Research fellowship conducted by Sunset Belinsky, graduate student at Georgetown University's Center for Social Impact Communication, in 2013. Findings outline challenges and best practices in addressing the veteran unemployment issue from the perspectives of four key stakeholder groups: veterans, employers, the government, and veterans service organizations (VSOs).

1. Communication and The Veteran
Employment Problem
By Sunset Belinsky
Research Fellow
Center for Social Impact Communication
Georgetown University

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
About the Author ..................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................. 3
Introduction ............................................................................................................. 4
Methodology ........................................................................................................... 5
Summary of Challenges & Recommended Communications Approach ................ 6
Employers ................................................................................................... 6
Veterans Service Organizations .................................................................. 11
Government ................................................................................................ 15
Veterans ...................................................................................................... 20
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 23
Reference .............................................................................................................. 24
1

3. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sunset Belinsky is a Research Fellow with Georgetown’s
Center for Social Impact Communication and a student in the
Masters of Professional Studies in Public Relations and
Corporate Communications program.
She is also an Army Public Affairs Officer. Sunset is the
granddaughter, daughter, and wife of soldiers.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed herein are those of the
author and do not represent those of the Department of
Defense or Department of the Army.
2

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Julie Dixon (for support beyond what I could have ever expected), Denise Keyes, and Maria
Hoover (Georgetown and CSIC); Jim Cowen, Amanda Candy, Carrie Dooher, Trish Taylor, and
Marie Manning (Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide); Mark, Sachsen, and Samarra Belinsky (for
giving up family time)
In addition, many thanks to the following interview subjects for their time and willingness to
share their perspectives:
- Andrew Borene, Director of Corporate Business Development & Government Relations,
ReconRobotics, Inc.
- Phillip Carter, Senior Fellow, Counsel and Director of the Military, Veterans and Society
Program at Center for a New American Security
- Maureen Casey, Executive Director for Military and Veterans Affairs, JP Morgan Chase
- Meg Garlinghouse, Head of LInkedIn for Good
- Robert C. Hart, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor, Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment
Service, Department of Veterans Affairs.
- Chris Manglicmot, former National Programs Director, Soldier for Life, Office of the Chief of
Staff, U.S. Army.
- Dennis May, Deputy Director, Veteran Employment Services Office, Department of Veterans
Affairs
- Kim Morton & Bryan Goettel, Media Relations Coordinator & Communications Director, Hiring
Our Heroes
- Brian Nichols, Manager, Warriors to Work at Wounded Warrior Project.
- Kevin Preston, Director of Veterans Initiatives, The Walt Disney Company
3

5. INTRODUCTION
Two years ago, if you were to ask an American adult what the most pressing issue facing the
country was, the answer you would hear most frequently is unemployment (Newport, 2013).
That figure has declined in the public consciousness since its peak in 2011—but the relatively
rosier outlook for employment in general masks the fact that employment prospects have not
improved for one key segment of the population: veterans.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) from the Department of Labor, veterans from
the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan continue to be more likely than their civilian peers to be
unemployed. In February 2013, 9.4 percent of post-9/11 veterans were unemployed, compared
to 7.7 percent of the civilian population. The figures are even worse for the youngest veterans.
According to the BLS report on Veteran Employment for 2012, male veterans between the
ages of 18 and 24 were unemployed at the staggering rate of 20 percent (Department of Labor,
Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2013). This statistic presents a grim outlook for the more than one
million service members who expected to transition from the service to
civilian life between now and 2016 (GAO, 2012). And this translates to
tremendous missed opportunities. Veterans have skills and attributes
valuable to any business’s bottom line, honed through their experiences operating in challenging environments with diverse cultures and
varying degrees of resources. Employed veterans contribute to the tax
“IF YOU FIGHT FOR
OUR COUNTRY, YOU
SHOULDN’T HAVE TO
FIGHT FOR A JOB WHEN
YOU COME HOME.”
base, and reduce the amount of money (currently estimated at $1 billion
a year) the Department of Defense spends on unemployment (Lubold,
- President Barack Obama
2013; Carter, 2013).
To address the issue, prominent leaders across sectors, from the White House to the Pentagon
to America’s boardrooms, have created programs in attempts to get veterans back to work.
Employers sign up by the hundreds to participate in programs that help veterans find jobs.
Veterans service organizations (VSOs) and government agencies have dedicated billions of
dollars to websites with skills translators, resume workshops, job fairs and outreach. There are
hundreds—if not thousands—of resources available to help post-9/11 veterans
transitioning from service to find employment in these tough economic times. But despite
these programs, and the progress they have helped make, veteran employment is still a
problem.
4

