Bloomberg April 5, 2012 Iraq Veteran Delivers Pizza During Two-Year Job Search By David Lerman April 5 (Bloomberg)

-- As tens of thousands of young veterans return to the U.S., many are struggling to find work with civilian employers who don't recognize their skills, haven't shared their experiences and aren't sure what to make of them. The result is that unemployment for veterans, particularly those ages 18 to 24, has been rising even as the national jobless rate declines. It gets the bills paid, but barely, said Click, who crossed the Ohio River to Kentucky last week for a job fair intended to help returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans. As tens of thousands of young veterans come home from the wars, many are struggling to find work with civilian employers who dont recognize their skills, havent shared their experiences and arent sure what to make of them. The result is that unemployment for veterans, particularly those ages 18 to 24, has been rising even as the national jobless rate declines. Unemployment is our No. 1 issue, said Paul Rieckhoff, founder and executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, a New York-based advocacy group, in an interview. Unemployment is not down, its up. And its a serious problem. While the military offers all departing service members transition assistance to help them prepare for civilian jobs, the unemployment rate for veterans whove served since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks was 12.1 percent last year, up from 11.5 percent in 2010, according to a report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among non-veterans, 8.7 percent were jobless last year, down from 9.4 percent in 2010. May Get Worse The gap may widen as the U.S. economy recovers. Tens of thousands more troops will be coming home over the next two years from Afghanistan, where the U.S. plans to withdraw most combat forces by the end of 2014. At the same time, the Pentagon intends to reduce the U.S. military by 123,900 troops, or 5.5 percent, by fiscal 2017 to meet budget-cutting goals. The unemployment burden tends to fall harder on enlisted veterans, especially those who lack technological skills. Most military officers have college degrees and are better equipped to make the

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transition to civilian careers. Younger veterans who left high school, with or without diplomas, to bear the brunt of combat in infantry or armor units often return to the civilian workforce with no readily marketable skills, according to veterans advocates such as Rieckhoff, who also served as an Army lieutenant in Iraq. Click, who was honorably discharged according to the Army, spent the past two years delivering pizza as he hunted in vain for more rewarding work to help support the baby he fathered with a girlfriend. Cant Find Nothing Ive looked at other things, Click said as he waited to talk to recruiters at the job fair in Fort Mitchell, Kentucky. I cant find nothing. I dont even know what a resume looks like. I dont know whats supposed to be on it. The job fair paid off anyway for Click, who said hes taking a job starting April 16 working in a call center for a unit of Minneapolis-based U.S. Bancorp (USB), which pledged to double its hiring of veterans this year from more than 200 in 2011. Emily King, a Herndon, Virginia-based consultant who specializes in recruiting and training veterans for civilian jobs, said many other veterans arent as fortunate. These people are out in the market without a clue, King said. They either never get an interview, or they get an interview and they dont know how to tell the story of their experience. I Cant Hear Josh Conner, a 28-year-old Army veteran who left the military in February, showed up with his pregnant wife at the Kentucky job fair saying his goal was to find work before his son arrives in May. The din in the convention hall was a challenge for Conner, who lost much of his hearing from bomb blasts, firefights and mortar rounds in Iraq. Most of the time I cant hear what theyre saying, Conner said. The former Army corporal, who fired mortars and provided security on two tours in Iraq, now wears hearing aids. He said hes filled out about 20 job applications online, with no interviews to show for it. Its a lot tougher than I thought it would be, Conner said of his job search. People are scared to take chances, he said of employers. JPMorgan Chase, IBM Companies across the U.S. say they are heeding the governments call to step up hiring of veterans. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), Delta Air Lines Inc., Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) and International Business Machines Corp. are among more than 30 companies that pledged last year to hire at least 100,000 veterans collectively by 2020.

