More than 140,0000 searches containing the phrase “veterans jobs” are conducted on Google, Yahoo and Bing each month, with veterans and military servicemembers nationwide seeking employment for themselves and family living on or near military bases. Many employers attempt to simplify this search with the implementation of military crosswalks on their job search portal.
These platforms allow transitioning servicemembers to search by their Military Occupation Code (MOC) or Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) and be presented with jobs that match their military skills and experience in the civilian world. Unfortunately, it has been recognized that these systems aren’t always current with the most up-to-date information and may not provide the most appropriate recommendations.
These concerns raise the question, “What else are we doing to help our nation’s veterans find employment?” DirectEmployers Association (DE) provides more than a military crosswalk to Members. Through strategic partnerships and general outreach, we aim to leverage our resources to provide additional benefit to the membership and ultimately assist veterans. One such partnership, the Social Jobs Partnership (SJP), acts as a good faith effort to provide job search capabilities and job seeker advice through social media— often with a veteran-specific focus.
We work diligently behind the scenes with employers who are working directly with the veterans, in order to ensure that each vet has equal and ample opportunity to find a job that is the right fit for them. This includes partnering with military-friendly organizations such as the Military Spouse Corporate Career Network (CASY-MSCCN) and Feds Hire Vets, among others, to expand the reach of job postings by Members and ensure that they are easily searchable by veterans. This is in addition to job syndication to over 3,000 local veteran outreach offices, provided by the National Labor Exchange (NLX).
Through membership with DirectEmployers, HR professionals have access to OFCCP compliance support, specifically regarding Sections 4212 and 503. In addition to having their jobs syndicated to veteran niche sites such as Veterans.jobs, DE offers further job distribution benefits to Members through their partnerships with the U.S. Army Reserve, U.S. National Guard, and VetSuccess.gov. We also go one step further to help facilitate linkage agreements among our Members and state workforce agencies, ultimately playing a major role in compliance.
In partnership with the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA), we have recently launched a series of online career fairs exclusively for veterans and their families. During these virtual events, employers can connect directly with veterans, transitioning military servicemembers and their family who may be seeking employment. We are also excited to announce our first ever in-person veteran career fair, Veterans Connect, set to take place at the 2013 DirectEmployers Annual Meeting & Conference (DEAM13) in San Diego, on Monday, October 21st.
Despite concerns, military crosswalks are still a viable resource to implement into your veteran outreach and sourcing strategies. Want tips on how to maximize your military crosswalk? Review this checklist to ensure that you are doing your best to help veterans find potential employment opportunities on your microsites, and be sure to register for Veterans Connect for the chance to meet face-to-face with our nation’s heroes.
