• Disability claims
• Education benefits
• Healthcare support
• Financial assistance
• Employment services
• Housing services
• Entrepreneurial support
• Mentorship

CREATE A NETWORK FOR THE VETERANS YOU WORK WITH

While they’re in the military, Veterans form strong bonds with their “battle buddies” — coming to rely on them not only during combat, but also in their day-to-day lives as friends. Your VSO can make a greater impact in your community by creating a relevant, engaging forum for Veterans to re-create those bonds — whether it be at local events, through a Facebook Group, or as a LinkedIn networking group. These opportunities for Veterans to interact with each other let them build deep connections as they transition into their post-civilian lives.

PROVIDE MEANINGFUL RESOURCES

The most successful VSOs provide a variety of benefits to not only their Veteran members, but also to their communities at large, the broader military and Veteran population, and military supporters. By ensuring that your VSO publishes only meaningful, relevant content online for your Veterans, for example, you can become a “go-to” resource within your service category. For VSOs with in-person programs and services, make sure you are using proper vetting and testing before creating them — and capturing feedback from beneficiaries afterward — to deliver a bigger impact.

PARTNER WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS

With the saturation of VSOs in the U.S. today, collaboration with others working in a similar space is critical. Rather than fuel competition, collaborating with these organizations lets you pool your resources and make a greater impact for Veterans.

Together, your VSOs can co-host events, co-sponsor webinars, or provide co-branded brochures and informational packets for Veterans. Partnerships embody the ethos of “service over self” that Veterans value highly, demonstrating to your target audience that you are working with other VSOs toward a common good.

1. Veterans have served during times of war and peace. A Veteran is any person who has ever served in the five branches of the Armed Forces — U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard — in times of war of peace, whether as active duty (full time) or in the National Guard or Reserves (part time). Title 38 of the Code of Federal Regulations explains that a Veteran is a person who completed a service for any branch of the Armed Forces as long as they were not dishonorably discharged. Approximately 16.1 million Veterans alive today have served during at least one war.

2. There are more than 65,000 personal Veterans stories available to the public. The Veterans History Project, through the Library of Congress American Folklife Center, has collected over 65,000 individual Veterans’ war stories from a variety of branches and service eras to preserve them and make them accessible for future generations. This collection is extensive, and it includes videotapes, audiotapes, written memoirs, visual materials, and letters from soldiers from World War II to the present.

3. Veterans are more likely to vote. Almost 70 percent of Veterans vote in each election cycle, placing their voting rate at nearly 10 percent  higher than the non-Veteran population.

4. Veterans are much more likely to own a business. A U.S. Small Business Administration study found that Veterans are 45 percent more likely to be self-employed as small business owners than are non-Veterans.  In fact, there are over 2.4 million Veteran-owned businesses in the United States, with the most popular industries being professional, scientific, and technical services.

5. Most Veterans live in the South and the West. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says that more than 1 million Veterans currently live in either California, Florida, or Texas. The five most Veteran-dense cities include Killeen, Texas, Clarksville, Tennessee, Jacksonville, North Carolina, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and Hampton, Virginia.

6. The Veteran population is diverse. Given that the military is the largest and most far-reaching employer in the country, it’s perhaps not surprising that more than 1 in 5 Veterans (21 percent) are either African-American, Asian-American, or Latino. About 1 in 10 (9 percent) overall are also women. These rates are only expected to grow as America itself becomes more diverse — to 1 in 3 nonwhites and 2 in 10 women by 2045, nearly double what they are today.

7. Veterans are growing rarer as a group. Now that the U.S. military is an all-volunteer force — versus draft enlistment during the Vietnam War era — the Veteran population is actually shrinking. VA has projected that between 2016 and 2045, the number of Veterans in America will decrease by about 40 percent. What this means is that the coming decades will see a Veteran community that is more both more select and more geographically dispersed than the community of Veterans today.

8. More Americans support funding for Veterans than for schools and highways. An April 2017 survey by Pew Research Center found that 3 in 4 respondents (75 percent) would increase federal spending on Veterans benefits and services if the budget were up to them. That’s more than the percentage who would increase spending on education (67 percent) and on infrastructure (58 percent). It’s also the highest level in more than two decades, up from 58 percent in 2001.

9. Nearly 1 in 10 U.S. businesses (excluding farms) are owned by Veterans. According to 2012 data, roughly 2.5 million of America’s 27.6 million nonfarm businesses are majority-owned by Veterans.

10. Student Veterans are more likely to graduate from college than their peers. Even when comparing ages and schedules, Veterans outshine civilians when it comes to graduation rates. While only half of traditional students finish their degrees, nearly three-quarters of Veterans who use the GI Bill make it through school. (Veterans’ average GPA during college is also slightly higher: 3.35 for Vets versus 3.11 overall.)

11. You’re less likely to be president if you haven’t served in the military. You read that right: 31 out of the 45 U.S. presidents had a military career before getting elected to the nation’s highest office. All but one president who enlisted went on to become an officer (James Buchanan), and Theodore Roosevelt even earned the highest honor in the military (the Medal of Honor).

