Edge4Vets helps veterans build job-hunting game plan
Herald-JournalMar 30, 2019
That's the core message of
Nearly three dozen veterans attended the first
GSP and
"This is about helping these men and women create an action plan," Murphy said. "What we're trying to do is give veterans what business leaders say they need the most, and that is support to translate their strengths in the military, including their values and skills, into the tools for success in the civilian sector."
Murphy said both the military and civilian sectors prize many of the same attributes -- integrity, the ability to think on the fly and doing the right thing in a tough situation.
There are major cultural differences, though, between military service and the work-a-day world, Murphy said. Veterans sometimes spend years advancing their teams' goals over their own.
"One of the saddest things that happens is a veteran with enormous skills and value ... (doesn't) get a chance to use those to get a career and life that fits their position," Murphy said. "Edge4Vets helps the veterans articulate their strengths in a way that gets civilian employers to say yes to them, and open the door and the world to them."
She said she's hired three veterans in recent weeks, and just took a call from a fourth.
"For us, they've been a great fit," Oveson said. "You need people who are responsible, with a great work ethic, who can show compassion but above all make safety their top priority. These guys are conscientious, and they put other individuals first."
In return, Oveson said she has the ability to offer them flexible schedules.
"The job I did was very integral to the mission, even though it was behind the scenes," Vega said. "So when I got out, I felt kind of at a loss at times."
When Vega struggled to land a job after the economy crashed in 2008, she said her self-esteem seemed to decline just as much. But she found that sense of purpose in 2012, following her son's autism spectrum disorder diagnosis.
"It was one of the hardest moments of my life, but also where I found my purpose again, where I realized that his health, his life, was going to be directly tied to my ability to succeed," Vega said.
Vega now runs a nonprofit part-time, but she still attends workshops like Edge4Vets to understand the opportunities and challenges veterans like her still face.
"It's awkward putting yourself out there at first, but it's really something that you've got to do," Vega said.
GSP Director of Human Resources
"I think this is something we're going to hope to see grow again in the future here," Bruton said. "And perhaps get other employers involved, too."
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