MilitaryStars Blog

Thanks to Guard & Reserve Employers

Wise words from Marine Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff:

“We quite simply can’t do our nation’s business without the members of our Guard and Reserve.”

What's amazing to me is that Pace said this while thanking employers of Guard and Reserve members for the sacrifices they have made as companies.  Someone who has made a career of defending the rights of the rest of us, to work and pursue our happiness every day, thanks civilian companies and understands the strains they may go through when duty calls their employees.  A phenomenal show of class, and an example of what any employer who hires a Guard or Reserve member is lucky enough to have - hopefully, each and every one of these employees gets thanked for both the jobs they do.   

Great Lesson in Time Management

After our upcoming West Coast swing, we're in Baltimore, the home of a man providing an amazing example to all of us about finding time to pursue what you love.  Tony Pente is an active-duty Chief Warrant Officer in the Army as well as the creator and proprietor of Orioles Hangout.  He created the site 12 years ago at Ft. Bragg.  It's been running ever since, in such a professional manner that it's the only independent website with MLB credentials.  That means Mr. Pente now gets full press box access... he's also filed reports from Afghanistan.  His family life is pretty incredible as well!  Mr. Pente's story supplies all of us with something to think about the next time we think we don't have time to do something we love or for our loved ones.   

CEOs Get Pointers at Pendleton

"Thank you to my father and all the brave and honorable men and women in uniform who in a time of crisis have all made that decision to defend their personal freedom and liberty no matter what the sacrifice." — Alan Robert Murray, accepting an Academy Award last night (Best Sound Editing, Letters From Iwo Jima.  Murray's father served at Iwo Jima.)

Hope you're well; thanks to all who attended last week's event in New York!   We're heading west soon, to Denver and then Burbank, so it was great to see this unique way of bringing together corporate and military talent: SoCal entrepenuers at Camp Pendleton, learning leadership, teamwork, and resourcefulness from the Marines!  You can feel the mutual respect and the shared attitude for success - try to let those same principles guide you; I will do the same. Have a great week!

See You In New York City

We're extremely excited to be heading back to New York City tomorrow!  Based on the calls I've been getting, a ton of you are looking forward to joining us as well - maybe you heard about us from the New York Department of Labor, who have been doing an awesome job helping spread the word.  No matter where you heard about the event, thank you for signing up, and no matter what the weather's like, we and our client employers are going to make it worth your while!     

Careers in Aviation

We're coming to the Kansas City area for the first time on April 24th (Overland Park, home of the NCAA!).  Check our Career Expos extended schedule listing, or the Career Expo drop-down menu when you register.  This story brings the area to mind: a Kansas-based effort to hire military veterans for careers in aviation.  Aviation companies large and small regularly attend our events and are a natural fit for a wide variety of military specialties!    

Corporate America Wants You, More Every Day!

Great exposure for job seeking veterans!  From the Detroit Free Press (via USA Today), an in-depth look at how more and more civilian employers want to be a part of hiring people with military experience.  This makes all of here feel even better about what we're doing every day, but more importantly, it is leading to a future of more and more opportunities for you!  Rest assured, this isn't a fad among civilian corporations, but a wake-up call.  It was great to see so many MilitaryStars client employers represented in this article as companies who already get it, from Raytheon to Merrill Lynch to Air Products & Chemicals, whose recent Navy hire is spotlighted.  Take a look, rest assured that corporate America's need for your skills is only growing, and have a great week! 

Free Online Tax Services While You Serve

No sense in waiting to post this one: once again this year, active duty servicemembers, Guard members, and reservists can have their taxes filed and prepared online for free through the DoD's Military OneSource.  There'll probably be quite a demand for this around April, so check it out sooner if you can!

Straight-Up Transition Facts

The day may come when I compare the job search to dating or what have you - who knows?  I made a promise to myself somewhere along the way, however, not to be the guy who does such things on Valentine's Day.  Or writes about how not to be a Career Turkey come Thanksgiving.  Or... you get the idea.  Instead, a tip of the hat to Eve Nicholas at HeraldNet, who provides here as solid a basic list of transition pointers as I've seen in quite some time.  These guidelines reinforce every bit of advice I try to pass along here!    

Marine Back From Overseas to the Big Leagues?

I heard back from the team in Jax today and they said great things - hope if you made it out you were able to find something to help you succeed!  No matter where you are, what you have or don't have coming to you, how much you prepare, it's easy to get discouraged.  It's easy to be negative... lots of people set up blogs such as this one here to do exactly that, and get a potential worldwide audience to boot.

Keep this guy in mind the next time you're going down that road, telling yourself, or letting someone else tell you, that nothing will ever work out.  Marine Cpl. Brandon Cooper has returned from Iraq with a Purple Heart, nine fingers... and a minor league deal with the San Diego Padres.  The Padres call themselves the Team of the Military for all major sports (hence the sweet alternate camouflage uniforms), so it's absolutely great to see them put that sentiment into effect like this, and for Cooper to demonstrate to all of us how to pursue our dreams.  Best of luck to him this spring!

Jacksonville Expo Tomorrow!

Wow, I talked to people all over the country today - the new year has us hitting a ton of locations and hopefully helping a lot of you make some great career moves!  My teammates left for tomorrow's Jacksonville show this afternoon - they drive four-plus hours every time to be there, so anyone can do it!  Job seekers will be attending from Georgia, South Carolina - as always, positions are available across the region and nationwide!  As E notes below, we love heading up for this event and appreciate all of you making the effort to be there as well - we promise to provide you an atmosphere of opportunity.  Best of luck!