Military/Veteran Staffing

USERRA – Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act

• Protects Veterans, Applies to ALL employers• Part of U.S. Department of Labor• Different from EEOC, ADA and OFCCP but all

connected• Protects civilian job rights and benefits for

veterans and members of Reserve components• Provides protection for disabled veterans,

requiring employers to make reasonable efforts to accommodate the disability

http://www.dol.gov/elaws/userra.htmhttp://www.dol.gov/compliance/topics/hiring-vets.htm

EEOC – Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

• The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is responsible for enforcing federal laws that make it illegal to discriminate against a job applicant or an employee.• Most employers with at least 15 employees

are covered by EEOC laws (20 for age discrimination cases). Most labor unions and employment agencies are also covered.

http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/

ADA - Americans with Disabilities Act• Prohibits discrimination against people

with disabilities.• As it relates to Vets – It would make it

illegal for an employer to refuse employment because a vet has PTSD, or the employer thinks they do.

http://www.dol.gov/dol/topic/disability/ada.htm

OFCCP - Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

• The purpose of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is to enforce, for the benefit of job seekers and wage earners, the contractual promise of affirmative action and equal employment opportunity required of those who do business with the Federal government. (VETS)

http://www.dol.gov/ofccp/

Latest Updates• Deaths due to over medication• Virtual Job Scout by Hiring our Heroes-

Virtual Job Fairs and more• Vet jobless claims dropped to historic

lows• HIRING AMERICA TV SHOW HITS RECORD NUMBER

OF STATIONS IN SYNDICATION: NEARLY 200 ACROSS THE NATION CARRY THE WEEKLY PROGRAM HELPING VETERANS FIND WORK

More guidelines impacting Vets• Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act and

Vietnam Era Veterans Readjustment Assistance Act (VEVRAA or 4212) unchanged since 1970s- Section 503 prohibits discrimination against Persons with

Disabilities (PwD) and requires employers to take affirmative action in employment practices for PwD- VEVRAA prohibits discrimination again protected veterans

and requires employers to take affirmative action in employment practices for protected veterans

http://www.dol.gov/compliance/laws/comp-vevraa.htm

Reasons Hiring Managers/Recruiters don’t hire Veterans

• Reading a Vets resume- Most hiring managers/recruiters lack the training needed to read and understand a military resume.

• Inability to sell themselves- The military is about mission, and team not about the individual.

• Skills- Most hiring managers/recruiters do not understand how to translate military skills.

• Fit in the Organization- Hiring managers look for fit and culture, there for concerns about PTSD, regimental, etc. Monster did a Veteran Talent Index survey that showed over 20% of employers had major concerns about post 9/11 PTSD Vets. 44% believe they are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol.

Response is Lack of Knowledge

• Resume reading-lack of training.• Selling themselves –we use words like us, we, team

not I and me, so just extra probing and training will fix this. Lack of training

• Job translation-a training issue• Fit and PTSD-A recent Gallup-Healthways-Well-Being

Index survey showed that as a whole active-duty and veterans are more emotionally resilient than their civilian and non veterans counter parts. Misconception due to lack of training. 30% of vets have PTSD, and 90% of civilians who experience a trauma of any kind have PTSD, however Vets are trained to handle PTSD Civilians are not

Vet concerns• Edelman Berland a highly respected global

marketing research firm, did a survey showing over 28% of vets “feel that being a vet makes it harder to find a job”.

• Same Survey showed over 23% feel that when they speak to employers they do not get any respect.

• Over 16% feel they have to defend themselves against “psychological or emotional trauma accusations”

Why Military/Veterans• Remember when we say Military this includes;

Army, Air force, Navy Marines, Coast Guard, Reserves, and National Guard.• About 200,000 service members leave the

military each year.• There are about 23 million veterans, over 11

million under age 60. About 8% of civilian Population are vets• Relocation, when a vet gets out they can go any

place in the US and the military pays for it.

Why Military/Veterans cont.• Government sponsored education benefits,

allowing a military/veteran to get additional education/training. http://gibill.va.gov/, http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/, http://www.benefits.va.gov/VOW/vocational-rehabilitation.asp

• Work Opportunity Tax credit.–Employers get $2400 for hiring an unemployed

vet–Employer gets $4800 for hiring a disabled Vethttp://www.doleta.gov/business/incentives/opptax/eligible.cfm

Special Employer Incentives (SEI)• Reimbursement of up to 50 percent of the Veteran’s salary during the SEI program.• VA provided tools, equipment, uniforms and ‐other supplies • Appropriate accommodations based on individual needs of the Veteran • VA support during training and placement follow up phase to assist with work or training‐ ‐related needs

http://benefits.va.gov/vow/docs/SEIFlyerFinal.pdf

Making the Case to Hire Veterans1.Proven Learner, with great skills and training2.Leadership, strategic and planning foresight3.Proven ability to work as a team and

independently4.Diversity, discipline and strong interpersonal

skills. 10% are Women, 7% Hispanics, 13% African American, and all are growing.

