J.T. O'Donnell, LinkedIn Influencer and founder of CAREEREALISM, recently wrote an article for LinkedIn called, "How to Get a Job After the Military." The post got a phenominal response from her followers. Many of them shared helpful job search resources for veterans. So, we decided to compile this awesome list of resources for you!
Helpful Job Search Resources For Veterans
Here are a few helpful resources people shared with us:
1. Silent Professionals
Silent Professionals focus on a very specific subset of veteran employment which is the combat arms veteran (infantry, artillery, armor/cavalry, special forces, etc.). Veteran employment is a niche that's already under-served; however, combat arms veterans get the shortest end of that stick. Their site is much more than just a focused job board because they provide a service behind it which is all free to the veteran. As combat veterans with a vast amount of additional experience in the private security sector, they are able to use their experience and influence within the industry to act as trusted advocates for the veteran candidate. Employers give their candidates their top priority because they know how successful the placement will be and the overall quality of the candidates they furnish is so much higher as a result of their process!
2. O*Net Online
The O*NET program is the nation's primary source of occupational information. Central to the project is the O*NET database, containing information on hundreds of standardized and occupation-specific descriptors. The database, which is available to the public at no cost, is continually updated by surveying a broad range of workers from each occupation.
Information from this database forms the heart of O*NET OnLine, an interactive application for exploring and searching occupations. The database also provides the basis for their Career Exploration Tools, a set of valuable assessment instruments for workers and students looking to find or change careers.
3. Veteran Recruiting/VetFriendly
VetFriendly was created to make it easy for transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses to see who is hiring in the industries they are most interested in. This is a free service that is being funded and operated by Veteran Recruiting Services and the small donations by the employers who display their veteran friendly status in the various industries.
All employers in VetFriendly have been thoroughly screened to ensure there are only those employers who have good paying, full time employment, and who make a concerted effort to recruit, hire and retain our Nation's finest.
4. Hiring Our Heros
Hiring Our Heroes, a program of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation, was launched in March 2011 as a nationwide initiative to help veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses find meaningful employment.
Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's vast network of state and local chambers and other strategic partners from the public, private, and non-profit sectors, their goal is to create a movement across America in hundreds of communities where veterans and military families return every day. Hiring Our Heroes has hosted more than 610 hiring fairs in all 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Through March 31, 2013, 20,200 veterans and military spouses had obtained jobs.
5. Hire Veterans
Recognized by industry experts as a leader, Hire Veterans offers employers access to resumes and job postings so that they can reach their unique visitors. For U.S. Veteran Job Seekers, they offer the very best and relevant jobs offered by world class companies in the USA and abroad.
Through their alliances with many veterans organizations, networks, and other military agencies, HireVeterans.com has established its brand as a top e-recruiting site for the veterans of our armed forces.
6. Hire A Patriot
Hire A Patriot believes the solution to these challenges lies in connecting Veterans to employers as well as colleges and training schools and educating both sides to ensure that everyone involved understands how to effectively communicate with each other. They accomplish this through their Hire A Patriot career events and workshops. Simply, they help bridge the gap between them and you, their Employer & Education Partners.
7. Brothers Fund
The mission of the Brothers Fund is to help veterans fulfill dreams and business ambitions by providing them with loans to start or grow their own businesses. It is also their hope that as these businesses grow, they too will pay it forward by hiring other vets to help advance their careers.
8. Military.com
Military.com is the largest military and veteran membership organization — 10 million members strong. It's free membership connects service members, military families, and veterans to all the benefits of service — government benefits, scholarships, discounts, lifelong friends, mentors, great stories of military life or missions, and much more.
9. The Honor Bridge
The Honor Bridge connects good companies with the finest manager-leaders and technicians in the world; former and transitioning members of America's armed forces. Trained to the highest standards demanded by our technologically-advanced military, they also embody those qualities necessary to succeed in defending our country: integrity, self-discipline, commitment and Honor. These traits in a workforce are often the difference between high performance and under performance in business. They specialize in location preference placement, a win-win for candidate and company.
10. Senior Military In Transition
Vera Steiner Blore is a skilled communicator, consultant and facilitator with a 25-year successful track record in the nonprofit, private and public sectors. She launched Military Leaders in Transition as a forum to engage current and former senior military leaders in transition, potential employers and the experts who work with this unique community.
11. Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS)
The people of the Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) take pride in serving the men and women who defend America. They take their contribution to national defense seriously. They work hard to fulfill the important fiscal responsibilities entrusted to us by the American taxpayers. They ensure the resources they provide are accounted for properly.
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