6. Employers still face difficulty finding qualified
veterans to fill their vacancies in ways that
support business needs. Some face retention
issues with veterans they do hire. At the same
time, the solutions government agencies
and VSOs have developed are, on average,
fragmented, uncoordinated, and do not fully
address veterans’ needs.
A common thread among the perceived
challenges and barriers to addressing the
veteran employment problem in a holistic way
is the need for better targeted, more strategic
communication. Much of the crucial
information presented in this crowded space
is difficult to find and navigate.
Overwhelmingly absent are clear, consistent
METHODOLOGY
This study was informed by a combination of
primary and secondary research. One-on-one
interviews were conducted with a
cross-section of experts from corporations,
government and VSOs, accompanied by an
extensive review of communications
strategies and tactics employed by
governmental and non-governmental
agencies with regard to veteran employment.
Additional secondary research included a review of publicly available literature on veteran
employment issues and existing legislation,
including Public Law 112-56, VOW to Hire
Heroes Act. Audits of online and social media
channels for select VSOs and government
agencies informed the recommendations.
messages in easy-to-access formats that are
available on channels where the audience can
actually be found. When tools do exist and
are readily available, there is often a lack of
awareness on the part of audiences who need
the tools most.
This research explores the respective
communications challenges of each of the key
veteran employment stakeholders, and offers
recommendations on ways in which they can
work—both on their own and collectively—to
overcome these challenges.
5

7. SUMMARY OF CHALLENGES &
RECOMMENDED
COMMUNICATIONS
APPROACHES
EMPLOYERS
addressed, in part, by more targeted and
platform dedicated to professional
The veteran employment problem can be
strategic communication efforts on the part of
each of the four key stakeholder groups that
emerged in the primary and secondary
research: employers, veterans service
organizations, government and veterans.
From better internal communication and
coordination among similar efforts at the
government level, to empowering veterans
to be ambassadors for employer initiatives,
to helping veterans themselves to refine and
convey their personal brands, the following
tips and best practices—taken together—can
improve the current employment environment
for post-9/11 veterans.
When Meg Garlinghouse, head of Social
Impact at LinkedIn, informally polled her
colleagues as they developed a veterans
landing page for the social networking
networking, few reported that they knew
veterans (Garlinghouse, 2012).
“Maybe 10 to 20 percent of the room rais[ed]
their hand,” Garlinghouse says. “The whole
problem is that those two worlds don’t
interact, and the whole idea of networking and
finding a job is interaction and networking. So
if we can get veterans on LinkedIn, the
potential for them finding a job increases
substantially.”
Garlinghouse’s experience at LinkedIn is
consistent across employers and industries.
In a 2010 report by the Society for Human
Resource Managers (SHRM), more than 70
percent of the HR professionals surveyed
“THE WHOLE PROBLEM IS THAT
THESE TWO WORLDS DON’T
INTERACT, AND THE WHOLE IDEA
OF NETWORKING AND FINDING A
JOB IS INTERACTION AND
NETWORKING.”
- Meg Garlinghouse,
Head of LinkedIn for Good
needed help identifying and reaching qualified
veterans (Society for Human Resource
Management, 2010). As an increasingly
smaller percentage of Americans elects to
serve in our armed forces, the degrees of
separation make it difficult, even for
employers who want to target veterans to
hire, to know where to start looking for
qualified veteran candidates.
Fine-tuning and more effectively using
existing communications resources can help
6