5.Ability to work diligently under pressure6.Strong sense of responsibility, procedure, and

accountability

Making the Case to Hire Veterans cont.1.Loyalty and integrity with the ability to see a

task through to completion2.Positively enhances the image of a company3.High degree of professionalism, respect,

health, and safety4.Adaptability, quick thinking, with the ability to

triumph over adversity5.A strong desire to not only succeed but exceed6.*** A chameleon. ***

Sales

• The Harvard Business Review found that top salespeople possess the following traits:

* 100 percent responsibility for their individual results * an above-average ambition and desire to succeed * above-average willpower and determination (where self-discipline is key) * an intensely goal-oriented personality * high levels of customer empathy and impeccable honesty * does not take "rejection" personally * the ability to approach strangers even when it is uncomfortable.

Top 15 Employers for Veterans• 1. Lockheed Martin Corp.• 2. The Boeing Company• 3. Northrop Grumman Corporation• 4. Booz Allen Hamilton• 5. U.S. Department of Defense• 6. Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC)• 7. BAE Systems Inc. • 8. Department of Veterans Affairs• 9. L-3 Communications• 10. Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)• 11. Raytheon Co. • 12. General Electric Co.• 13. General Dynamics Information Technology• 14. CACI International Inc. • 15. International Business Machines (IBM)

Other well known Vet friendly companies

• Sears Holdings• Home Depot• 7-11• ADP• American Airlines• AlliedBarton Security Services• BP• Many MORE!!

Pay Grade, Abbreviation, Title• Terms Pay grade and rank are sometimes used

interchangeably.• Pay Grade – E=Enlisted, W= Warrant Officer, O =

Officer• Enlisted think of as hands on workers or day to day

operations• Warrant Officers think of as highly technical and

specialized a bridge between enlisted and Officer• Officer the guys in charge, the high level managers

http://www.military-quotes.com/military-rank.htm

Understanding Military/Vets

• All branches of the Armed services have a Military Occupational Classification Structure (MOCS). Basically their job. Between them there are over 7,000 job positions and more than 100 functional areas. Over 81% have a civilian equivalent.

• The Army has MOS stands for Military Occupational Specialty. The Air force has Air Force Specialty Codes (AFSC). Navy has Navy Enlisted Classification (NEC)

http://www.careerinfonet.org/moc/default.aspx?audience=WP

Understanding Military/Vets

• For occupations associated with Federal jobs use Mil2Fedjobs.com• Documents that will further outline their skills:

DD214, PQR (PERSONNEL QUALIFICATION RECORD), ACE transcript• Also keep in mind most veterans will have had

more than one MOC, at the very least they will have a primary and secondary as well as a lot of other training.• You still need to take into account, education,

skill set, experience.

Understanding Military/Vets

MOCS translator

Things to know before you look!• Make sure you know what you are

looking for in a candidate:• Education level•Career level• Location• Functional skill•Corresponding MOC•Career matching VS Job Function•Potential vs Requirement

Sourcing research • Military search terms: Army, Air Force, Navy,

Marines, Coast Guard, National Guard, Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, etc..• Organization: VFW, DAV, and more see link

below for a listhttp://www.workworld.org/wwwebhelp/veterans_service_organizations_overview.htm

• Other words or Acronyms to use: Veteran, Military, USMC, USArmy, USAF, USCG, USN, Vet, Former, Retired, etc.. see links http://www.fas.org/news/reference/lexicon/acronym.htm

http://www.abbreviations.com/acronyms/MILITARYhttp://www.cem.va.gov/CEM/docs/abbreviations/Branch_of_Service.pdf

http://www.globemaster.de/html/dictionary.html

Sourcing research Cont.• Clearances are huge. There are many types:

Secret, Top Secret, Confidential and many more. See list below for types

http://securityclearancejobs.blogspot.com/2007/10/most-complete-list-available-for.html

