David Brennan
Let's give Vets and their Spouses a chance in ...

Let's give Vets and their Spouses a chance in the Small Business Community.

In July, 2020, there are between 40 and 60 million Americans out of work (adding U6 approximately). Meanwhile, 48% of all US based employees work for small businesses.

I’ve been trying to hire Vets, transitioning Service Members and their Spouses since 1997 and it was never easy until we released our platform in 2018, Vouch4Vets.

Still, I’ve experienced civilians express misconceptions about the value Vets bring to the table. Some say, “All they can do is fire a gun.” There’s no ill-will behind this, rather a decades-long false impression that Vets can’t do civilian jobs.

Today, I’m reaching out to the small businesses that are hiring. Probably looking for 2-3 more employees. Vouch4Vets can get your open jobs in front of a diverse community. One that sacrificed almost everything to make sure we can enjoy freedom and liberty. Now is the time to consider giving them a chance at doing a great job for you, not just because of the tax credits, but because they make fantastic employees.

I challenge local small business owners to re-think their approach to hiring. Vouch4Vets survives on Charity alone. Let us help you connect with the Vets who surround your business, and who may be looking for a GREAT job - the one you’re trying to fill!

Connect with us at 800-884-1188 or at smb@vouch4vets.org. We’ll get your open jobs in front of our country’s most precious resources.

  • David Brennan, Founder, Vouch4Vets.org

Quick article announcing Personal Portals for Vets Advocacy

Please check out an article I wrote about our new service for advocating for Vets. With our Personal Portals, you may send advocacy to Veterans or transitioning Service Members once, then s/he can use your Video Testimonials to engage with recruiters and hiring managers with your advocacy up front. It makes a huge difference in how far they get with a potential employer.

Here is the article: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/new-option-helping-vets-get-ahead-david-brennan/

 

 

 

A few words about video interviews of Job Seekers.

I was recently directed to a Military.com article sited below, addressing what to do and how to succeed when asked to perform a video interview for a company. The advice in the article is for a LIVE interview, not a recorded one, where a job seeker answers questions - important distinction.

If you are to a point, while interviewing with a company, and they want to put a live human being on the other end of a webcam, fine. Whatever you think about this - they hold the cards here. You need to suck it up or drop your application. But before I go on I must say, we are passionate against the validity of recording job seekers answering questions. There are more problems than solutions using that strategy.

Here's the article.

So, in positioning your Advocates recording answers about you vs. a Skype interview of you...

  1. Download and understand the video software in advance of the call...
    1. Great advice. Things are moving slow quickly out there, between Flash settings and widgets required for video. Unfortunately, there's a 40%-50% chance of an error occurring no matter what you do. So anticipate THAT and handle it gracefully. How will I react, what will I say when the video freezes. We took all this into account when building Vouch4Vets. Your Advocates will experience convenience using our platform.
  2. Remove any distractions near you, such as your cell or home phone...
    1. Questions can also be distracting. That's why the Job Seeker and the Advocate both see all the questions BEFORE the video starts. 
  3. Dress as if you were interviewing in person...
    1. We do NOT record Job Seekers, only Advocates. They are not interviewing for anything and everyone knows that. That dynamic actually allows the recruiters and hiring managers to focus on what the Advocate is saying, not what they are wearing or what they look like.
  4. Evaluate the background of your setting. Remove photos...
    1. Similar answer as the previous one. Hiring managers aren't going to care if your Advocate has a poster on the back wall. They want to see and hear about how great you are, from someone who's seen it for him/herself.

There are 3 other less-relevant topics in the article. I hope this helps you get through our site. Please let us know either way at talentsuccess@Vouch4Vets.com

-David

80% of Employers' Veterans Programs are Lacking. Not for long.

Each year, at least 240,000 service members transition into civilian life. In 2018, that number could be closer to 350,000. 

In a recent survey by a major recruiting org, it's once again revealed that most companies need help when it comes to attracting and retaining service members who have transitioned. Check out some of these numbers:

Compared to 5 years ago, how much emphasis does your organization place on hiring veterans?

Much more emphasis - 15%
A bit more emphasis - 19%
About the same emphasis - 39%
A bit less emphasis - 7%
Much less emphasis - 20%

What military skill set translates most directly to a management role within your organization?

Leadership - 45%
Team mentality - 20%
Goal focus - 14%
Respect for hierarchy - 7%
Communications skills - 7%
Technical ability - 7%

Does your organization have clear messaging on why veterans should join your company?

Yes - 34%
No - 66%

Does your organization provide training to hiring managers and/or recruiters on veteran-specific hiring practices?

Yes - 31%
No - 69%

Does your organization have a veteran hiring outreach program in place?

Yes - 37%
No - 63%

Does your organization provide onboarding or transition support to your veteran hires?

Yes - 37%
No - 63%

The message here is, most of the time all of these employers have been doing the same thing they always do. Why? Nothing new has come along in 25+ years.

Fear not. We are rapidly signing up employers and they are using us to get their jobs to you via your Advocates videos. If you have any questions, email us at talentsuccess@Vouch4Vets.com or me - at db@Vouch4Vets.com.

-David

You still need a CV / Resume. What should it look like?