8. employers fill vacancies with the experience
University Institute for Veterans and Military
and quality that comes with veterans.
Families, 2013; Curtis, 2012). Still, employers
Interviews with individuals at companies
interested in hiring veterans may not realize
currently succeeding in hiring veterans
the need to invest in education programs for
revealed several suggested best practices,
hiring managers and supervisors, to provide
the context necessary to understand
“I TRY TO EXPLAIN A LOT OF THINGS ABOUT
THEIR [VETERANS’] BACKGROUND SO
WHEN THEY COME IN IF THEY BEHAVE
DIFFERENTLY, THE RECRUITER HAS A
FRAME OF REFERENCE.”
- Kevin Preston, Director of Veterans Initiatives at
The Walt Disney Company
veterans’ backgrounds and experiences and
to assuage any concerns about
deployment-related disabilities. The Walt
Disney Company has trained all of its
recruiters, under the auspices of their Heroes
Work Here program, using a curriculum on the
history of the services, core competencies,
roles of Guard and Reserve, and the interplay
Including educating internal HR managers
between. This helps to address why veterans
and providing context via existing resources;
have difficulties in resumes and interviews,
hiring veterans to work within the HR
and provides a frame of reference for
functions; using social media channels to
recruiters to indicate why veterans may
better understand and engage prospective
behave a certain way.
veteran employees; and sharing best
practices among existing business networks.
“I try to explain a lot of things about their
[veterans’] background so when they come
EDUCATE INTERNALLY TO PROVIDE
in if they behave differently, the recruiter has
CONTEXT
a frame of reference,” says Kevin Preston,
Secondary research revealed a growing
director of veterans initiatives at The Walt
number of existing resources aimed at
Disney Company. “I talk about the military
equipping employers to navigate the
as one of the most immersive cultures in our
recruitment and hiring of veterans. Online
country. It seems to work pretty well to help
toolkits, such as those made available from
a veteran who comes in to talk to someone
the Society for Human Resource Management
who has not served in the military.” Disney
(SHRM), the Department of Veterans Affairs or
has also provided training for supervisors on
the Syracuse University Institute for
what to expect from veterans, and have a
Veterans and Military Families, help answer
veteran as the program director as a resource
frequently asked questions and provide
and a reference if supervisors have questions
further resources for businesses (Syracuse
(Preston, 2013).
7

9. Other companies might consider a similar
service, overwhelming majorities are
approach to educate HR managers and
strengthened by their service. Employers
supervisors. Training information can be
can also seek information about treatment
shared internally using Wikis, blogs, YouTube,
veterans receive at no cost to employers. In
or slide-share spaces such as SlideShare.net.
addition, employers may be eligible for tax
Disney has used in-person workshops to
incentives from the Veterans Opportunity to
accomplish the training, and has an extensive
Work (VOW) to Hire Heroes Act when hiring
team including recruiters, hiring managers,
veterans (Whiting, 2012; Warrior Transition
and staff from the marketing,
Command, 2012; U.S. Department of
communications, philanthropy and events
Veterans Affairs, 2012; Nichols, 2012; May,
functions working on the program. Videos of
2012).
the training have been made available within
the company.
Resources to help educate employers are
free and available on many online forums—if
UTILIZE AVAILABLE RESOURCES TO
employers know where to look. Unfortunately,
ALLEVIATE HEALTH-RELATED CONCERNS
many of the organizations that provide these
Relatively widespread employer concerns
key resources make it somewhat difficult to
about deployment-related disabilities is
find information. For example, SHRM guides
reflected in data that indicates post-9/11
require several layers of clicking on its
veterans with mental health issues have more
website to reach them. The WTC resources
difficult securing and maintaining employment
are relatively easy to locate, taking only two
(GAO, 2012; Humensky, Jordan, Stroupe, &
clicks from the main page of its website.
Hynes, 2012). However, secondary research
indicates that a number of resources, many of
them free, are available to address these concerns. Employers can consult organizations
including SHRM, the Army’s Warrior Transition
Command (WTC), and the nonprofit Wounded
Warrior Project. These organizations have
communications initiatives aimed at
addressing employer concerns about
service-related disabilities. The message
across these organizations is simple and
LOOK FOR VETERANS TO HIRE
VETERANS
In addition to educating recruiters and hiring
managers to better understand the needs of
the veteran employment pool, businesses
could actively seek to hire veterans with HR
backgrounds to serve as those recruiters and
hiring mangers. Disney’s Kevin Preston, for
example, spent more than twenty years in the
Army.
clear: although some veterans do suffer from
visible and invisible injuries as a result of their
8