• You can also source by agency worked at, see link below

http://www.usa.gov/directory/federal/index.shtml

• You can also source by company supporting federal agencies. See link for some of them

http://washingtontechnology.com/toplists/top-100-lists/2012.aspx

Military Acronyms

Sourcing stringsGiven all the info provided here is a simple example of what a search string might look like, looking for an ex Army person who is in Criminal Justice and a top secret security clearance. I will get rid of the junk using the “-” sign and several words such as job, jobs, example, sample

~resume “Criminal Justice” (Army OR USARMY OR “Army Reserve “ OR “Army Reserves” or USAR OR U.S.A.R.) -job -jobs -example –sample

Keep in mind you can substitute subject and title for url and substitute bio, CV, or “curriculum vitae” for resume. Also you can use the pipe “|” instead of OR in Google, and you do not need to use “AND” in Google.

Also notice no mention of rank, main reason is not a lot of vets put their rank on their resume anymore

***** Remember to do your research first*****

Search results

Veteran College recruiting• 3 types of Military attending college: * active going to school * Veterans going to school * Committed to military going to school• Ways to identify them: POCs to contact: * ROTC coordinator * Veteran Program coordinator * Transition office

Present – The String

(Military OR Veteran OR Vet OR VFW OR DAV OR "Veterans of Foreign Wars" OR "Disabled American Veterans" OR Army OR USArmy OR "Air Force" OR USAF OR "U.S.A.F." OR Navy OR USN OR "U.S.N" OR Marine OR Marines OR "Marine Corps" OR "Marine Corp" OR USMC OR U.S.M.C. OR "Coast Guard" OR USCG OR “U.S.C.G.” OR "National Guard" OR "Army reserve" OR "Army reserves" OR "Air Force Reserve" OR USAFR OR “U.S.A.F.R.” OR "Air Force Reserves" OR “AirForce Reserve” OR “AirForce Reserves” OR USNR OR "U.S.N.R." OR “Naval Reserves” OR “Naval Reserve” OR “Navy Reserves” OR “Navy Reserve” OR "Marine Reserve" OR "Marine Reserves" OR USMCR OR “U.S.M.C.R.” OR "Coast Guard Reserves" OR "Coast Guard Reserve" OR USCGR OR "U.S.C.G.R.") –“old navy” -salvation -credit

Present – The String 2

("security clearance" OR COMSEC OR classified OR NOFORN OR ORCON OR Unclassified OR ANACI OR NACLC OR SSBI OR SBPR OR Polygraph OR "Counterintelligence Scope" OR "Full Scope" OR FSP OR "Lifestyle Poly" OR DISA OR "DOD Secret" OR confidential OR "restricted secret" OR "secret restricted" OR "Public Trust" OR “Special Access" OR "Secured Identification" OR “Security Identification" OR "talent keyhole" OR HCS-P OR "Yankee Fire" OR "Yankee White" OR "top secret" OR SCI OR "CI Poly" OR "CI Polygraph" OR "Interim Secret" OR "DOE Q" OR "DOE L" OR "Top secret" OR SCI OR "CI Poly" OR "CI Polygraph" OR TSSCI OR “TS/SCI with Poly” OR “TS/SCI”)

Present Part 2• http://veterans.linkedinlabs.com/

Questions to Avoid• What type of Discharge did you receive? Only ask if

the job requirement involves a security clearance.

• I noticed your in the National Guard/Reserves. Are you going to be called up for duty anytime soon. No No like asking someone their nationality. USERRA

• Did you see any action over there, or any question that could hint at wanting a disclosure of possible disability. You cannot ask them about a disability. You can ask if they read the job description and can perform the essential functions but that is all. Disability-Title 1 of Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA)

• Any question about Disability-Title 1 of Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA)

Questions you can ask

• Whether they served in the military. The applicant can refuse to answer and if the say yes they are only required to give: Period of service, Rank/Grade, Type of training and work experience.

Transition Assistance Program (TAP)• The Transition Assistance Program (TAP) was

established to meet the needs of separating service members during their period of transition into civilian life by offering job-search assistance and related services

• Some of the services for employers include; job postings, job fairs, resume searches, hiring alerts, and more.

• Every base or installation should have a transition office that helps military find jobs, and would be a good place to connect with and start*******

http://www.taonline.com/TapOffice/Find-TAP-office

Transition Assistance Program (TAP)

Hiring our Heroes• 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 opportunities. Working with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s vast network of state and local chambers and strategic partners from the public, private, and non-profit sectors, our goal is to create a movement across America in hundreds of communities where veterans and military families return every day.