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The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has held 102 job fairs over the past year in 45 states and the District of Columbia, helping more than 8,400 veterans and spouses land jobs, according to spokesman Bryan Goettel. King, the veterans consultant, said she has yet to see the payoff. Its the cause celebre for companies right now to say theyre hiring veterans, King said in an interview. What the veterans say to me is, Were not getting jobs. Women leaving the military face added difficulties, from gender bias to child-care responsibilities and spouses who are still in the service and cant relocate, according to Kimberly Olson, a retired Air Force colonel who runs a support group for female veterans in Fort Worth, Texas, called Grace After Fire. More Jobless Women Of about 945,000 jobless veterans last year, 101,000 were women, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Among veterans who have served since 2001, annualized unemployment rates have been higher for women by as much as 1.8 percentage points since the 2008 recession. In a January online survey by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, 21 percent of female veterans from those wars said they were jobless, compared with 16 percent of men. They dont look like vets, Olson said. A lot of them are young. A lot of them are mothers. A lot of them are married to military men. A woman veteran comes back and tries to fit in, being a mom, the spouse. Shes got to get her family back together after 12 months of deployment. Jessica McBride, a divorced Army veteran who as a private first class dodged mortar attacks in Iraq and survived unscathed, cant get a job, lacks a home of her own, and said she fears she wont be able to support her eight-year-old son. Hard Emotionally Its hard on me emotionally, said McBride, 27, who lives with her stepmother in a double-wide trailer outside Ennis, Texas, on a service road off Interstate 45, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) south of Dallas. As a mom, I feel like I should be able to provide for my child without parental help. Since she left the Army in 2010, McBride said shes applied for 30 to 40 jobs, trying to get a position as a receptionist, in fast food or at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) She hasnt landed even a job interview, and McBride said shes had trouble explaining how her military record is a plus for civilian employers. I have all this training but no way to put it into an application, McBride said. A survey conducted in January by the Society for Human Resource Management found 50 percent of employers that hire veterans cite difficulty translating military skills to civilian job experience. Lot of Jargon

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An Army veteran may say his MOS (military occupational specialty) was 11 Bravo (infantry), with a rank of E-4 (specialist) and report a skill level on the military scale of 10 to 50. Their resume may have a lot of jargon in it, Dave Ferguson, General Electric Co. (GE)s manager of military staffing and recruiting, said in an interview. Veterans may not be able to convert their skills and abilities, and sometimes were not sure what their skills might be, said Ferguson. In addition to the discipline and teamwork that comes with military service, he said, some veterans have repair and maintenance skills such as the ability to repair the gas-turbine engines GE sells to the Navy. Those whove seen the most combat, though, often have skills and training that are harder to translate to the civilian world. GE has pledged to hire 1,000 veterans a year for five years. That would amount to about 10 percent of all new hires annually, a pretty lofty goal that the Fairfield, Connecticut-based company hasnt met in previous years, he said. The transition programs offered by the military vary by service branch, each offering at minimum a three-day workshop run by the Department of Labor that teaches skills such as resume writing and job interviewing. Help Not Relevant So far, we havent heard anyone say one good thing about it, said Colleen Affeldt, an independent consultant based in Dallas whos working to help companies hire and retain veterans. They literally spent three days writing a resume, and the product that was coming out was not relevant to the private sector. It was pages and pages. Click, the veteran whos been delivering pizza for Louisville, Kentucky-based Papa Johns International Inc. (PZZA), said the transition classes he took offered nothing really useful. Walter Herd, director of the Armys transition program, said its effectiveness is difficult to measure. Many of the components are being re-engineered to make them more user-friendly, Herd said in an interview. Hiring Tax Credit Federal legislation signed last year that took effect on November 22 will provide tax credits of as much as $5,600 for employers who hire veterans who have been unemployed longer than six months. The credit rises to $9,600 for disabled veterans. President Barack Obama also is seeking $1 billion over five years to develop a Veterans Job Corps to hire as many as 20,000 veterans for conservation projects, a government-job approach thats been questioned by Republicans such as Senator John Boozmanof Arkansas, a member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. The issue wont go away, though.

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One of the risks involved as we reduce the budget by this level is how to ensure that we take care of those that are returning, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said at a Feb. 14 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee. Jobless veterans such as McBride in Texas, who lives on a $1,000 monthly stipend for attending community college on the GI Bill, say they arent expecting much more help from Washington as they struggle to find careers. Sometimes I wake up thinking I should go back into the Army, she said. It was job security, and it was something I was pretty good at. But my son doesnt want me to.