10. “I was very heavily involved in working in
human resources in the military, which
correlates with what I do now,” Preston says.
“The military and ESPN [a Disney company]
use pretty similar processes but use different
language for the same things.”
When spearheading veterans hiring initiatives,
veterans themselves prove to be invaluable in
navigating the confusing array of existing job
boards, hiring fairs, and networks, from the
DoL, DoD, and VA to a wide variety of
nonprofits in a crowded and difficult to
navigate landscape (GAO, 2012; Monster,
2012).
ENGAGE - ONLINE AND OFF
Employers can increasingly look to social
media as a means of finding and engaging
potential veteran employment candidates, as
a number of thriving communities exist across
the myriad platforms. In assessing and
developing their approach to online
engagement, companies can begin by
listening to veteran-specific communities
on each social media channel. LinkedIn,
Google+, and even Twitter can provide
insights into the veteran audience as well as
indicators for how to attract and retain this
valuable talent pool. Businesses that have
veteran employees inculcated can be
encouraged to establish mentor or affinity
groups to ease transition and improve
retention. These groups can be either in
person or virtual, and can use some of the
LinkedIn groups, including the US
Military Veterans Network with around
30,000 members, U.S. Veteran, also with
around 30,000 members, and The Value
of a Veteran, with just shy of 10,000
members, offer good listening and
engagement opportunities. Google’s
VetNet and IVMF’s Google+ group offer
opportunities to reach groups
numbering over 100,000. On Twitter,
Forbes (@forbes) frequently tweets tips
for hiring veterans. In addition, hashtags
including #veteran and #jobs can lead to
insight.
same tools that veterans can use to help
prepare for the job hunting process, incluing
Google Chat, Skype, Facetime, and Wikis.
Google has conducted in-person resume and
interview workshops aimed at helping
veterans. LinkedIn started a mentor group,
initially intending to pair civilian mentors with
veteran mentees. “We started to do a mentor
program at LinkedIn, but it ended up with vets
mentoring vets,” says LinkedIn’s
Garlinghouse. A shared understanding about
the transition from military life to civilian
seems to be effective.
Employers can also consider adopting a
community-based template, in which
members of the community provide
mentorship outside of the company structure.
9

11. An example of this can be found in
resulting in more than 64,000 veterans hired
Minneapolis-St. Paul, where business
by 102 partner companies. The companies
leaders have signed up for a veterans
have each signed a commitment to hire
mentorship program in which they give a
veterans, and agreed to adhere to a certain
veteran one hour of one-on-one time each
measure of accountability not by setting a
month. The relationships have resulted in
quota, but by sharing reports quarterly on
improved understanding on both sides of the
numbers of veterans hired. They also share
veteran-civilian cultural divide (Borene, 2013).
notes on successful and unsuccessful
practices in a data-driven, brand-neutral
COLLECTIVELY SHARE SUCCESSES &
environment (Casey, 2013).
CHALLENGES
Businesses interested in hiring veterans can
“JP Morgan Chase is working hard to keep
tap into B2B peer groups to gain insights on
the mission brand-neutral but we’ve taken our
veterans’ issues. Whether under the
own internal practices and we’re able to come
auspices of programs like the JP Morgan
back and inform the larger debate,” says
Chase 100,000 Jobs Mission or the First and
Maureen Casey, JP Morgan Chase’s
Second Lady’s Joining Forces initiatives,
Executive Director for Military and Veterans
employers have worked with peers and
Affairs.
competitors to create virtual collaboration
spaces that offer, along with other services, a
In addition to the formation of coalitions
place to connect employers with veteran job
among the business community, the larger
seekers.
debate on business involvement in solving
the veteran employment issue has garnered a
The 100,000 Jobs Mission,
spearheaded by JP Morgan Chase, has resulted
in more than 64,000
veterans being hired by 102
different partner companies since 2011.
White House entreaty for support.
In August 2011, President Obama challenged
American businesses and services to hire or
train 100,000 veterans and military spouses
by 2013. This challenge was a key
JP Morgan Chase, along with 11 partner
component of the Joining Forces initiative,
companies, launched the 100,000 Jobs
headed by the First and Second Ladies.
Mission in March 2011. The goal was to hire
According to the Joining Forces website, 112
100,000 transitioning service members and
companies have made official commitments
veterans by 2020. As of March 2013, the
to hiring veterans. In August 2012, the First
program has exceeded initial goals,
Lady announced more than 125,000
10

