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A Day in the Life of RecruitMilitary
Today, we served an estimated 3,300+ transitioning and veteran military. Let’s count ‘em up:
Today, we produced three Opportunity Expos: at the American Legion’s summit meeting in Washington, D.C.; at LP Field, home of the Tennessee Titans, in Nashville; and at MinuteMaid Park, home of the Houston Astros. We hosted a total of 1,000+ veterans at the three events. A total of 134 veteran-friendly organizations exhibited, including 10 federal agencies that are required to comply with President Obama’s Executive Order on veteran hiring initiatives within the Executive Branch.
Incidentally, our Expos always get great media coverage. Here is a sample of just our TV coverage in Nashville: WTVF-TV CBS 5 Morning Show Pre-Event Coverage: http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=12042052. WSMV-TV NBC 4: http://www.wsmv.com/news/22670631/detail.html
http://www.wsmv.com/video/22664049/index.html
Today, 341 veterans registered as job seekers at our database at www.recruimilitary.com, joining 400,000+ who had already done so.
Today, hundreds of transitioning military picked up copies of our print magazine, Search & Employ at military bases throughout the world. It is hard to pin down exactly how many veterans read the magazine on any given day; but, based on our circulation, roughly 500 may well have picked it up today.
Today, hundreds of veterans visited our website. We had about 60,000 unique visitors this month —an average of 2,100+ per day. We can’t be sure how many of today's visitors were veterans who did not attend attend any of the three Expos and who did not register today. But, based on our experience, we would estimate the number at 1,500.
Today was a great day.
]]>Randy, who retired from the Air Force as a Senior Master Sergeant, wrote us as follows:
“I was shocked to learn that the DOD has suspended the Career Advancement
Account program. This program supplies $6000 to spouses of active duty
members so they can use it toward a degree, a certificate, or training
that will help them get a career that is transportable so when they
change duty stations, they can still be marketable for work in their new
location. I am very concerned for the 98,000 spouses who are using the program.
Here is an Article on the feelings of spouses concerning the suspension
of MyCAA - I would not like to be the person who makes this group mad!
http://hamptonroads.com/2010/02/mycaa-program-suspended-no-notice-disrupts-milspouses-ability-go-school
The embedded links show the official announcements from the Department
of Defense.
The whole no notice timing of this is frustrating and wrong in my opinion. These spouses have no recourse..how can they start their next semester, session, or summer school?”
Good question from Randy.
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Closed source made sense for us in the past:
Today we made a commitment to open source. We are building our next generation of job board (at least the base, non-military system) as open source: http://github.com/recruitmilitary/board.
This decision will help our team to do our best work (since it's out in the open) and hopefully we'll find some other symbiotic developers out there.
We'll blog more about the project as it unfolds.
There are many organizations and groups throughout the military community that provide support and are a great resource for military spouses, such as the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network or better known as MSCCN.
For those of you who are not familiar with MSCCN, it is “a military spouse employment program created and operated by military spouses.” In addition they are a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization operating with Memoranda of Understanding from the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard. Deb Kloeppel, the President and CEO, is a military spouse herself. Deb initiated the development of MSCCN to help spouses continue their career. The organization was chartered in 2004 and funded by Concentra Inc.
RecruitMilitary and MSCCN met back in 2006 and have worked to develop a partnership the supports our two organizations goals, which is to better serve veterans and military spouses and help them achieve their career goals.
Deb Kloeppel was willing to share with me her thoughts and feelings as wells as why a relationship with RecruitMilitary is so important.
Deb discussed with me why MSCCN was created and why she really feels there needs to be a connection between military spouses and corporations. Accountability! Accountability is an important element if this connection, which resulted in the Memoranda of Understanding with every branch of the Armed Services, is going to work. So does MSCCN have accountability? I would say so, as would Deb. “We report all MSCCN activity to ALL branches of the service as well to our own board of directors”, she explained in our phone conversation. This organization understands the importance of following protocol.
