Vets and spouses flex networking muscles at Hiring Our Heroes event

By T.D. JacksonAugust 24, 2015

Vets and spouses flex networking muscles at Hiring Heroes event
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Senior Trooper Lara Korson speaks with Zachary Gilland, a Marine, and his spouse Lauren Barnard about opportunities with the Virginia State Police during the Hiring Our Heroes Employment Workshop and Networking Reception, at the Office of the Chief, ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Vets and spouses flex networking muscles at Hiring Heroes event
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Pvt. Arland Nguefack and Spc. Sepribo Taylor speak with Kay Miller, an Army Career Employment Specialist (ACES) with the Army Reserve Private Public Partnership, during the Hiring Our Heroes Employment Workshop and Networking Reception, at the Office... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

By T.D. Jackson

Military spouse Lauren Barnard is set to graduate in December from George Mason University with a degree in psychology. She has followed a fairly straight path from high school, to college, to marriage and has been pretty firm with her goals and career progression. Until now.

During the Hiring Our Heroes Employment Workshop and Networking Reception, Barnard said if nothing else she gleaned one valuable tip; "be flexible."

"I feel like I'm not being flexible right now, but I don't really have a choice because I'm going to school and I'm working," Barnard said. "I had a specific area, Northern Virginia, which I'm familiar with as far as where I wanted to work. But now, after I graduate, I guess I'll just be open to either commuting further like they were saying or taking different positions that I hadn't considered before."

Barnard and her husband, Marine Cpl. Zach Gilland, attended the workshop hosted by HOH and accounting and management consulting firm Grant Thornton. The workshop, held at the Office of the Chief, Army Reserve Aug. 19, featured a panel of Grant Thornton managers and directors, all of whom are military veterans and discussed networking and job search best practices.

Another key partner in the event was the Army Reserve's Private Public Partnership Office (P3), an organization that uses a targeted approach to create programs that offer private sector, profit, not-for-profit, and academia the opportunity to recruit, train, education and develop mutually-beneficial and marketable Soldier Employees.

Mike Blount, a senior associate at Grant Thornton, had previously stated that job seekers should be flexible and keep an open mind during their search.

"If you have the mindset like, 'I'm only going to live in D.C. and I won't commute more than 10 miles', well good luck with that," he said, as the crowd laughed. "The more flexible you are, the more your search will bring additional opportunities."

Grant Thornton personnel also honed in on the famed elevator pitch, the 30-second speech that defines what you do. Army veteran Andy Lucido, an account manager with Grant Thornton, spoke at length about creating and even rehearsing your elevator pitch. Lucido encouraged attendees to practice answering questions that highlight their strongest skills and form the answers into a statement that allows you to make a great first impression, establishes your personal brand, and quickly engages others in your job search.

"The best elevator pitches provide enough background information and enthusiasm so the other person wants to continue the conversation with you," Lucido said.

Attendees were then invited to enjoy refreshments while flexing their new networking muscles and mingling with both job seekers and employers alike.

Kay Miller, an Army Career Employment Specialist for the Private Public Partnership Office, spoke to several job seekers about the role P3 plays in helping veterans find employment.

"Aside from building the employer partnerships, P3 has a very hands-on role in employment assistance," Miller said. "Naturally we help with resumes, but we also practice interview questions and rehearse elevator speeches. We get people comfortable with the job search process," she said.

And the help doesn't stop there. P3 assists with their civilian careers and professional development once they find a job -- resulting in a highly skilled employee who makes immediate and meaningful contributions in the civilian workforce.

"And of course we communicate with recruiters about the dual nature of the leadership attributes and competencies of our Soldiers," Miller said. "Army Reserve Soldiers are unique in that they develop skills from both their civilian and their military occupations," said Miller.

Miller said events like this one were vital to polishing and even streamlining the job search process.

"I agree with what Mr. Misch was saying about being yourself," she said, referring to Bob, Misch, a managing director at Grant Thornton. Miller said as jobseekers continue to grow in their search, they will find their rhythm.

Aaron Matheny, Excalibur Staffing's fulfillment manager, was among the networking employers, and he advised new job seekers to beware the onslaught of employment tips and best practices online.

"There are a lot of blogs with more bad information than good information. And you don't know whether that information is true or not when you're first venturing into job seeking," said Matheny, referencing the popular one-page resume.

"I say never have a one page resume unless you're going to a job fair," he said. When sending your resume out, it's fine to have more than one page, Matheny noted. "But if you're applying for a senior level position and your resume is able to fit on one page that means you don't have that experience."

Matheny, a 20-year Army veteran, also cautioned against using headers on resumes and explained that the information gets cut off when the resume is fed into an automatic system.

Other employers included Arete Associates, Xebec Global, Agricultural Marketing Services - USDA, Strategical Operational Solutions, Two Men and A Truck, Green Technology, Accelerated Development and Support Corp, Arlington County Police Department, Virginia State Police and Allstate.

To date, Hiring Our Heroes has sponsored almost 1,000 hiring fairs and workshops and has been instrumental in the hiring of more than 500,000 veterans and military spouses. For more information on HOH and upcoming hiring fairs, visit www.uschamberfoundation.org.

Since 2008 the Army Reserve has built partnerships with private and public organizations in order to maximize success at home and abroad while advancing individual, leader, and unit readiness. For more information about partnering with the Private Public Partnership Office, visit www.usar.army.mil/PrivatePublicPartnership.

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Private Public Partnership