12. veterans and military spouses had been hired
or trained. (Joining Forces, 2012)
“While the characteristics of your companies
may vary, the character of your commitment
to veterans doesn’t have to. Whether you’re
in finance or technology, or the food industry,
every single one of you can ask that same
question, ‘what more can we do?’ And if
you do that, I know that we can build on the
125,000 folks we’ve hired or trained,” First
Lady Michelle Obama said at the Business
Roundtable Quarterly meeting in March 2013.
A grassroots corporate effort, like JP Morgan
Chase’s, can provide a blueprint to publically
share best practices in sourcing, hiring, and
retaining veterans on blogs, websites, Google,
LinkedIn, and other spaces. It’s an
opportunity to figure out and share what’s
working well, what’s not working so well, and
what areas could be improved with more
information. In addition, the Joining Forces
initiative has provided several free tools for
committed businesses to use in finding and
hiring veterans. Virtual communities of
practice can and should lead to
improvements.
VETERANS SERVICE
ORGANIZATIONS
Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs) often
serve as a bridge between veterans and
government, as well as veterans and
employers. They range quite considerably in
terms of age, size, and methods of
delivering services, from community-centered
brick-and-mortars that are congressionally
chartered and have been around for a century,
to online affinity groups that are less than a
decade old. Older organizations are struggling
to develop and maintain connections with the
post-9/11 veteran community. The American
Legion, for example, required congressional
approval to accept online membership
applications and renewals. This level of
bureaucratic inflexibility reinforces the s
tereotype that older VSOs are not a good
source of help for veterans. VSOs have an
opportunity to both reframe their
communications, and engage using the social
media and mobile technologies the newest
generation is comfortable with.
REFRAME THE CONVERSATION
Veterans Service Organizations have
traditionally advocated for legislation to
“I DON’T NEED CHARITY,
I NEED AN OPPORTUNITY.”
-Veteran and Current Employee,
The Walt Disney Company
protect service members’ benefits, success,
and wellbeing. Secondary research revealed
that a trend of presenting employment as a
right, instead of an opportunity earned by the
best candidate, has emerged in the language
used by VSOs including the American Legion
and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). A prime
11

13. committed, team members.’ One veteran, an
the website in a way that shows the power of
employee of Disney, described the
nuance. “Don’t ask me what you can do for
contrast this way: “I don’t need charity, I need
me…let me tell you what I can do for you,” he
an opportunity.”
says. The organization has been successful in
awarding more than 600 fellowships through
A more effective approach is employed by
January 2013; 86 percent of Fellows have
The Walt Disney Company, which uses
reported transferring their military skills into
‘Employ Excellence, Hire Veterans’ as a tag
civilian employment (The Mission Continues,
line for its Heroes Work Here program. Iraq
2013).
and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA)
uses ‘technology to empower’ veterans in
their job search, implying that though they will
have to work for it, tools are available to help.
Another, more recent campaign that has taken
the “opportunity” approach is the
iHeartRadio’s Show Your Stripes Veteran
Employment campaign. It’s tagline is ‘Hire
Smart. Hire Vets.’ VSOs can perhaps follow
the examples set by corporate initiatives and
review and reframe communications from
offering entitlements to offering opportunity.
One successful VSO example of using
opportunity-focused language is The Mission
Continues, which uses the tagline of ‘It’s Not
A Charity. It’s A Challenge.’ The Mission
Continues’ framework is built around the
precept that veterans are civic assets and
should be challenged to continue to serve
after service by improving their communities.
The organization awards six-month
fellowships to veterans, which combine
volunteering at community organizations with
leadership development. One Mission
Continues Fellow, Josh Eckhoff, is quoted on
12