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Connecticut Post (CTPost.com) April 9, 2012 Ongoing Struggle with Unemployment "Unemployment is our No. 1 issue. And it's a serious problem." Those are the words of Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an advocacy group for veterans returning home from America's most recent (and ongoing) overseas wars. It's a continuing story that ought to spur everyone to do better: As the nation's overall unemployment rate declines, for veterans, it's going up. It's particularly tough for young veterans, aged 18 to 24, who are less likely to have had a pre-military job and therefore have little experience in recognizing skills and going about the process of finding a career. It's hard enough for anyone in this era of long-term unemployment at rates that were once considered scandalous. For someone coming home from a war zone, it's sometimes too much to handle. There are efforts to help. Fairfield-based GE, to name one corporation, has vowed to hire 1,000 veterans a year for the next five years. And there have been positive changes in Washington, including the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, which offers a tax credit of up to $5,600 to any employer who hires a veteran who's been out of work for more than six months, and up to $9,600 if that veteran has a service-related disability. There also is a federal Veterans Job Bank, which can be accessed at http://www.whitehouse.gov/joiningforces/commitments. That offers a connection to the National Resource Directory, connecting service members, veterans, families and caregivers with those who can offer support. At the right side of the screen is the job bank and instructions on how to search. An employer looking to post a job opening can go to this site for information and instructions: https://www.nationalresourcedirectory.gov/home/instructions_for_employer_participation. Despite these efforts and more, the unemployment rate for veterans remains far too high. More work is needed, at the local, state and federal levels.

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DegreeTree.com March 29, 2012 Resume Key to Transition from Military to Civilian Jobs By Ralph Miller If you're looking to make the transition from your military career into a civilian job, Joe Beal is the man to talk to. He's a retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant who now works for GE Capital as the Vice President of Operational Risk. After spending 22 years in the air force on active duty, and retiring in 2005, Joe successfully made the transition from his military career to a civilian one. Now he works hard to provide resources for other veterans to make that same transition. "Nevertheless, the transition is tough," Joe says. "What service members face usually (like in my case), is that their only professional experience is the military, especially if you go into the military straight out of high school like I did, or right after college. So after four years, 10 years, or even 20 years, the thought process on how you apply for a job, from writing your resume to the interview, is bound by your experience in the military, and what's important to the military." The first thing to do as a veteran is take a step back and think about where you want to be When transitioning from the military to a civilian career, Joe believes "The first thing to do as a veteran is take a step back and think about where you want to be. If you do that, your transition will be a lot smoother. Think about what would make you happy, what you want to do with your life, and what kind of profession you want to be in. Make sure that matches your internal compass, and pursue that." For Joe, the biggest challenge is turning a military resume into a private sector resume. And the resume is really the key to getting your dream job coming out of the military because it's what will help you land the interview.

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Retired U.S. Air Force Senior Master Sergeant Joe Beal "Your resume is just a ticket to the interview," says Joe, "In many cases, former military personnel don't make it to the interview because their resume is full of military jargon that civilian HR personnel won't even understand." For example, your military resume may say something like "Deployed to Operation X." That means something to people in the military, who will understand what you had to go through to make that a successful deployment. However, most hiring managers just don't understand how Operation X translates into civilian job responsibilities. That's why GE has partnered with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on the Hiring our Heroes initiative, which is putting on 400 career fairs around the country. GE is holding 50 veteran workshops at these fairs, where members of the GE veteran network will help military veterans with their resume and interview skills. Currently, there are over 10,000 veterans working for GE. What we do is draw out the core skill sets used within a veteran's military career...then we put it on paper in a way that civilian hiring manager can recognize it. "Those veterans understand the challenges of making the transition from a military career to a civilian career. And they understand what the military veteran is trying to say in their resume and they know what the hiring manager is expecting to see. What we do is draw out the core skill sets used within a veteran's military career. Things like organization and leadership skills. Then we put it on paper in a way that civilian hiring manager can recognize it. And all of this is with the intention of getting an interview." The GE workshops also have a 30-minute classroom session on the transition process. This is a general overview that helps veterans understand everything they need to do and have in place to get to the interview and get hired. Of course, if you're a military veteran making the transition to a civilian career, a great opportunity exists with GE, whose goal is to hire an additional 5000 veterans over the next 5 years. The GE portfolio of businesses includes financial services, aircraft engines, healthcare, appliances and energy. Because of this diversity, GE hires employees with varying military experiences, areas of study, and education levels. The best advice for your application is for you to know what profession or work area interests you, and build on your skills through continuous improvement, which often includes education. For more information, check out GE Careers for Veterans on the GE website. Here are some of the upcoming workshops:
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Mar 28, New York, NY Mar 28, Fort Hood, TX Mar 28, Chicago, IL Mar 29, Fort Hood, TX Mar 29, Louisville, KY Apr 5, Chicago Apr 11, Wright Patterson AFB Apr 13, Houston, TX Apr 13, Fort Hood, TX Apr 17, Albany, NY Apr 26, NYC, NY May 15, Jacksonville, FL May 25, Washington, DC May 29, Atlanta, GA May 31, Cincinnati, OH June 13, Fort Hood, TX June 15, Kansas City, MO/KS June 19, Oklahoma City, OK June 19, Phoenix, AZ June 21, New York, NY

"There's a lot of support for veterans," Joe says, "There are people in private industry that have gone through the transition to a civilian career, they understand the process, and they're available to help. It can be frustrating, but regardless, don't give up. Keep persevering."

