MilitaryStars Blog

Forbes Jumps on Veteran Franchising Perks

You really never know where you'll find opportunity: here's a success story of a female Navy veteran taking advantage of the VetFran program's franchising discounts for veterans.  What floored me was that she lives and runs her business right down the road from HQ here, in North Port... and yet I found out about it through Forbes magazine's site.  In all things, keep looking and you can stumble into some quality stuff where you least expect it - this is okay, healthy, and more a part of success than I think some would like to let on!  

Support for Service Members: Rock Stars & Unsung Heroes

Hope you're doing well - I had another really cool, unexpected moment of support this weekend when I went up to Tampa for the Gasparilla festival.  Aside from seeing a lot of (surprisingly excellent) pirate costumes, I got to see a free concert by the band Drowning Pool, who played an awesome, as-yet-unreleased song in support of our troops.  Poke around online and you may find it; I intend to!

I also just encountered this non-profit group out of Alabama, dedicated to helping service disabled veterans and their families find meaningful careers.  MilitaryStars client Northrop Grumman has been helping them out a lot, and they were recently able to speak to a national audience of those interested in developing similar programs, which should be happening everywhere.  Pass it along to someone who might find it helpful, and have a great week.     

Great Veterans' Job Incentive Concept

This small business, owned by two women and focused on the changing travel industry, has developed a innovative, difference-making program to help military veterans in their sales force.  Veteran sales reps keep the majority of their commissions, and the remainder, instead of going back to the company, goes toward a variety of non-profit veterans assistance groups.  Starting a small business is hard, hard work (many of us here can vouch for that) - so huge congratulations to these entrepeneurs for supporting veterans like this as they do it! 

DC Career Expo Tomorrow: With Amazing Support

Our events are truly coming this fast in '07: I closed out last week with thoughts of success for all in San Diego and now do the same for everyone headed to Arlington tomorrow!  Special thanks to the national VFW, which has generously arranged transportation to the event for service disabled veteran jobseekers from Walter Reed Army Medical Center and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda!  Thanks also to the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes for their help in making this happen... as always, we are here to help as many veterans as possible, and wish all of you the best of luck tomorrow and every day in your career search!

New Transition Help for Marines

Congrats to the Colts and Bears as they head to the Super Bowl, and to my Steelers for hiring a man who coached with the leaders of both teams.  I like that so much that I'm willing to spotlight the Browns: owner Randy Lerner, a longtime USMC supporter, has set up the Marine Civilian Development Program specifically to help Marines transition into civilian life.  The article mentions MilitaryStars client Phelps Dodge in one candidate's success story.  Great initiative for Marines to be aware of - thanks and have a great week! 

Career Expo Pre-Game: Good Luck in San Diego!

Thank you and best of luck to everyone attending tomorrow's event in San Diego!  We haven't been there in awhile and are really looking forward to it - sounds like a lot of you are, as well.  Great variety of employers = great variety of opportunities.  Don't get out of there without a few business cards, from employers and fellow job seekers alike.  Feel free to bring military friends who might not have heard about it yet, relax, and know that we are there for you.   

Military-Friendly Hiring Law

You or someone you know has probably been through some sort of meeting on discrimination policies... I just had one this week.  The more I learn about the topic, the luckier I realize I am to have not been a victim of discrimination.  Well, like some other recent stories I've encountered, it's sad that it's come to this, but a Washington state senator has put together a bill to extend the state's anti-discrimination laws to include veterans, some of whom have apparently been asked some rather inappropriate questions in interviews.  It's never too late for an employer to learn how to deal appropriately with transitioning military, or for you to learn about military-friendly employers!     

Read This With Your Resume: Federal Vs. Private Sector

Here are some solid pointers on a topic I was just discussing with a job seeker today: civilian vs. federal resumes.  Our events are always attended by employers on both sides, so if you're interested in both, be aware of these differences.  Federal resumes look for a lot more detail in your military background, while private-sector resumes require you to speak civilian.  This isn't designed to frustrate you or because "that's just the way the government is"; you are presenting yourself to two distinct groups of HR professionals who need to know different information about your background to fulfill their hiring requirements.  If you've never tried developing both kinds of resumes, you may not even be aware of the ways your military background can benefit you in a serious variety of careers! 

Help Someone Dream Every Day

I enjoyed and was extremely touched by this description of the significance of today.  From Coretta Scott King:

It is a day of volunteering to feed the hungry, rehabilitate housing, tutoring those who can't read, mentoring at-risk youngsters, consoling the broken-hearted and a thousand other projects for building the beloved community of his dream.

We all can do something every day not only to keep our own heads up, but to help somebody else do the same.  Small gestures like that mean everything because they assure that Dr. King's mission of helping others is alive and here in the present.  I talk to amazing people every week who possess this spirit of generosity... thank you all, and have a great week!

Veteran Employment: Good News!

For the first time I can remember - this being after a solid year of scrutinizing transition headlines - I have encountered a positive article involving the unemployment rate of young veterans.  In '06, it dropped to its lowest rate in 5 years after reaching a 20-year high in '05.  Long overdue good news; hats off to the Houston Chronicle and to everyone out there who makes it their mission to improve the transition process for those who have served.