MilitaryStars Blog

Career Expo Pre-Game: Relax and Be Great

Thanks and success to everyone headed to Baltimore tomorrow!  We have employers from a tremendous variety of career fields attending with us.  One of them (Martz Gold Line) generously has donated free Motor-Coach tickets to Atlantic City and any DC-area VIP tour - we'll be handing those out as part of our prize giveaway, and everyone who attends has a chance to win!  We are serious about helping you in your career search, the elite employers who attend our events are serious about hiring - but we have fun at these things, too!  It's completely understandable to be nervous or stressed no matter what point you're at in your career search, but we aren't here to add to that.  Stay for our Social Hour - have a drink and talk to an employer; it's okay - heck, it's encouraged - and it gives you a chance to strike up a honest conversation in a way that other job fair settings just don't allow.  Come prepared to talk about yourself, and expect great things.

Career & Education Advantage: Army Women

Check out these highlights from a study conducted by the US Army Women's Foundation and George Mason U.  The career and education benefits allowed by the service of these brave women are remarkable and spelled out clearly!

Veteran Entrepeneur of the Year

Tony Jimenez is the founder of IT firm MicroTech LLC, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, and now the Veteran Entrepeneur of the Year.  A recent contract landed by MicroTech was the largest ever awarded by the federal government to a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.  Mr. Jimenez notes that the award, given by Veterans Business Journal, means a great deal because it "comes from other veterans who understand the challenges of transitioning from military service to the corporate business community."  From a business built and run by folks dedicated to easing that transition: Congratulations, sir!  

Reasons to Relocate

Some of us spent our holidays at home, others, like these folks, spent them quietly making a difference across the world.   No matter where you are, I share well-wishes, news, and the best advice of myself and others here because universal truths are still going to stand in your career search. 

The gentleman profiled here coordinates veterans' services in Ohio.  For starters, great news for folks in or from Ohio, but everyone at every stage of their career search would do well to keep this in mind: "If [a desired career field] is hot somewhere else, I ask if they’re willing to move. If not, they’re not going to get the training" offered through state transition programs.  Does every state program work this way?  Doubtful.  Is relocation going to get you farther ahead?  No matter where you are, yes - never rule out going somewhere else.

Always Give Thanks

No matter how you are observing it, all of you are in our thoughts this Thanksgiving.  Everything here bears repeating, no matter the occasion.

All-Veteran Team Becomes Newest Miami Firefighters

Miami-Dade County Fire Rescue had thousands of applicants for its new class of recruits, and for the first time in the department's history, the class is comprised entirely of military veterans.  These men and women have served every place and time from the Grenada invasion to Bosnia to Kuwait and stand apart in their bond in their new civilian career!  Great story from a great career path. 

LA Event Recap and What the Future Holds

Hello and hope you're doing well - our West Coast team just got back into HQ, and nothing compares to hearing something like this: 3 Marines just got out 2 days before last week's LA event... all walked out with jobs.  Wow!  Great start to the week.  If it were up to us, every one of you would get a job with the snap of our fingers, but we're doing everything we can to make it as easy as we can... hearing this kind of report back from an event pumps us up, too!  We're looking toward Baltimore and Dallas, along with a specialized recruiting event in Fayetteville, NC for the Defense Intelligence Agency... it's going to be a strong end of the year with offerings for job seekers nationwide!

For those of you in college, thinking about college, cursing out your favorite college football team on TV (UNC Tar Heels here - I feel your pain and focus on basketball), Mississippi State just implemented one of the only Veterans Centers on campuses across the country - great, great idea!  No matter where you are in the world, you can always come to us.  I hear this more with every event that we hold: with an attitude for success, we can accomplish amazing things together!  Thanks and have a great week.

MilitaryStars President Featured on CBS Radio

Thanks again to everyone headed to Burbank tomorrow - our West Coast team is there and couldn't be more ready to assist you!  Our President, Todd Hecht, just had the honor of being a guest on CBS Radio KNX1070's Business Hour as well, spreading the word about the great employers who have joined up with us to make this a truly remarkable event for you, the military jobseeker!  As always, all current and prior military welcome, all MilitaryStars services free, and thank you all for letting us help you.

Resources For California Military Job Seekers

With our Burbank event this Thursday looking absolutely huge - check out this list of employers, and thanks to everyone who's been calling and writing in! - it was great to see this feature on services available to California veterans through the state's Employment Development Department.  There are more veterans in California than any other state, and we and dozens of employers want to see as many of you as possible at the event!

Positive Veteran News

No matter where you are, I hope you had a fulfilling Veterans Day weekend and were able to feel appreciation for your service... that appreciation extends here every day!  Across the country, communities are following the ideals we champion every day here and pushing toward doing more to help transitioning veterans, whether a local job fair in southern Illinois or a New Jersey senator advocating a "Hire a Veteran Week".  It's nice to see these positive stories out there - we'd all be naive to think that it didn't have something to do with what time of year it is, and the mainstream press' interest in these matters suddenly spiking.  That doesn't change the fact that all of us here, and obviously many others nationwide, make helping you in your career search a full-time, year-round mission!  As my coworker Curtis hinted at on Friday, every day is Veterans Day here.  Thanks and have a great week.