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WTLV-TV First Coast News May 14, 2012 Where the Jobs Are By Patty Crosby

http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/story.aspx?storyid=256544

JACKSONVILLE, FL -- Veterans, Welders and Heath Care candidates you are in luck this week. Here's a look at "Where the Jobs Are". Tuesday (May 15) GE is hosting a special event to help our military find a job. It's called the Heroes Expo. It's from 9am until 12noon at the Riverfront Hyatt. Vets will get one-one mentoring sessions where they will focus on resume building and writing as well as interview techniques. Also Tuesday, whether you are military or not there is a big job fair in Camden County. Up for grabs are the more than 200 jobs in St. Marys at the Express Scripts Call Center. This job fair is being hosted in part by the Georgia Department of Labor. Some of the other employers that will be there are the College of Coastal Georgia, SE GA healthcare System, KingsBay and Jacksonville Electrical JATC. The job fair is from 9:00 am until 4:00pm at Camden Leisuer Services (the Rec center) behind Camden County High School. Thursday there will a great opportunity to find a job if you have welding skills or want to learn how to be a welder. MAU Workforce Solutions is holding a job fair for TTX from 9:00am until 2:00pm at the Hilton Garden Inn at 13503 Ranch Road in Jacksonville. You must apply online prior to the job fair. To do so,
click here.

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MyFoxHouston.com April 9, 2012 Jobless U.S. Veterans Fighting Their Way Back into the Working World (NewsCore) - WASHINGTON -- US employers, spurred by new tax breaks and a fast-improving economy, are beginning to enlist young veterans en masse. In the past year, some 224,000 veterans of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have fought their way back into the working world, according to federal data released Friday. Most of that job growth came in the past three months, a period in which, for the first time in about four years, the unemployment rate for young veterans was not drastically higher than that of the US at large. In March, 10.2 percent of soldiers and sailors who served in recent wars were out of work, compared with 7.5 percent of all veterans and 8.2 percent of US residents. "Even if you're a cynic about the business world, you have to admit this momentum is pretty encouraging," said Maj. Seth Bodnar, a Green Beret who left the army in July 2011 and started a job in strategy at GE's energy department. The hiring has been sparked in part by lucrative tax breaks signed into law in November 2011. Companies that hire veterans now get credits of $2,400 to $4,800 per job, depending on how long a veteran had been unemployed and if he or she is disabled. Though few corporate giants cite the breaks as a catalyst, some of America's biggest firms, including Disney and Comcast, have recently committed to hiring thousands of veterans. General Electric pledged in February to sign on 1,000 veterans in each of the next five years, and it hired 276 in the first quarter, according to Dave Ferguson, GE's head of military recruiting. "Make no mistake, this is a [business] strategy," Ferguson said. "We think there's fabulous talent in the US military and we're going after it. This is not charity." Smaller enterprises are increasingly starting to recruit soldiers as well, in part because the US Chamber of Commerce has blanketed the country with almost 140 veterans job fairs in the past year. The group now has more prospective companies than it can accommodate, part of the reason why it is organizing an additional 400 job fairs in the coming 12 months. "You're really seeing a national movement," said Ross Cohen, senior director of the chamber's campaign. "Success begets success, and it is an increasingly broad base of industries."

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NBC17.com June 1, 2012 Veterans Struggling More to Find Jobs By Annette Newell

http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2012/jun/01/veterans-struggling-more-find-jobs-ar-2325923/

New numbers show one group is having an especially tough time finding work. The unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan era veterans jumped to 12.7 percent in May, up from 9.2 percent just the previous month. That's about 50 percent higher than the national unemployment rate of 8.2 percent. Hundreds of veterans searching for work attended a special "Hiring our Heroes" event in Chapel Hill. Berl Owens is a veteran, who says he's been looking for work for two years. He says he has extensive education experience. "Job hunting is not like it used to be," said Owens. Owens says he's gone to three job fairs aimed at helping veterans. "I would appreciate more people that are putting people to work. This is not putting people to work when you just come out here and shake a hand, hand me a flyer," said Owens. He's been struggling to find work. "They look at my resume and say well, there is a 54- 55 year old man, and they don't think that you know they'll get the value out of me," said Owens. A survey by the internet job site Monster.com found that veterans coming back from Afghanistan are less confident about finding work. The numbers dropped from 44 to 29 percent, in just six months. They're facing skeptical employers: only 39 percent say those with military experience are ready for a career change.

