November marked National Veterans and Military Families Month, and in recognition, we sat down with individuals who are dedicated to veteran hiring for a special, multi-segment episode of the DE Talk Podcast. One such individual was Jeff Tabb, a Disabled Veterans Outreach Program Specialist for the Indiana Department of Workforce Development. In this conversation, we chat with him about his role and how he helps disabled veterans find employment in his day-to-day. The best part? This amazing conversation is just one segment of this insightful episode! Take a peek at our chat with Jeff before diving into the episode in its entirety!
Kim Lott:
Can you describe the veterans that you typically support in your role?
Jeff Tabb:
Well, probably the biggest one is probably homelessness. A veteran might come in saying, “I’m homeless and need employment.” First thing is that, before we even talk about employment, we try to get that veteran assisted with the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program and the Supportive Services for Veterans and Families Programs. Because I wouldn’t want to put somebody getting employed and then they end up sleeping on Monument Circle in Indianapolis. They can’t get a job because they don’t get enough sleep.
So, we work on getting them housed first, or some type of shelter in place first, before we look into getting them employed. 18 to 24, those are young veterans that are transitioning out of service, sometimes don’t have a clue what they want to do, but some people as far like me maybe want to follow school, but they might not have the funds. Even with the GI Bill, things can be expensive. So, we give them a good strong intensive plan as far as starting what employment goals you want to look at. And then also refer them to programs such as Chapter 31, Veteran Readiness and Employment.
Kim Lott:
Very good, very good. And I know you serve Vietnam-Era veterans. Like you said, those are recently separated and low-income service-connected. I’m sure that’s a big part of who you’re providing services to. Wonderful. Tell us a little bit about the services that are offered to the veterans that are in your program. So, you talked a little bit about it earlier, and IEP, I believe you talked about. Tell us a little bit about what that looks like.
Jeff Tabb:
Well, the Individual Employment Program (IEP) is first of all, when we set it up, we set up the goal. The goal might be saying that they want to be employed in information technology, IT. We look at the resume. Sometimes they might not have a resume. So, we don’t do the resume, we assist them to build the resume. So, I might send them a template on how to do it. We also assist with federal resumes, send them a template on how to construct it that way. If they’re still having trouble, we also have class here at WorkOne and then get to see what other services they may need.
Like I say again, if they’re low-income, they might not have ways of providing for themselves a job interview outfit, so we’ll refer them to HVRP, the Homeless Veteran Reintegration Program, maybe get assisted there, or any other veteran organization that might be able to tend to that veteran.
Kim Lott:
Provide an interview outfit or something along those lines.
Jeff Tabb:
Yeah.
Kim Lott:
Very good. I know you probably have many success stories, but can you share a particular case or success story in which you felt your particular work impacted the life of a veteran that you were working with?
To hear more about his experience, as well as how VetCentral supports veteran representatives across the country, how the Partner Relationship Manager (PRM) guides outreach efforts to veterans service organizations (VSOs) and other organizations serving veterans, transitioning servicemembers and military spouses, and finally, insights from United Rentals on how their veteran-focused career site has created a unique candidate experience for veterans. Listen to full episode now!
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