MilitaryStars Blog

Read This Blog (Also): Life@Work

Huge thanks to Heather Mundell at Dream Big Coaching Services for recently writing about us on her execellent blog, life@work!  As she mentions, I've been helping to research military hiring in the oil and gas industries.  My searching turned up a great post of hers on labor shortages in these industries - positions for which veterans need to be considered.  Heather was kind enough to respond to me and devote a post to MilitaryStars.  Whether you're interested in careers in the energy industry or just in need of motivation, give Heather's blog and Dream Big Coaching Services a look!

New National Training Grants to Aid Transition

Every bit of news that helps ease the veteran job seeker's transition is good news, and it's fantastic to hear that the Department of Labor just authorized $27 million in training grants for this very purpose.  It also feels good to know that much of the money will go towards tools we provide here every day, like skills assessments and labor market info.  Our parent company, Orion International, is the nation's leading provider of another tool mentioned, placement assistance.  I talk to many local veterans' representatives nationwide and am very happy to see them get this news!

Friend Request From MilitaryStars!

Even Presidential candidates have MySpace pages now, so I thought all of you needed to know that one of our stellar new Account Execs, Chris Nothdurft, took it upon himself to put together an amazing one for us at http://www.myspace.com/militarystars !  From links to our main site to songs you know and love to inspiring video clips, Chris did an above-and-beyond job giving us a place to meet people in just about the best-known place online to do so.  Stop by, be our friend, and have a great week! 

NJ Veterans' Civil Service Career Advantage

New Jersey veterans are (hopefully) getting a well-deserved advantage in civil service careers that would be great to see nationwide.  A bill created by two state senators now only needs the governor's signature to go into law, and would allow NJ veterans to qualify for veterans' prefrerence in civil service positions while still on active duty. 

Too often, exams are scheduled and taken by servicemembers on active duty, but not scored until months after they discharge... so they aren't technically "veterans" when doing the test, costing them their preference.  This bills eliminates the classic bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo and, as one of the senators notes, "grant(s) employment preference to eligible veterans so that they may compete for job opportunities prior to being discharged from the military."  This should be an outstanding help to many transitioning Jersey veterans!

Free Military Career Tools: We've Got 'Em

Another good, to-the-point transition tips list here.  The first they list here - the need to assess yourself?  We couldn't agree more and are proud to provide a free means of doing so, Military Career Assessment, on our site's Career Tools.  Resume help, as always, is there too through our Military Resume Builder - we've seen services like this offered elsewhere for as much as $60... ours is free.  One thing I'll definitely be buying is the book cited in the link, "150 Best Jobs Through Military Training" by Laurence Shatkin (out in Sept.)- sounds like a great resource!  The more the better for all of us. 

Benefits of Being Prepared: Military Sneak Preview

It's only fitting that with our LA event coming up, MGM was kind enough to provide us with some free passes for a sneak preview of their upcoming film Rescue Dawn (FYI: link contains audio & video).  Christian Bale (best movie Batman, hands down) portrays the only American to ever escape from a Laotian POW camp.  I sent these out to some folks who had already signed up for the LA show as a thank-you for being on the ball.  Will we always have movie passes to hand out?   How about hundreds of career opportunities in dozens of industries, in an air-conditioned, free environment of opportunity where you are the star?  (Seriously; it's right there in our name).  That, we can promise - featuring the occasional nice surprise!      

New Military Banking Options

Great news from one of our clients, Pioneer Financial Services, that hopefully some of you will be able to use.  Pioneer has been acquired and will become the exclusive military division of MidCountry Bank.  According to the link from Forbes, this aims to be a flexible way to provide more banking options with an understanding of the military lifestyle.  To check out Pioneer's place in our history, scroll down here for this updated roster of past event attendees!  Thanks to E for putting it together, and have a great week.    

On Flag Day

Perspective on the meaning of our flag here, to perhaps share with those who may not understand.  Show a young kid the interactive graphic on how to fold it... and tell anyone older who could use some insight to just read the soldiers' words. 

Start Small & Dream Big: New Loans For Veteran Business

Lots in the news today about the Patriot Express Initiative!  Just announced by the US Small Business Administration, it provides a wealth of new options and resources to any of you interested in starting a small business.  That's how we started and that's how our parent company Orion International started -  as noted in the link, veteran ownership of small businesses is proportionately higher than within other demographics.  If you participate in TAP, you qualify.  Give it a look!

Veterans' Rights: Returning To Work

Here's a professional breakdown of the Uniformed Services Employment and Re-employment Rights Act (USERRA).  It clearly explains what rights you have upon returning to work from your service, and is definitely worth a look for employers as well, to understand what you are expected to provide.  Think of it as another crucial way to get employers and military employees on the same page.