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"Hirers can be a lot more picky. They can look for people who've had many years of experience," said Jessica Argueta. The Army National Reserve veteran says she's ready to start her civilian career. She has an economics degree and has been looking for work since December. "Unfortunately the jobs just haven't been there," said Argueta. Recruiters say they're trying to help veterans customize their often lengthy work histories, into a two or three page resume. "The biggest thing is translating your experience into the civilian world for corporate America to understand what you've done, and also tailoring your resume to pinpoint exactly what job you're applying for," said Keith Trimpey with General Electric. Vets who are applying, are fighting to show their worth. "We have a vast amount of skills, for one day we could be kicking in doors and the next day we're gonna be helping building a country," said Brian Poole, a U.S. Army veteran of 21 years. "You know it's rough but you just have to keep you know, working hard at it," said Argueta. "I'm a person that strives for perfection on a job to do the best and all I need is an opportunity," Owens said. Another "Hiring our Heroes" event will be held on June 13 at the Fort Bragg Club from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event will focus just on wounded and ill service members, their spouses and their caregivers.

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News4Jax.com May 15, 2012 GE Holds Hiring our Heroes Job Expo JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - With more than 80,000 unemployed veterans living in Florida, one company is making a push to help. General Electric held its Hiring Our Heroes expo downtown on Tuesday. Dozens of companies like FedEx, Fidelity and Progressive were there to speak with local veterans about possible job opportunities. The program is a nationwide initiative to help veterans find jobs and make a smooth transition from active duty to the civilian life. GE says veterans are very valuable to the workforce. "The American manufacturing in particular, General Electric and other large manufacturers, are really aggressively looking for folks that have great work ethic, that have great values, integrity, honor, and a mission focus where they're dedicated to actually completing their jobs," said Chip Cotton, of GE. "The veterans make great employees and are really going to help American manufacturing get back to work." GE funds more than 400 veteran job fairs a year. The company also offers free one-on-one counseling sessions for vets, providing them with resume help, interview practice or simply life coaching. For more information about GE's veteran initiatives, go to its website at GE.com/veterans.

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Schenectady Daily Gazette April 18, 2012 GE Giving Veterans a Leg Up in Job Hunt By David Lombardo A job fair Tuesday afternoon tailored to veterans looking for work was headlined by a commitment from General Electric to hire 5,000 veterans over the next five years. The event was hosted at American Legion Zaloga Post 1520 and featured booths from local employers like AFLAC, Time Warner Cable and Ambit Energy. There were also representatives from GE on hand to provide one-on-one advice on pursuing a career and host a workshop to teach job-hunting skills. At least 40 veterans of all ages turned up for the booths and training. One of those veterans was 36year-old Daniel Coulman, who drove an hour from Hudson Falls to see what might suit him. "I came for this because I have been looking for work since August of last year," he said. "To have something like this, just for veterans, is definitely a boost in the right direction." Coulman served five years in the Navy and left the service in 2001. Since then, he said, the atmosphere for military personnel entering the private workforce has only gotten harder. The job fair on Tuesday was encouraging, he said, citing six or seven potential job leads. Also encouraged by the event was Alan Richter, a retired sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserves who now works for GE Global Research in Niskayuna. He offered one-on-one mentoring to veterans, counseling them on how to prepare a resume, quantify their skills so people could understand their military background and any other questions they had. "I couldn't sign up fast enough when I heard they were doing this," he said of the outreach effort. Richter noted the importance of the national outreach and GE's commitment at a time when so many soldiers will be returning home with the drawdown of two wars. Richter said the outreach gives employers a chance to show how seriously they support the troops. "There is supporting the troops, and there is putting your money where your mouth is," he said.

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GE, which already employs about 10,000 veterans, was a co-sponsor of the job fair, which is one of 400 it is funding across the country. The company has promised to hire 1,000 veterans a year for the next five years to fill spots in various positions that open through attrition and in jobs created by expansion. The company's outreach on Tuesday included a workshop led by retired Army Maj. Dave Ferguson, who focused heavily on preparing veterans on how to react to the different environment of finding a job in the private sector. Noting that only about 1 percent of the country's workforce has military experience, he stressed the importance of presenting themselves in a way that employers would understand. "It's on you to translate it," he said of experience making sense on a resume or in an interview.

