Veterans Jobs Push Among Federal Agencies
The federal government is working to create veterans jobs.
Last month, the White House ordered federal agencies to increase the number of veterans they recruit for federal jobs through the Veterans Employment Initiative, an executive order from President Barack Obama.
Under the initiative, agencies are responsible for: developing a plan to promote employment opportunities to veterans; establishing a Veterans Employment Program office to help carry out the plan within 120 days of the order; and providing annual training for HR managers to ensure they are giving veterans preference and are exercising special hiring authorities for veterans.
In addition, Obama established an inter-agency Council on Veteran's employment, which is led by the Department of Labor, Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Personnel Management.
The council will be responsible for: coordinating government-wide recruitment and training to increase the number of veterans that agencies employ; serving as a forum for promoting employment opportunities to veterans; and establishing ways to measure the effectiveness of the initiative.
There are several resources veterans can take advantage of given the new federal initiative. For instance, there are a slew of federal employment-related Web sites that veterans can visit in order to search for jobs and get advice.
According to an article by FederalTimes, veterans looking for jobs should:
- Explore all options - Many agencies offer paid internships and training programs that set young professionals on a path to management. However, most of these programs are only announced on agency Web sites.
- Prove that you wielded responsibility - On your job applications, you should include your final rank, the number of people under your command and the positive feedback you received, including promotions, medals, honors and positive annual evaluations. It also is helpful to cite any past or current security clearances.
- Describe any generic and transferable skills - It can be beneficial to discuss the challenges you faced in the military and what you learned from those situations on your job applications. You also should include technical expertise, self-discipline, experience handling confidential information, attention to detail, international experience, knowledge of geographic regions, language skills and an ability to excel in high-pressure situations.
- Translate your military experience into civilian terms - Hiring managers will better understand your application if you define or avoid technical terms, titles and acronyms, as well as explain the importance of your work to your unit.
- Submit all required documents - Neglecting to submit or failing to label documents that prove your military service or disability, or failing to bring these documents to career fairs, can greatly harm your chances of getting a job.
- Negotiate your salary - You should take the opportunity to ask for better pay after you receive an offer and before you respond to it, because you usually lose any leverage for compromise after you accept a job.