14. LIKE, TWEET, LINK: EMBRACE, THEN
organizations like these have been able to
MANAGE, YOUR COMMUNITY
rally support is through targeted social media
Older organizations such as the VFW and
engagement. On Facebook, for example, the
American Legion are grappling with the
WWP has more than one million likes and
expectation that in order to reach out and
upwards of 50,000 engaged in commenting
maintain relevance with younger veterans,
on, Liking or sharing content. The WWP posts
they must expand their social media
content that is relevant to its target audience
presence—with varying degrees of success. A
and re-engages throughout the conversation,
key element that pre-9/11 organizations seem
making it effective in building support and
to miss in their social media
awareness. For example, on April 9, 2013,
strategies is community management.
WWP posted an article about PTSD
Community management in social media can
misconceptions and employment. It received
be likened to relationship management, where
78 comments and responded to seven when
relationships are fostered by ensuring the
the organization had some helpful information
interests of the community members are met.
to offer. The WWP also has a Twitter following
Social media platforms can be best utilized
of more than 58,000. As with their Facebook
if content is created with the community in
presence, they post content consistently and
mind. The organization should also invest time
nurture their community with thoughtful
in engaging community members, for
re-engagement.
example, posing questions, asking for input,
and then responding throughout the
In terms of solving the veteran employment
conversation, instead of using the platform for
issue, VSOs may see improved success
one-way message delivery only.
through using existing social media
channels and forums to connect community
Several new organizations specifically aimed
leaders and potential employers with
at advancing the cause of post-9/11
veterans. “TweetUps,” which are real-time
veterans, including IAVA and the Wounded
twitter conversations, Google Hangouts,
Warrior Project (WWP), have gained national
Facebook chats, and Facetime all have
prominence by successfully lobbying for
potential for connecting VSOs, veterans, and
initiatives such as the Post-9/11 GI Bill and
employers.
license and certification portability, which will
allow service members and their spouses to
improve employment options by
transferring service-connected certifications
more easily. One of the ways newer
13

15. MAP CHANNELS TO AUDIENCES
In addition to being in the social media space
Similar to Employers, as outlined
where veterans live, and using the face-to-
previously, VSOs can perhaps benefit from
face methods of providing assistance after
better-researched communications efforts,
awareness, VSOs need to increasingly
using tools ranging from social media to
consider mobile as a critical communication
in-person conversations, to improve veteran
outlet—in particular when it comes to
awareness of support networks available. For
providing information to career-seeking
example, the American Legion offers help for
veterans. According to Pew 2013 surveys,
veterans seeking to start small businesses.
roughly one third of American adults own a
But the organization has only recently begun
tablet computer, 91 percent of the adult
to conduct a two-way discussion on its social
population owns some kind of cell phone, and
media sites and has no focus on small
56 percent are now smartphone adopters.
businesses. They still publish paper
newsletters, but seem to be broadly
The 2013 Mobile Recruiting Statistics from
reaching no one. There are at least three
SnapHop revealed that 70 percent of job
“official” American Legion Facebook pages,
seekers found employment information on
offering information seekers confusion as to
mobile platforms, while 72 percent of those
which one is real. The WWP, as discussed,
polled want to receive employment
effectively uses Facebook and Twitter.
information on mobile (SnapHop, 2013).
However, they also place value on face-to-
Employers are not keeping up by providing
face contact with veterans they are serving.
mobile-enabled job searching content; thus,
“We don’t have a road map that says here’s
there is an opportunity in this gap for VSOs to
where everybody starts and everybody
do what they do best—help veterans (Staffing
finishes, it’s not one-size fits all. We adjust for
Talk, 2013). If VSOs begin focusing on
individuals,” says Brian Nichols of the WWP’s
optimized content that veterans can access
Warriors to Work program.
from any device or tablet, information about
the employment services they provide would
be more widely shared.
70% OF JOB SEEKERS FOUND EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION ON MOBILE PLATFORMS; 72% WANT TO RECEIVE
EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION VIA MOBILE.
(2013 SnapHop survey)
14