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Stamford Advocate March 16, 2012 Vets Seek Job Opportunities at GE-Sponsored Fair By Richard Lee

General Electric Co., has committed to hiring 5,000 military veterans in the next five years, and it reinforced its commitment Thursday when it co-sponsored an employment and business expo for veterans at the Stamford branch of the University of Connecticut. More than 70 businesses and government agencies manned booths at the Operation Home2Work event, which was also sponsored by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Small Business Administration and Department of Labor. Many military veterans are in real need of assistance in their search for employment, said Michael Tresca, manager, human resources recruiting communications at Fairfield-based GE. "GE and the GE Vets Network are going around the country to more than 400 U.S. Chamber of Commerce career fair events, offering skills training," he said, adding many veterans aren't equipped with a resume. GE staffers also attend many of these events, seeking to fill jobs and offering veterans the opportunity to join 10,000 other veterans at GE facilities. Among the jobseekers was New Haven resident Jaime Tetrault, an Air Force veteran who visited many of the booths. "Prudential looks promising," he said. "It's a basic sales rep, which is my background. I got here at 9 o'clock. You've got to take advantage of what's here. It's definitely a foot in the door." Norwalk residents Steve Butler and Brian Lindquist, who both served in Afghanistan, also distributed their resumes. "I'm trying to jump-start a career. I'm looking for entry level in marketing," said Lindquist, a student at Norwalk Community College and a National Guard member. Butler, a full-time student majoring in history at the University of Connecticut Stamford, is an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan and is president of the school's 30-member Veterans Association. "I want to teach in high school. I'm a drill sergeant in the reserves," he said, adding that he was hoping to land a part-time job.

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Stephanie Hodge, regional recruiter for Greenwich-based United Rentals, said many military veterans have skills she is seeking. "We're looking for people to fix or sell our equipment. We have 250 positions across the nation," she said. "The candidates I've talked with are good candidates." On the other side of the first-floor concourse, Alba DiPreta, human resources generalist at Milford-based Eastern Bag & Paper Group, manned a table and said the company would like to hire qualified veterans. "We're here to hire vets. We're looking for good people," she said. "We're definitely in need of sales reps, and we're always in need of drivers." The Department of Defense started the Operation Home2Work program in December, said Wayne Traverse Jr., chairman of the Connecticut unit of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve, and a Shelton resident. "Our main mission is to gain and maintain employer support of National Guard and Reserve personnel. The Reserves make up about half of our total military force," he said, and employers can access the Home2Work program to review jobseekers. Federal legislation, the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, is designed to protect the jobs of National Guard and Reserve personnel, Traverse said. "There are occasional issues. We have a mediation program. The biggest issue is a rotation schedule. The DOD has been working on it for years."

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The Carrboro Citizen May 31, 2012 Job Fair for Veterans

http://www.carrborocitizen.com/main/2012/05/31/job-fair-for-veterans/

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, in conjunction with lead sponsors, GE and Hero2Hired, will host Hiring Our Heroes, a hiring fair for veterans and their spouses, this Friday, at the Friday Center from 9 a.m. to noon. More than 50 employers are expected to participate, with jobs available for veterans and spouses of all ranks and levels of experience. Companies range from Americas biggest employers to dozens of small companies from across the state. Interested job seekers or employers should register for free at hoh.greatjob.net. Walk-in job seekers are allowed with proper military ID.

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The Herald Sun May 31, 2012 Job Fair Offers Opportunities for Veterans By Gregory Childress http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/18777455/article-Job-fair-offers-opportunities-for-veterans

CHAPEL HILL Veterans and military spouses will be matched with more than 50 employers Friday for a job fair sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, GE and Hero2Hired. The job fair is at the Friday Conference Center from 9 a.m. to noon. The event is part of the U.S. Chambers nationwide Hiring Our Heroes initiative announced in March 2011 with the goal to help 500,000 veterans and military spouses find meaningful employment by 2014. Hiring Our Heroes has hosted 162 hiring fairs in 48 states and the District of Columbia and has helped more than 9,000 veterans and military spouses find employment since the program began. Kristen Smith, director of public policy and member engagement at the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, said about 150 veterans and military spouses have already signed up to attend the job fair in Chapel Hill. She said the event is also open to walk-ins provided they have a military identification card. We are proud to help out with this effort, Smith said. There will be over 50 companies there to not only talk to veterans, but also military spouses. Smith said its important that communities give back to the people who have sacrificed so much in the service of their country. I think its the most important thing we can do as a community partner, Smith said. Companies that have signed on to the job fair range from America's biggest employers to dozens of small companies from across the state. Scott Maitland, owner of Top of the Hill Brewery and Distillery, a board member of the Chapel HillCarrboro Chamber of Commerce and former Army Officer and West Point graduate, said the job fair is rewarding for veterans, and also the companies with representatives attending.