Hiring our HeroesServices

• Resume building• Job fairs more than 700• Jobs Portal• Mentorships• And more

Successes• 23k vets and spouses have obtained jobs through HOH

job fairs!• Over 1500 businesses have pledged to hire over 411k

heroes• Of the 411k over 255k already hired

Resources for employershttp://www.americasheroesatwork.gov/forEmployers

http://nod.org/research_publications/americas_best/

http://www.thevalueofaveteran.com/https://www.armypays.com/INDEX.html

Job Fairshttp://www.heroeshiringheroes.com/http://www.uschamber.com/hiringourheroes/http://sacc-jobfair.com/

Additional Resources

Americans” Heroes at Work!!

Additional ResourcesJob Boards

http://100000jobsmission.com/http://www.showyourstripes.org/https://h2h.jobs/https://monster.com/military.com has a great military presencehttp://www.hireheroesusa.org/https://www.jofdav.com/http://recruitmilitary.com/http://www.helmetstohardhats.org/https://vetjobs.com/http://www.patriotjobs.net/http://www.fedshirevets.gov/http://www.militaryhire.com/

Helmets to Hardhats!!!

Additional Resourceshttp://corporategray.com/http://home.intelligencecareers.com/http://us.jobs/ has a vet sectionhttp://board.jobcentral.com/usacares has loads of info toohttp://www.clearancejobs.com/ http://saveourveterans.org/ has a lot of info, and a jobs sectionhttp://msccn.org/http://www.veteranjobs.com/http://www.militaryconnection.com/ lots of info toohttp://www.hireveterans.com/http://www.postmilitaryemployment.com/# lots of infohttps://msepjobs.militaryonesource.mil/ Board and more

Hire Veterans

Additional ResourcesInformation for use by Vets and Employers

http://www.hiremilitary.com/http://www.onlinecollege.org/2013/02/21/the-war-home-the-struggle-veterans-find-jobs/

http://gibill.va.gov/http://www.servicelocator.org/http://www.vba.va.gov/bln/vre/https://www.acap.army.mil/default.aspxhttp://www.military.com/veterans-day/hire-veterans.htmlhttp://www.military.com/ has job board, a lot of info and morehttp://www.taonline.com/TAPOffice/http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/http://www.wtc.army.mil/about_us/eei_for_employers.htmlhttp://www.dol.gov/elaws/userra.htm

Wounded Warrior Project

Additional Resources Continuedhttp://securityclearancejobs.blogspot.com/2007/10/most-complete-list-available-for.html List of Clearances and morehttp://www.careeronestop.org/militarytransition/findTransitionCenters.aspx list of transition officeswww.servicelocator.org List service locatorshttp://www.wtc.army.mil/soldier/education_training.html Lost of info and job boardshttp://www.justiceforvets.org/ ways to help and get involved with helping Vets and more

Government Departments and Agencies

Additional Resources ContinuedVETS

http://www.postmilitaryemployment.com/ can also post jobs herehttp://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ Organization helping vetshttp://www.vetsuccess.gov/ you can also post jobs herehttp://www.wtc.army.mil/http://www.operationveteranspromise.org/http://veteransenterprise.com/ you can also post jobs herehttp://www.acp-usa.org/http://missioncontinues.org/http://www.dhs.gov/operation-warfighterhttp://superreunion.org/schedule.htm has job boards and job fairshttp://www.pva.org/

Operation Promise for Service Members

Additional Resources ContinuedMisc.

https://www.rallypoint.com/http://ementorprogram.org/abouthttp://www.usma.edu/Alumni/SitePages/Home.aspx

Military Occupational Classification (MOC)

http://www.careerinfonet.org/moc/default.aspx?audience=WPhttp://www.military.com/veteran-jobs/skills-translator/https://www.cool.army/search.htmhttps://cool.navy.milhttp://www.dllr.state.md.us/mil2fedjobs/ military, federal and more

Rally Point

Ementor

• Research all laws, policies and procedures related to hiring veterans. Distinguish between absence for vacation and an absence for service, include in Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

• Come up with a viable complete process, that will identify Vets as they come and ensure all vets are considered, and all vets are communicated with.

• Create a dedicated budget for VET hiring.

Framework Checklist

• Decide what things you are willing to do above and beyond what the laws say, for example are you willing to pay an employee who is also a reservist their salary if the get called up for some reason?

• Support employees who are VETS that are mobilized

• Establish apprenticeship and training programs.

• Decide what MOCs correspond to positions you have within your company.