MEDITATION
Don’t worry, meditation doesn’t always mean sitting on the ground cross-legged, wearing stretchy pants, and chanting. It can actually take many forms, and your “sessions” can happen in whatever places, positions, and clothes feel most comfortable to you — including in your office at work, while you’re walking or running, or as you’re laying down in bed.

All you need is a place to clear your head and a commitment to focusing your mind. Given that many Veterans separate from the military with anxiety, research shows that meditation can have a positive impact on your reintegration into your family or community.

That’s because it can help you recognize your emotions and thoughts without reacting negatively to them. Meditation can also help you respond more thoughtfully to your emotions without impulse and overreaction, which provides a feeling of comfort and control. Try meditating for 5 to 10 minutes each day to start, and explore apps and other tools to keep your momentum going.

JOURNALING
You may be surprised to learn that you can often reduce your anxious thoughts by writing them down. Try using an empty notebook or a journal from the store with pre-written daily prompts. If your racing thoughts tend to flare up in public settings, consider a pocket-sized notepad where you can jot quick ideas — getting them out of your head. Taking 10 to 15 minutes a day to write down your anxieties, goals, and thoughts will help you feel more organized, clear-headed, and able to handle your transition.

SLOWING DOWN YOUR MEALS
American culture — and especially the military — tends to promote working through lunches, which doesn’t let you truly enjoy each meal. Taking the time to savor the flavors of your food and creating a positive environment at home during meals will help you build relationships with peers and family, as well as calm your body and mind. Know too that bonding time is especially important for everyone when you’re all adjusting to your new post-military home and life.

SELF-CARE
During your time in the military, a routine was set for you to help you thrive. Now that you’re out, take the time each day to devote to self-care. This will let you make sure all your basic needs are met and that you won’t burn out. Whether you dedicate time to fitness, playing with your dog, relaxing with your family, or a mid afternoon nap, a routine of self-care will help you feel refreshed and ready to take on the transition into civilian life.

NATURE
In a world surrounded by technology, spending some time outdoors each day will help you stay in the moment and clear your head. Whether you choose to go for daily walks, fill your home with plants to bring in a fresh feeling, or tend to a small garden in your backyard, these activities will bring you closer to nature. If there are moments when you feel anxious, consider a trip to the local park or lake to free your mind.

GRATITUDE
Recognize that transitioning out of the military can be a stressful time. Commit to starting each day with an appreciation for one to three aspects of your life that you are grateful for, which will set the mood for the rest of your day. Even on challenging days, there is always something to be thankful for.

What do Veterans organizations and civilian businesses have in common? They both benefit when Veterans succeed.

With a growing number of Vets entering the civilian workplace every day, there is a clear need for businesses to learn how to connect with them. From hosting Veteran-specific job fairs to offering their consulting services, Veterans organizations today are creating ways to make these connections more seamless and mutually beneficial.

If you’re an employer in the market to hire Veteran workers, here are three reasons you should consider partnering with a Veterans organization.

To capitalize on Veteran skill sets. As we’ve reported in a previous blog post, Vets are entering into the civilian workforce by the tens of thousands every year. Often, these Veterans bring a host of unique and highly desirable skill sets that employers can’t find in other recruiting pools. By partnering with a Veterans organization, businesses can learn how to create a more Vet-friendly environment, get access to service-members looking for work, and ultimately improve Veteran employee retention.

To gain access to niche Veteran groups. To piggyback off of No. 1, Veterans organizations are a great resource when looking for more specialized employees. Many Vets also have even more technical training that fulfills niche requirements for your field. Depending on your industry, you may be looking for someone with very specific experience to round out your team. These organizations are experts at parsing through Veteran resumes and can help you home in on the more specialized Veteran niches.

To walk the “Support Our Troops” talk. By teaming up with a Veterans organization, your business is saying that you appreciate the sacrifice of our service-members and you want to do your part in welcoming them home. Given that so many Veterans will be searching for a meaningful career post-separation, step one to achieving that goal is knowing that a civilian employer has their back. The more welcomed they feel in the workplace — no matter the industry — the more likely they are to not only stay, but thrive.

To learn more about the specific benefits of a partnership with a Veterans organization like SAVI, take a look at our services for businesses here, or follow us on social media.

By Dean R., U.S. Marine Corps Veteran

There are things you learn growing up, things you’re taught in school — and things that explode all this prior knowledge when you become part of the military. Beyond any on-the-job skills, the military lifestyle itself instills a wealth of knowledge in every service-member that’s hard to come by any other way. There’s a reason the military is well-known for breaking people down and then building them back up again — lessons are learned every day we serve.

These unique life experiences create the foundation of the value that I believe any employer will find in hiring, retaining, and eventually engaging Veterans to become among your strongest employees. Here’s my personal view as a Veteran of the top traits that would benefit any organization considering adding post-military employees to its team.

