairs, mentor programs, and resume building, which in turn will solidify connections with employers.
  • Next Steps for Vets – a jobs and education resource created by NBC News & U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. Through the website, veterans and their families can get help with resumes, job searches, and information on how to launch a business.
  • Be a Hero?Hire a Hero. This is a program seeking to place veterans in successful roles and careers by hosting events and developing hiring initiatives, creating support systems, and establishing relationships between job seekers and employers. The program includes candidate mentoring, family relocation services, a military database, and temporary-to-permanent placement services.
  • United States Department of Labor. This database provides numerous links to various programs and informational sites that assist veterans in the hiring process. Also included are links to the laws and regulations regarding the employment rights of veterans and service members
  • Recruit Military is the top full-service military-to-civilian recruiting firm in the United States. Offers free services to all men and women who have a military background. Online and offline products to connect employers, franchisors, and educational institutions with men and women transitioning from active duty to civilian life.
  • Feds Hire Vets: The One-Stop Resource for Federal Veteran Employment Information. This site is mostly informational in nature. Information includes advice for job searches as well as technical advice. It also includes a section on networking events and informational sessions.
  • Vetjobs.com. Veterans will find a wealth of information and resources published to aid in the re-direction of their career path following military duty. There is a reference library, a list of military-related career fairs, an online career assessment test and a place to search for jobs and post resumes.
  • ClearedJobs.Net is a veteran-owned career site passionate about the security-cleared community. It has an advanced job search, career resources, and job fairs.
  • The Wounded Warriors Project fosters successful for wounded service members. They offer higher education programs, information technology training, and employment assistance services to encourage economic empowerment for warriors to provide long-term financial stability for themselves and their families.
  • Transition Assistance Online (TAOnline.com) helps services members transition from active duty, veterans, reservists, guardsmen, and spouses looking for civilian jobs. TAOnline.com helps match employers to candidates through the use of online tools, relationships with key partners, and their military career site.

COMPANIES FOCUSED ON HIRING VETERANS:

JOB BOARDS

  • GI Jobs. This website combines a large amount of job search advice with a job list search tool. This site not only contains job postings for veterans but also provides information on what jobs best suit veterans and where veterans are being hired. It also provides insight into veterans and their overall career. For those more interested in pursuing education, the site has information about the most useful types of degrees for veterans.
  • Hire Heroes USA. This site contains a job search database and job listings for veterans. Additionally, it contains advice on job search techniques such as resume and cover letter writing.
  • Hire Veterans: Jobs for America’s Veterans. This database provides veterans with updated job openings, both in list form and in the form of a searchable database. Listings come from a wide variety of sources in both manual and nonmanual labor settings.
  • Military.com. This organization works in conjunction with Monster.com, the popular job search tool. It provides visitors the opportunity to search for jobs, network, and search for events. It also has a military skills translator, which maps military skills to their potential uses in the job market. This can be useful for both potential and current employees in job searching.
  • Military Friendly. This site contains top job listings and military-friendly schools for veterans looking for employment and education opportunities. Postings and lists are based on objective surveys.
  • Military Spouse Employment Partnership. This job search site is for those who have spouses in the military, regardless of whether they are of active duty. Job-seeking individuals can search by job title and/or location, and resources are available to prepare the applicants.
  • Next Steps for Vets. This portal is a job site sponsored by NBCUniversal and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that provides a number of resources and tools for veterans to find employment and education opportunities. Resources include job postings; resume building help, and a GI Bill calculator that estimates monetary benefits.
  • VetCentral. This database presents a list of agencies and other organizations that actively partake in hiring veterans. Clicking on the name of an organization directs the user to a list of open positions at the organization.
  • AdvisorNet. This site connects currently employed advisors with veterans who are searching for a new career. The advisors assist the veterans with building a resume and interview preparation as well as answer questions
  • Search & Employ. This print and digital magazine assists veterans and their families in transitioning into civilian careers. The magazine features job postings and advertisements for continuing education programs.

Trying to describe your military experience, skills, or positions in civilian terms can be challenging. The Jobs Thesaurus finds job descriptions to describe a job you held while in the military.

 

PUBLICATIONS

  • Vetrepreneur magazine is the only national publication dedicated exclusively to covering the veteran-owned business movement.
  • NBC Publishing – released two free eBooks and guides for veterans, Heroes Get Hired: How to Use Your Military Experience to Master the interview and Everyone Serves: A Handbook for Family & Friends of Service Members During Pre-Deployment, Deployment and reintegration.
  • Search & Employ. This magazine has bimonthly issues that provide veterans information about job and business opportunities and continuing education programs. For organizations that are interested in hiring veterans, advertisement placement is available.
  • US Veterans Magazine has compiled a list of scholarships available to veterans and their families.

 

What are we missing on this list? What resources have worked for you in the past? Please, please share your successes, frustrations and feedback with us.