Framework Checklist Cont.

• Contact the local transition office and work with them.

• Identify sites, and events worth participating in based on location, and likely population of veterans that fit your openings.

• Brand your company as veteran friendly company, Apply for formal recognition as an employer that is supportive of the military, career fairs, ensure your jobs are on vet boards, etc.

Framework Checklist Cont.

Framework Checklist Cont.

• Get Social with regards to your Vet program, this includes talent communities, outreach programs, blogging etc.

• Ensure your career site is vet friendly, and have a vet specific page, things to be on it; career fairs, outreach opportunities, ability to send txt messages as reminders of company vet programs, fairs, outreach, add VIDEO Day in the Life (DIAL) of vet working at company, newsletter, partnerships with vet service run orgs, quote positive vet hiring stats and data, highlight special vet programs, vet awards, info to help Vets such as resume writing, job boards, etc, links to other websites of interest, highlight accommodating of disabled vets, etc.

Framework Checklist Cont.

• Have your website reviewed for Section 508 compliance. Section 508 refers to a requirement for the Federal government to make its electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.

Framework Checklist Cont.

• Educate you hiring managers, recruiters and sourcers• MOST IMPORTANTLY HIRE THE RIGHT

PEOPLE TO CREATE, WORK, AND MANAGE THE PROGRAM AS WELL AS GET BUY IN, BACKING, AND CHAMPIONING OF THE PROGRAM FROM SENIOR EXECUTIVES. SHOULD BE VETs!!!!• USE YOUR INTERNAL NETWORK OF VETS.

Posting and Marketing you program• Jobs- make sure you write a JD that will

appeal to vets, meaning use some military terms, makes sure somewhere you talk about how vet friendly you are. In other words optimize your JD for your audience.

• Use the right hashtags- #vet #vets #military #veteran etc., also follow them to keep up on Vet stuff.

• Make sure to Market the fact you are veteran friendly.

Additional Considerations• Keep in mind it is not just about hiring a veteran it is about

helping a veteran. We are a small community that talks and takes care of our own. Helping a veteran now, can lead to hires in the future.

• Ensure there are vet support groups or the like within your company, create a VET on boarding program, Ensure there is a specific POC within HR for VETs, added points if they are a vet, recognize VET employees on VETs day and Memorial Day etc, .

• Also remember when hiring a veteran that some of them may have additional commitments to the Armed Forces. There are guideline for these commitments and what responsibilities a company may have. See USERRA for more info.

http://www.dol.gov/elaws/userra.htm********************

Additional ConsiderationsKeep in mind the Veteran community is a very close knit, and tight group, they talk, Vet organizations talk. Treat them right and they will keep coming, treat them bad and they will stop.

I am constantly searching for info on finding, hiring and helping vets. The link below is to my website and specifically to the vet part so check it out for updates.http://thesearchauthority.weebly.com/vets.html

Companies Helping Vets• Mentorship programs• Giving more for those still serving• Forums, and Support groups• Designate a POC for Vets• Vet days at work• Allowing vets to take off on vet holidays• Paying for VA visits• Extra Training• Recognition• Vet parking places

Best Practice (LMCO)• Military Connect were Lockheed Martin makes

it all about the Military and barely about us.• Webinars, training, and events dedicated to

Veteran owned business• Veteran Institute of Procurement (VIP, first

program of its kind to help veteran owned businesses succeed in federal contracting

• Protégé training for veteran owned businesses

Reminder why we still need to do more• The data tells us that the

unemployment rate for veterans who have served since 9/11 stands at 10 percent. 12.5 for those with disabilities.

• Licensing issues, 10,000 military health-care workers or 10,000 military truck drivers who left the armed services last year often have to pass new tests and go through a fresh set of licensing hurdles in order to get a job as a civilian EMT or truck driver — even if they already have the required skills.

My Contact InformationDean Da Costa, SP, TSIS, STLThe Search Authorityhttp://www.linkedin.com/in/deandacostahttp://thesearchauthority.weebly.com/searchauthority@comcast.net206-214-5337 Mobile253-520-3305 Office“Helping people connect with their destiny” Top 25 Must Read Blogs for Recruiters #12http://hr.sparkhire.com/human-resources-news/spark-hires-top-25-must-read-blogs-for-recruiters/2012 HRE #1 most influential Recruiterhttp://www.hrexaminer.com/lists/online-influence-recruiting-2012-v5

Contact me: Text/SMS | IM-MSN | Skype | Twitter