Employers Need to Hire Veterans, and Veterans Need to Put Their Best Foot Forward in Their Job Search

More resumes yield better results, submit and be discovered

In this job environment, failure is not an option

by Captain Lonnie Ryan

As the son of a now deceased Veteran of World War 2, I have a special appreciation for VT that are seeking employment in this somewhat bleak economic environment. US Navy CBM John P. Ryan, my Dad, was #1 gun turret Chief on the battlewagon Alabama. He was the youngest Chief Petty Officer at the San Diego Training Center as he fudged his age when enlisting and got in before the legal age. He served almost 20 years and at his death almost 3 years ago was only receiving $1500 or so a month in retirement plus medical benefits. We owe this current group of Veterans much more in appreciation within our hearts and outstretched hands in an effort to do all we can to employ these heroes in the tough job market that exists today.

Conversely, the job seeking Veteran must do all he or she can to make themselves visible and available to potential employers by submitting the most complete and concise resume possible. Job search boards such as HireVeterans.com are free to the Veteran and every Veteran currently seeking employment should have a resume in the data base that is searchable by the membership employers displayed on the site. More resumes yield better results, submit and be discovered! One of the greatest critiques by employers joining Veteran job boards is that they don’t have enough resumes.

It’s a revolving door; Veterans don’t see enough jobs they like, and don’t submit their resume, because employers only post jobs that they think the Veteran will respond to rather than posting all the jobs they have available. Both the employer and Veteran need to give all they have to help us as a Nation bring this unemployment situation under control.

In addition to the approximately 200,000 service members who transition from active duty every year, there are hundreds of thousands of Veterans, Reservists, Retirees, Guardsmen and working spouses who are looking for new employment opportunities. These individuals offer the skills, training and experience needed in virtually every industry including IT, telecom, logistics, security and health care. HireVeterans.com, which was acquired by VeteransToday.com in May 2006 and is now part of The VT Network , is now a leader in online veterans and military recruiting and is also expanding in virtually every category of the veterans and military e-recruiting space.

Don’t lose that brave heart attitude you shared with your company while in the service. As in the service of your country, in this job environment, failure is not an option.

• Contact Captain Lonnie Ryan at [email protected] for information on how you, the Veteran employer can become a member on the HireVeterans.com website.