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Command Post What is this?
Posted on Mar 22, 2022
LTC Matt Louis
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CWO4 Terrence Clark
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Preaching to the choir here, COL. As a repentant Director level HR wienie, to include Fortune 500 companies, first certified PHR in 1996, I would opine the low hanging fruit impeding veteran hiring is the Society of Human Resource Managers (SHRM). Particularly since the early '90s, as a group, they have established their prominence within companies to an equal footing with operators. They have a vision of "diversity" and "multiculturalism" that is not, to use their phraseology, " inclusive" of veterans. To be more specific, they neither train for, nor are appreciative of, the myriad transferable skills veterans have to offer and this is best represented during the hiring process. While most companies come to appreciate the qualities of their veteran employees, "getting their feet through the door" is largely through networking or serendipity. Until SHRM is brought on board, they will always remain a sticky gate in the hiring process. Which puts the onus on those veterans who DO get hired, especially at higher levels, to champion the potential of veterans.

IMHO

Yes, I'm opinionated.

BTW. 1st I've heard of #2. Like it.
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SMSgt Anil Heendeniya
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CWO4 Terrence Clark
Well-stated, Chief!
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CPT Consultant
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CWO4 Terrence Clark CWO4 Terrence Clark Agreed and well said. To your point, actually multiple points, about nine months after I was hired at one place and fixed/improved everything (and more) that had been tossed my way, the SHRM certified (sic) Manager sheepishly came up to me and said she had been hesitant to sign off on my hiring because she had thought that my “background” might not fit in; but, she now wanted me to know that she was glad I was on the management team. I returned serve by letting her know I was glad to be here. Presume the reason for her confession was she didn’t want someone ratting her out that she had not been onboard with me joining the team. No harm, no foul and she and I got along fine. I wasn’t a transitioning service member and my resume only included work experience in private industry. The “red flag” had been a few lines indicating that many years prior I had served in the Reserves. For sure, transitioning active duty service members face much harder unspoken biases and challenges in the hiring process and once in, climbing the ladder.
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CWO4 Terrence Clark
CWO4 Terrence Clark
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CPT (Join to see) I am still on SHRM's email list and have portal access. Like any organization, members are across the spectrum, but the bell curve is clearly left of center, IHMO. The present CEO, Johny C Taylor Jr. seems comfortable strengthening ties with their Chinese subsidiary, SRHM Management Consulting (Beijing) Co. and others such as Council for Global Immigration. Hmmmmmm. There are certainly some organizations that seriously seek out veterans and are to be applauded. Many more are checking boxes on the identity politics sheet. A story similar to yours: in the early 2000s Safeway was rolling out their(our) Lifestyle format which greatly increased bakery offerings. We were having a hell of a time hiring cake decorators. At the same time, residential construction had slowed way down. I championed a guy I knew from the VFW for a cake decorator position. Our hiring manager wanted to know what experience he had. He is a top drawer stucco finisher, I said. (Here we get to inability to comprehend transferable skills) I had to flex my position and go over her head and the Divisional HR Manager's head, but he got the job. And was an outstanding decorator. Smearing stuff on vertical surfaces is smearing stuff on vertical surfaces.
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CWO4 Terrence Clark - Yes, the spectrum varies and sad to say it does tend to lean. On the plus side, have worked with some HR superstars over the years. To recognize one, got her to gown up in a bunny suit under the pretext there was an issue in the FAB that needed immediate attention. When she arrived the entire shirt applauded and she was awarded a strap (in clear shrink wrap to ensure no clean room particle count issues) for being “the people’s champ.” As for Safeway, wife still has her club card and kudos to the team on Branham Lane in San Jose for having Elvis appear during the grand opening!
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CW3 Chuck Eastman
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"Mission Transition: Navigating the Opportunities and Obstacles of Your Post-Military Career" is one of the best transition guides out there. Fascinating research and great guides for success!
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CPT Chief Executive Officer (Ceo)
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Could not agree more!
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SPC Kevin Ford
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I did not know number 2. Is that just recently released veterans, or people who are veterans who are on unemployment 30 years later?
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1SG Craig Dimeler
1SG Craig Dimeler
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For recently honorably discharged military service members (Unemployment Compensation for Ex-service members - UCX). Each state has their own policies for payment amounts, length, qualifications, etc.
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SPC Kevin Ford
SPC Kevin Ford
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1SG Craig Dimeler - I haven't been unemployed in 30 years so I'm not too familiar.
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