Many people have shared their thoughts on this issue for the past 5 decades. Personally, I have reviewed over 50,000 resumes, from all over the world, in the past 22 years. In that time, I was continually struck by the typical reaction from a civilian - towards a military CV. Generally, confusion.

I'll remain brief with my recommendations:

Do not mask a gap in your resume. > These big companies are already making you a priority for hiring. However, if they weren't trying to filter you out, your interview would begin with an offer letter, right? Don't give them any reason to think you are trying to hide or mislead. If you have a gap in your resume, OWN it; turn the tables on it. Getting a job IS a job. You have been interviewing companies too, right? You've been selective and looking for a great team to commit to, right? Of course!

Group your MOS codes / skills / rank / etc. > Hiring managers will be thrown-off by having these all over your resume. They know you are a transitioning Vet anyway, don't distract them by muddying-up the resume.

Do not pay someone to write your resume. > This will backfire and it will be a waste of money. You need to speak to how YOU wrote it and the hiring manager will be able to tell if you didn't. Other Vets have gotten a job with their resume, format yours like their's.

-David

Now you gotta fight that stigma.

What you've been through, no civilians will ever understand. Whether-or-not you're ready, you've got another fight coming and this one is all about your finances and your next 20 years. How are you going to set up your family for success? How will you figure out the trajectory right so you aren't switching jobs every 6 months, and more.

The boulder you need to move is this: being "great people but entering the workplace woefully unprepared for the realities of the new business normal." This is a quote from an HR professional, and it is baseless. In fact, the new business normal is to do-away with 'normal'.

2018 is perfect for you to be entering the workforce. Recruiters don't know what to do anymore, to find what they think is a good-enough resume with someone available behind it. They have to get more creative.

A legitimate challenge is: Your resume is still too specialized. You need to make it look less-specialized. Here's a good article to read.

-David

It's time to help recruiters help you.

"Here's what you need. Now get me placed."

How long has it been that the only thing to had over to a company or a recruiter at that company is a cover letter / resume? How about 140 years... 

Next, turnover rates at staffing vendors is between 250% and 300%. Yes that means for every 1 person they hire, they are losing 2-3. So you've handed over your resume to someone who is less-likely to help you, based on how long they've been there (I recognize this is the same nearly everywhere, but at a smaller scale).

Then, 105,000 talent-related jobs have been posted, just on LinkedIn alone, in the past 30 days. 83,000 of them are for people with less than 7 years of experience. 

When you put all of this together it doesn't sound, not to me anyway, that you have a reliable, sustainable group of people on the job of finding you a job. 

Take control now. Create your dashboard with our platform and hand them video testimonials along with your resume. In 4 minutes they'll be able to understand what a resume cannot reveal, your real value to your next employer.

-David

Entering the civilian workforce.

I'll never understand the stress and intensity you've experienced. Watching movies and trying to relate likely further remove me from your reality. 

What I do understand is how challenging it is for someone to make it in the civilian workforce. Micro-cultures upon micro cultures abound here in the Silicon Valley. From my perspective, here are a few tips on things that may ease our version of stress. 

First, network like hell. Most people want to help you but they don't know how. And they want to help you because they recognize your sacrifice to our country. So they'll listen to you and offer to digitally introduce you to some and send you resume to others... Take advantage of all of it. Companies are getting hundreds of resumes per posting and the average interview process is taking about a business-month*. This data is for civilians who have been practicing how to interview for years and years. 

Second, establish routines early. It's hard enough to feel purposeful and we've been here while you've been deployed. There are probably millions of articles on how. Here's one: https://www.thespruce.com/how-to-create-a-daily-routine-2648007.

Third, look for a Federal job. You have preference. 

Last, believe in yourself. Don't listen to the nonsense about lack of education or training, if that's what you're hearing. If you're reading this, you already know we can help in this area. 

When you go in for a job interview, you are surrounded by people in that company who are trying to find a new job themselves. Over two-thirds are looking while they are employed. For you, this means you are sitting across from someone who really wants to give you a job because they know over half the people on the floor have one foot out the door. Take advantage of that!

-David

Finally, an answer to "How can we help vets get a job here?"

I started my recruiting career in 1997. Since my first week on the job, I remember trying to help returning vets with a career move or a job search. I just thought it was the right thing to do. I didn't have direction or a strategy, so I'd look at their resumes, call them up and start the conversation. I'd do my best to talk to a few per week and see if I could make a match against a few job descriptions our clients had out there. 

Something kept coming up. I came to the conclusion, way back then, that our military veterans think about a curriculum vitae very differently than non-military civilians. Sometimes they were more technical, sometimes formatted differently. Sometimes the technical terms and nuances were overwhelming to a point where I knew there would be challenges getting civilian hiring managers to understand how these people could help, simply.

Twenty-one years later we have the same challenges we had decades before. There's a crevasse between what military vets can bring to the table and how a resume describes all of it without that veteran having a chance to offer context.

Enter Vouch4Vets. Our platform, exclusively for military veterans, allows them to collect Video Testimonials from their Advocates, whomever they may be, in order to add that leverage to their job search.

We are here to support you. Our technology and platforms are centered around getting you a great job. Email us at talentsuccess@Vouch4Vets.com.

-David 

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