Veterans were surprised to learn their military experience is needed across a variety of career fields in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the first "Honor a Hero, Hire a Vet" job fair held on Monday, February 23, 2015 in the City of South San Francisco, Calif.
South Pacific Division (SPD) staff accepted résumés from many of the more than 600 veteran job seekers and explained the job application process for Corps' vacancies on usajobs.gov during the event, hosted by the Employment Development Department (EDD) of the State of California.
"As a full service organization, the Corps has every position required to run a large business including many non-engineering careers," said Cheryl Hiraoka, SPD Human Resources Director.
Retired U.S. Army helicopter pilot and Vietnam Veteran, Frank Keyser, learned a lot about landing a federal job after visiting the Corps' booth.
"I've always had a lot of respect for the Corps and when I come away from a conversation like that, it gives me focus," said Keyser after speaking with Hiraoka. "Environmental Studies, Planning and GIS; this sort of work appeals to me and I hadn't thought of the Corps having a need for GIS [geographic information system], but that's a skill I have and will include on my résumé."
LTC John Morrow, San Francisco District Commander, lauded EDD's efforts supporting the veteran community with career fairs because it helps transitioning Service members discover vocational paths available in the Corps comparable to their military experience.
"We have all kinds of positions in the Corps that don't necessarily require a hard science degree," said LTC Morrow. "San Francisco District has Wage Grade employees serving as deck hands on our debris removal vessels that patrol the bay and keep its navigational channels safe."
The key to successfully applying for Federal Government job vacancies is not using a one-page, functional résumé, but instead using the template on usajobs.gov and entering all applicable experience chronologically, according to Susan Wallis, SPD Human Resources Specialist.
"We (the Corps) are using the Applicant Assessment System and recommend viewing the occupational questionnaire as a way to view specific duties that will be in the job," said Wallis. "Be sure that your answers on the questionnaire are reflected in your résumé. You may need to create multiple résumés depending on the jobs for which you are applying."
In the Corps, we have regulatory staff that ensures environmental compliance on projects, personnel specialists to complete hiring actions, accountants who provide financial support and logistic staff to manage our fleet, explained Charles Fenwick, San Francisco District Park Ranger. We also have maintenance workers and electricians at our dams, lakes and mega-projects.
Emory Wilson, Peer Specialist with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Mental Health spoke with Fenwick about employing Service-disabled veterans. "I advocate for veterans regarding healthcare, legal issues, family services and employment," said Wilson. "I connect them to resources that help them build and maintain a healthy life and employment is a very important component to that."
Leon Hudgens, Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist with the VA inquired about prospects for wounded warriors to gain employment with the Corps. Warriors in Transition, a program developed by the U.S. Army Civilian Personnel (www.cpol.army.mil) currently in use at SPD district offices, helps veterans enter temporary positions and shadow Corps' personnel at their jobs.
Military members were on hand to discuss veteran's transferable skills currently needed at the Corps and how to best develop their résumé.
MSG Lam Tran, Division Human Resource Manager, heard past experiences from many U.S. Army veterans; one veteran started out as an artilleryman at Fort Sill, Okla., was stationed in Freiburg, Germany and finally transferred to the 474th Military Intelligence Detachment in Ames, Iowa. Tran noticed a heavy interest in secretarial and administrative support functions among job seekers; an area in which military experience is highly sought after in the Corps.
Olivia Grate, San Francisco District Workforce Management Administrator, engaged many Veterans, National Guardsmen and Reservists of all ages returning from active duty. "The Corps has a need for more than just engineers," said Grate. "We have many different career fields that support our organization."
The event, mutually beneficial for job seekers and employers at the Federal, State and local levels is not the last job fair the Corps will participate in to actively recruit veterans.
"We support hiring Wounded Warriors and Service members transitioning into civilian life not just because the Corps is part of the Department of Defense, but our Nation's veterans are a disciplined workforce that does what is required," said Hiraoka. "The learning curve is smaller for them because the experience they acquired in the military is comparable to many of the jobs we have available today."
On March 25, 2015, the Corps will participate in the Black Engineer's Conference held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, Calif. and Hiring Heroes on July 15th at Camp Pendleton, Calif.
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