Category Archives: job seeking

Veterans Employment Symposium of Northwest Ohio

TOLEDO, OH- A local public-private partnership has formed to present the 2014 Veterans Employment Symposium of Northwest Ohio.

The Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce, Job1USA Veterans Division, Ohio Means Jobs, and McGladrey Accounting are proud to present the Veterans Employment Symposium of Northwest Ohio. This event will be held on December 9th 2014 from 8:30am to 12:00 noon at the Toledo Club. The keynote speaker of the event is Marine Corps Veteran Josh Mandel, the Treasurer of the State of Ohio.

This a unique event, geared toward employers and Human Resource professionals who either currently hire or are considering hiring veterans. The goal of the event is to share best practices in sourcing, hiring and retaining veterans. Bruce Rumpf, the CEO of Job1USA, and a Viet Nam Era Veteran, feels “Hiring veterans is the smart thing to do, and it is good for our businesses.”

This event is a public-private partnership with speakers who will cover several topics including Federal Tax Credits for hiring qualified veterans, the Value of Hiring Veterans, Veterans Hiring and Retention Best Practices, and Dispelling the Myth of PTSD. The event is free to attend and will begin at 8:30 am with networking and refreshments; speakers starting at 9:00 am. The event will conclude at 12:00 noon, speakers and additional resources will be available for questions after the event.

For reservations please call (419) 315-1997 or email dstanton@job1usa.com. You can also find reservations at Eventbright.com under the Veterans Employment Symposium. Spaces are limited and will be available on a first come first serve basis.

VESNWO

Military Resumes: How to get noticed

Military training imparts skills and abilities that can rival and surpass the abilities of civilian counterparts.  One of the biggest differences are the “real world” application of skills.  In the military, service members learn to adapt to problems as they occur.  For example, an electrician that is at sea and aboard a battle ready ship doesn’t have the ability to call a local supply house.  That electrician has to plan ahead or adapt around the unforeseen situations that may occur.  This can also mean constructing repairs in an improvised manner.

These military skills are called Military Occupational Specializations, or MOS for short.  The Navy has Rates, and the Air Force has the Air Force Specialization Codes (AFSC).  They are all essentially the same, in that they exist as a way for the military to track service member skills.  Civilian employers are often not able to discern between a Marine 0311 and an Army 11B, other than one was in the Army and the other was in the Marines.  It is both the responsibility of the veteran to translate these skills, and the responsibility of the human resources team to understand them.

Below are several tips to increase the chances of having your resume with military skills viewed:

  1. Demilitarize your resume.  Avoid using military terminology or acronyms.  These can cause confusion for the person reading the resume.
  2. Translate your military skills in to applicable civilian skills.
  3. Do not highlight combat.  While having served in combat develops senses that most people haven’t acquired, it can cause an interviewer to overlook your resume.
  4. Stay away from having a ‘cookie cutter’ resume.  Design a resume for each position that you apply for.
  5. Do have a personality.  Unfortunately, being in the military is not conducive with developing individuality. Companies want to see what you can bring to the team, so do your best to be creative
  6. Make sure to research the company that you are applying to.

If you need help developing your resume, please reach out to our team.  We would be glad to take a look at what you have.  Please fill out the form to request assistance.