Deb and MSCCN are very well trusted by the military branches as well as with us here at RecruitMilitary. The feeling of trust is mutual, according to Deb, “RecruitMilitary doesn’t just understand the military, they have walked the walk and have stood the watch.” Trust and aliening core values are key components in a strong relationship and partnerships and both of our organizations recognize this.
Another commonality MSCCN and RecruitMilitary have is respect for all those who have served our country. Yes spouses, serve too! There is also a great respect for those companies and organizations that recognize that those we work with are “Job ready” as Deb put it in our conversation. This is a point that needs to be hammered home. Not many individuals can do all the things military spouses are often called to do. There are many demands that are placed on military families that need to be viewed as applicable skill sets in today’s workforce.
MSCCN specializes in vocational training, volunteer and employment workshops, and job search seminars at no cost to military installations and military-affiliated applicants. They truly work with spouses to help them understand how to position their skills and talents. Just an example of the types of relevant workshops hold include: “How to Handle a Difficult Boss”, How to Avoid Office Politics”, How to afford to Dress on a Budget” and “How to Compete With the Aging Compotation”. These are just a few of the great topics they have to offer.
Remember, the more resources you have by your side to use, the better! We are great supporters of the mission and purpose of MSCCN. We encourage you to take a moment a check out their website at www.msccn.org or ours while you’re at it, www.militaryspouses.com.
]]>Omit phrases such as “Responsible for….,” “Duties included….,” “In charge of….,” etc. Don’t overuse the words “Managed,” “Oversaw,” and “Supervised,” either!
Whenever you can, include concrete data, numbers, and percentages that clearly state your accomplishments. For example:
Before: Responsible for coordinating, planning, and executing Amphibious Raids and Water Survival Training. Served as lead instructor for Staff Planning Course for junior grade officers.
After: Developed and launched numerous realistic high-risk courses for nearly 1,500 personnel annually. Ranked #1 out of 15 instructors on performance evaluations.
Use strong, active verbs that present your skills and abilities in a few words, and keep your writing tight! Avoid personal pronouns.
For example:
Wendy S. Enelow & Louise M. Kursmark, founders of the Resume Writing Academy (http://www.resumewritingacademy.com), love verbs, and have compiled a list of their favorite action verbs along with examples of how each enhances a resume. Check out the action-packed list out at http://tinyurl.com/ygzn4pj
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Put your resume through the "Aunt Jane" test. If she (or another civilian of your choosing) reads your resume and can’t understand what you did in the service, then your duties should be spelled out more clearly. Spell out any acronyms the first time.
Example: Spearheaded organizational support maintenance program for 24 Nuclear Biological Chemical Reconnaissance System (NBCRS) vehicles valued at $60 million.
It wouldn't hurt to ask one or more non-veteran friends or family members for their perspective on your resume. Do they understand everything you did without needing more clarification?
Stand out with the right font
Use a typestyle (font) that is clean, conservative and easy to read. Times New Roman is the least-preferred font of professional resume writers, as it is so over-used. Choose a font that is between 9 and 12 points. Use spacing, as well as bold, italics, underlining and CAPITALIZATION to highlight certain information.
Some popular font types to consider include:
Tahoma Arial Verdana Century Gothic Lucida Sans
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Misspellings and grammatical errors
First and foremost, errors like this say nothing good about your ability to pay attention to detail, and they make a poor first impression. Suppose, for example, your resume says you are a wearhouse supervisor. This type of error begs the question: “Is this person who has such a poor grasp of basic spelling capable of leading a team?” Consider too what it says about your lack of attention to detail. As a veteran, attention to detail is a trait you can proudly represent – so make sure your resume and cover letter do so.
Similarly, if this isn’t your first job out of the service, it is never a good idea to misspell the name of a past employer that has signed your paychecks (example: JANE’S PEI EMPORIUM, when you really worked at JANE’S PIE EMPORIUM).
Remember, too, that the spell check feature on your computer may catch a misspelling, but does not catch and correct context errors. For example, it will not catch “Thank you for yours consideration” because technically, all the words are spelled correctly. Proofread it, and then have someone else proofread it!