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Obviously, veterans will win, but the biggest winners will be the companies that hire and our community, because both will benefit from having a veterans values, experience and work ethic as part of their team, Maitland said in a chamber news release. The Chapel Hill hiring event is being conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro Chamber of Commerce, the Cary Chamber of Commerce, the N.C. State Chamber, N.C. Committee of the Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR), N.C. Employment Security Commission, the Department of Labor's Veterans Employment and Training Service (DOL VETS), NBC News, and other local partners. Want to go? The Hiring Our Heroes program is Friday from 9 a.m., to noon at the Friday Conference Center at 100 Friday Center Drive in Chapel Hill. The free event is open to veterans and military spouses. Interested job seekers or employers should register for free at hoh.greatjob.net. Walk-in job seekers are allowed with proper military ID.

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The Durham Herald-Sun June 2, 2012 Job Fair Brings Companies, Veterans Together By Emily Greshes http://www.heraldsun.com/view/full_story/18831990/article-Job-fair-brings-companies-veterans-together DURHAM In an effort to give back to those who have served in the nations military, while also providing opportunities for employers to hire veterans, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, General Electric and Hero2Hired hosted Hiring Our Heroes at the Friday Conference Center in Chapel Hill. More than 50 employers were there on Friday with booths set up to introduce potential jobs for veterans and military spouses of all ranks and levels of experience. Companies range from some of Americas biggest employers, like GE, to small companies from across the state. In Hiring Our Heroes events organized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, representatives of companies like GE are set to attend 50 workshops throughout the U.S. for a whole year, from March to March. Up to 20 employees of GE, mostly veterans and some human resources representatives, go to these workshops to help veterans with their resumes, interviewing skills, and their overall transition from military to civilian life. Kris Urbauer, a veteran of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and now programs manager of veterans initiatives at GE, explains that at these workshops, after the group session, the veterans and spouses engage in personal interviews with a GE representative for help with their resumes and anything else they may have questions about. Urbauer and a couple of her colleagues explained that the biggest point of these one-on-one sessions is encouragement. The military is very fast-paced, which makes it harder for a veteran to switch back in to the slow pace of civilian life, they said, and these workshops allow the veterans to learn from other veterans about the best way to overcome the challenges they may face. GE employs more than 10,000 U.S. military veterans, and many of them are committing their time to help new and soon-to-be discharged veterans transition their military knowledge to the

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civilian workforce, GE representatives said. For many, this may be their first non-military job. GE is also offering free employment transition training for veterans and will help fund more than 400 job fairs for veterans in 2012. From the companys point of view, Urbauer says, Veterans have a sense of mission. We think theyre truly of value to the company. Since its launch in March 2011, Hiring Our Heroes has held more than 160 hiring fairs nationwide, helping more than 9,000 veterans and military spouses find employment. If you are a military veteran or military spouse, or know one and are interested in attending a job fair, one is scheduled for Wednesday, June 13 at the Durham Tech Orange County Campus, at 525 College Park Drive in Hillsborough, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

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TimesUnion.com April 17, 2012 Leading from the Front in Hiring; Hiring our Heroes Job Fair Gives Businesses a Chance to Have a Veteran Workforce By Larry Rulison