• Resilient: From week one in boot camp, you hang in the balance of intrinsic fear of the unknown and the anticipation of what’s coming next. Each day you survive, you get stronger and smarter than you were before. This push to overcome your own limits is a common theme throughout military service.
• Adaptable: There are day-jobs and duty stations that define our scope of work, but the military lifestyle imparts so much more wisdom than we even realize in the moment. We are constantly adapting to the situations we are thrown into, leaning into whatever resources we have on hand.
• Practical: You can’t learn how to solve problems effectively by reading a book or by listening to a lecture in class. You have to live through real-world circumstances and situations that teach you what each of these mean — and Veterans have done just that.
• Reliable: They’ve been trained to follow through — in how to drive tasks to completion and how to process-improve their way past barriers, because at one time or another, it’s likely their lives and the lives of others have depended on that ability.
• Solutions-oriented: Unique problem-solving skills combined with laser operational focus also position Veterans to be solutions-oriented leaders in the workplace.

In sum, you could say that Veterans are battle-tested and mission-approved — high-priced assets that today’s employers often prioritize when considering a job candidate. Focusing on Veterans in recruitment gets you a step ahead in the vetting process, saving you time and energy.

Your Bottom Line

But if you’re looking at the world in terms of dollars and cents, how does one quantify the value of a Veteran? The reality is, if you consider his or her education, training, real-world experience, and ability to excel in the most difficult situations, the numbers will be impossible to crunch. The true ROI of a Veteran knows no definition. But they are nonetheless untapped assets in any market or specialty.

Regardless of the department or scope, I’d want a Veteran on my team. They’ve done the hard part. They’ve been through it all. The only thing left is to watch them succeed on their next mission, whatever that may be.

Looking for more insights and tips from real Veterans who have transitioned? Visit our blog and social media pages to join the conversation. If you’re a Veteran with ideas for a story, contact info@savivets.wpengine.com.

Looking for ways you can better recruit, retain, and engage Veteran employees? Learn about our programs for employers here, or contact info@savivets.wpengine.com.

Any transition is hard, whether it be joyous or sad, but they all have one thing in common: They aren’t easy.

As a service-member considering your post-military journey, you know this truth well. That’s why SAVI has your back when it comes to your transition into civilian life. As you prepare for this major change, here are five tasks you should complete during the final six months of your service.

• Attend a Transition Assistance Program (TAP) workshop: These three- to five-day workshops — co-created by the U.S. departments of Veterans Affairs, Defense, and Labor — were designed to help separating service-members more easily find civilian jobs. Offered at select military installations, TAP workshops are facilitated by highly qualified professionals who provide services such as preseparation counseling, employability evaluations, information on Veteran benefits, and support for relocation, career decision-making, job searches, resume and cover letter writing, and interviews. Learn more about TAP here.

• Get your physical: Getting your physical exam is an essential part of every transition. During this exam, be sure to report any symptoms and/or medical issues that you have experienced. Being candid will help you ease into the process of filing for benefits. Be sure to ask your physician any and all questions you have about the process. As an extra step, you may want to request a full copy of your medical record to keep with your other important documents.

• Think about your transferable skills: As we mentioned in a previous blog post, military personnel have many transferable skills that will help you transition to a new career path. Self-reflection is an important step for developing an effective, skill-packed resume that will catch any hiring manager’s attention. Use your TAP resources or find a professional mentor to guide you through this discovery process. You bring more to the civilian table than you might think, so be sure not to skip this step!

• Find military-friendly employers: The number of companies looking to prove their Veteran-friendly culture is growing. Starbucks, for example, has vowed to hire 25,000 Veterans and military spouses by 2025. And earlier this year — after unveiling the biggest military discount in wireless today with the T-Mobile ONE Military plan – T-Mobile announced its intent to hire 10,000 Veterans and spouses over the next five years. This means that as a transitional military Veteran, you’re entering into a workforce that wants you to work for them.

• Play up your strengths as an ex-military job candidate: Similar to what we’ve talked about with knowing your transferable skills, it’s important to home in on your worth as a former military leader. Your time in service gave you skills, yes, but it also gave you experiences. Learn how to market these in interviews to show how your time overseas made you a better communicator or how the ever-changing, sometimes volatile deployments made you more adaptable. Give concrete examples that really highlight your personal value and contributing strengths.

• Network, network, network: As the old saying goes, it’s not what you know, but who you know. Plenty of Vets have gone through this transition before you, so seek them out and find a network of seasoned mentors to guide you through this career process. Chances are good that they know someone who prioritizes Veteran hires. You can also send professional messages on LinkedIn, attend a Veteran job fair, or reach out to personal contacts in the civilian workforce. If there’s a certain industry that sparks your interest, look up and attend events (happy hours, panel presentations, conferences) that let you meet people in that field, and follow up with an email request for a coffee or phone call to learn more about their experience. Building your network will help you learn how others have succeeded — or not succeeded — on the road to civilian life, which will help make your transition smoother and potentially lead you down a surprising path.

Looking to enter the civilian workforce after military service? Or maybe you want to start your own business? Check out our free offerings for Veterans here.