Inconsistent dates
Your dates must match up and be in order. There shouldn’t be any gaps.
Recruiting Station Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH Sept. 2006 – Feb. 2009
Golf Battery, 3rd Battalion, 11th Marines, Camp Pendleton, CA May 2003 – Dec. 2005
An employer could wonder, “What were you doing between January and August of 2006?” Worse still, the employer may disqualify you from consideration without ever asking.
Unflattering e-mail addresses
Always think about the e-mail address you put on your resume. If your current e-mail is cannonshooter@hmail.com, consider creating another address just for resumes. Make it a plain e-mail address. You should also clean up your MySpace, Linkedin, and Facebook pages. They say a lot about you, and employers check them!
]]>We invite you to listen and learn more about The Dwyer Group and franchising opportunities. The link below with take you to the audio feed.
To learn more about The Dwyer Group and the available franchising opportunities click:
When I met Samantha she was working the Indiana Wesley University booth recruiting attendees to look at the opportunities within the University. Being new with RecruitMilitary, I was very excited to speak with Samantha and learn her story. She was kind enough to share her experience of her job search and the process of landing her current job.
At last years expo, Samantha came ready. "This was my very first expo, but I made sure I was ready. Ready to interview and ready to find some good leads." Samantha hit the nail on the head. When you attend opportunity expos or career fairs you have to be ready.
Like so many, Samantha was starting to feel discouraged in her job search. It had been five long months of no luck using online searches before she attended the RecruitMilitary Opportunity Expo. "The great thing about the expo was that I handed out about 3 or 4 resumes and within two days of the event I was called for an interview. The turn time from expo to hire was about four weeks for me!"
Samantha is a prime example of how many employers are looking at the unique qualities of military spouses. One thing I have heard from spouses is how they worry about the reaction employers may have when it comes time to relocate. According to Kate Midden, Corporate Development Manager with MSCCN & VetConnect, the average time an employee stays with one job is about three years. With that being said, time should not be a deterrent for a military spouse to go after the job of their choice.
We at RecruitMilitary are working very hard to increase the tools and opportunities available for military spouses. Currently two of our best tools are to utilize our data base services for Veterans and Military Spouses as well as our opportunity expos.
The job hunt for Military Spouses does not have to be a painful experience, Samantha is a perfect example of that.
]]>http://www.philly.com/inquirer/opinion/20091110_No_medals_for_hiring_vets.html
And here is the comment we posted to it:
As a SVP with RecruitMilitary, one of the sites referenced by Mr.Fumento, I respectufly submit that this is irresponsible journalism. Had he taken the time to ask us, we could have clarified for him that our aim is not to simply serve the three purposes he mentions, and we could have told him about the many many organizations that are actively looking for all veterans. Our business is veteran owned and veteran operated, and our sole mission is to connect opportunities to veterans - not "mularkey" I asssure you. Our firm produces Opportunity Expos in 30+ cities around the US - we will produce 70 in 2009, and 72 in 2010. This year alone we will have had over 1,500 different organizations attend these events with the sole purpose of extending their opportunities to veterans. Mr. Fumento is simply wrong in his assertions that there isn't very real and meaningful work being done for veterans - just today, we will connect over 100 employers with over 1,000 veterans at Opportunity Expos in Seattle, Nashville, and Baltimore. Mr. Fumento, please attend one of our Opportunity Expos and you will see that at least RecruitMilitary's efforts are exactly as we claim. Not only are we the largest producer of these events in the U.S., we also publish a magazine with content aimed directly at job-seeking veterans and we employ search specialists that engage with clients every day looking for all veterans. Mr. Fumento, your claim that veterans receive little help from the private sector is simply not true - it is our passion and it is what all of us at RecruitMilitary work extremely hard at every day.
If you are a job-seeking veteran, please do not be dismayed by the unfounded claims in Mr. Fumento's article. If you are an organization that is actively seeking veterans to add as employees, students, or business owners, please know that your noble efforts are recognized by the veterans you bring on, and by so many of the rest of us that know you are doing the right thing for our veterans every day.
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