Tony Uliano of Carmel, N.Y., a Marine for 13 years, center, talks with Sue Morocco of New York Life on Tuesday, April 17, 2012, at the American Legion in Albany, N.Y. Uliano said he was looking for a career, not just work. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce hosted the hiring fair for veterans and General Electric. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union) ALBANY Dave Ferguson is on track to meet the goal of his employer, General Electric Co., to hire 1,000 military veterans this year. Ferguson, who is manager of military staffing and recruiting at GE, was at the "Hiring our Heroes" job fair in Albany on Tuesday. The event, part of a nationwide initiative of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, featured GE and dozens of other companies including CSX, Time Warner Cable, Best Cleaners and video game retailer GameStop looking to fill local positions. Ferguson, who works at GE's corporate headquarters in Fairfield, Conn., said through the first three months of the year GE had hired 276 veterans, which means he's on pace to hit the company's goal. The company wants to hire 5,000 vets over the next five years, which would increase its total veteran workforce by 50 percent. "We've always been about hiring veterans," Ferguson said. "But this year, we stepped up our game. We've never hit 1,000 in a year before." Ferguson, who retired from the military as a major in the National Guard, knows what it's like to transition from military service to the private sector. He was hired by GE in 1997 to become part of the www.SpecOpsComm.com

Six Sigma business management program that former CEO Jack Welch had championed at the company as a way to improve manufacturing quality. When Ferguson was in the Army, he led tank units. He said it can be hard for employers to understand how skills vets learned in the military can translate into business skills. "A lot of my job is to help GE understand their underlying skill sets," Ferguson said. "Part of my job is to be that bridge." In addition to hiring vets, GE is also providing job search help at 50 of the 400 "Hiring our Heroes" events the U.S. chamber is planning to hold. In addition to employment workshops, GE is also offering one-onone mentoring sessions to veterans who attend the job fairs. On Tuesday, Douglas Dinon and Nathan Forbes, employees at GE Global Research in Niskayuna who have military experience, were doing the one-on-one sessions with attendees. "People want to know how to present themselves to non-military employers," said Forbes, who is in the Air Force Reserve. Tony Uliano, who served 13 years in the Marine Corps, with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was at Tuesday's event. He said he came up from his home in Putnam County to attend. He says he's looking for a career, not just a job. He said CSX, the railroad freight company, and Time Warner Cable had good opportunities. "I'm the type of person that likes to expand their experience," Uliano said. "I get tired of just doing the same thing every day."

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Upcoming.Yahoo.com April 17, 2012 Albany Employment Workshop - GE Veterans Network Transition Assistance Program Tuesday April 17, 2012 from 1:00pm - 4:00pm American Legion Zaloga Post #1520 4 Everett Road Ext Albany, New York 12250 On April 17, 2012 at 1:00 PM, join us at the American Legion Zaloga Post, 4 Everett Road Ext, Albany, NY 12250 for an employment workshop sponsored by General Electric's Transition Assistance Program for Veterans. The employment workshop will be held from 1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. followed by GE's own veteran employees conducting 30-minute one-on-one mentoring sessions with all pre-registered participants. Additional mentoring sessions for walk-ins will run from 2:30 pm - 4:00 pm, and will focus on resume building, resume writing, and interviewing techniques for all job-seeking veteran and service member participants. Interested candidates must complete the FREE electronic pre-registration at this website prior to 5:00 p.m. on April 15, 2012 in order to participate. A maximum of 50 participants will be accepted.

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YNN Albany April 17, 2012 Hiring country's veterans is focus of career fair By: Beth Croughan
http://capitalregion.ynn.com/content/top_stories/580924/hiring-country-s-veterans-is-focus-of-career-fair/

General Electric has committed to hiring 5,000 veterans over the next five years, some of them from right here in the Capital Region. The company was one of several at a career fair for members of the military. YNN's Beth Croughan has more. ALBANY, N.Y. -- "I joke a lot, you know, I went from working for an Admiral to working for the General," said GE U.S. Navy Energy Coordination and Program Manager Chip Cotton. The former Naval officer is one of more than 10,000 veterans employed by General Electric and the company has committed to hiring 5,000 more vets over the next five years. Tuesday, Cotton joined current colleagues and other former military members at a veteran career fair. Company officials came to recruit servicemen and women. "We are hiring veterans because veterans make wonderful employees. You know, at GE, we say they have the skills that we need, they have the values that we value. They're just a perfect fit for our organization," said Ret. Maj. Dave Ferguson, the Military Staffing and Recruiting Manager for GE. Ferguson, a retired Army officer, was hired through a GE recruitment program 15 years ago. But now, along with recruiting, he's tasked with training. "There's this career search, the interviewing, the resume writing. All of that stuff which tends to be very foreign to US Military folks," he said. It's part of the "Hiring our Heroes" program. Through a partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, employees are helping vets make the career transition to any company. www.SpecOpsComm.com

"The major advice, that I try to pass on to all the veterans that are looking for work is don't sell yourself short," said Cotton. Tuesday's event is one of 400 being held by the Chamber throughout the country this year.

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