16. GOVERNMENT
from social media and mobile platforms. They
tremendous role to play in addressing the
information sharing and community-building
The federal government clearly has a
veteran unemployment issue, but challenges
surrounding internal coordination and the
effectiveness of internal and external
communication appear to hinder their efforts.
In November 2011, President Obama signed
the Veterans Opportunity to Work act, VOW to
Hire Heroes. Under this legislation,
government agencies including the
Department of Defense, Department of Labor,
Department of Veteran’s Affairs were given
the mandate to work together on solving the
veteran employment problem. However, the
programs are cumbersome to change, lack
broad awareness among both the populations
they service and other organizations, and lack
emphasis on execution and follow-through.
Government agencies must learn to
effectively pool the sum total of their
resources to streamline the employment
transition process and to ensure they
communicate with internal and external
could also consider capitalizing on credible
in order to enable non-official influencers to
share timely and accurate information.
Engaging and following up with posted
content can result in an increased sense of
belonging from community members.
INCREASE INTERNAL ALIGNMENT
Six federally funded veteran employment and
training programs, five administered by the
Department of Labor and one by the
Department of Veterans Affairs, offer similar
services targeted at different veteran groups
(GAO, 2012). According to the 2012 GAO
Veterans’ Employment and Training report,
some of the programs paid ‘to prepare
participants for jobs that do not exist in their
local area’ (GAO, 2012). The Department of
Defense operates programs such as the
Yellow Ribbon Program and Employer
Support of Guard and Reserve (ESGR) to help
Guard and Reserve members who may not
meet eligibility requirements for DoL and VA
stakeholders effectively.
programs with civilian employment. There are
Bureaucracies can be slow to evolve.
requiring agencies to coordinate on the
However, with the exponential permeation of
American society by social media on tablet
and mobile devices, U.S. government
agencies may need to invest in a two-way
conversation, and relinquish some control of
no formal agreements or mandates
programs, and informal coordination may
be leading to reduced resources available to
veterans and confusion amongst employers
as to which agency is responsible for which
initiative (GAO, 2012).
the message. Agencies should be encouraged
to embrace and resource the conversation
15

17. These gaps in communication amongst
Stakeholders, including DoD, DoL, and the
government agencies could be best solved if
VA could work to ensure tight collaboration
they are viewed through the lens of an internal
between DoD and DoL as transition programs
communications problem. Lead agencies can
are redesigned. They can use feedback loops
consider conducting an internal government
from recently separated veterans, their
stakeholder analysis, and then an audit of the
employers, and VSOs to ensure a worthwhile
communication channels available to reach
program. These loops could be implemented
them. Two-way information flow about
in the form of surveys distributed to TAP
programs related to veteran employment can
alumni and employers at key intervals after
and should be improved through existing
leaving active duty and getting hired. The
channels.
results of the survey should be distributed
using all available channels, including social
UTILIZE FEEDBACK LOOPS
media and in meetings, to affect required
Although there is a partnership in the
changes and communicate to stakeholders
Transition Assistance Program (TAP) among
that their feedback is valued and acted upon.
the Departments of Labor (which has lead and
mandate on the program), Defense,
INVEST WISELY IN AWARENESS
Homeland Security, and Veterans Affairs to
Stakeholder agencies should consider
assist in the transition from active duty to
focusing on awareness efforts for available
civilian life, and this program is available to
benefits. As Dennis May and Robert Hart of
armed forces members within one year of
the VA both indicated, awareness of available
separation or two years of retirement, many
support for both employers and veterans is an
service members report that they get little out
ongoing issue. If money is being dedicated to
of the program. The VOW to Hire Heroes Act
awareness campaigns and the veteran
of 2011 mandated changes in the
population still does not know about benefits,
composition of the program with effort
it’s time to review the targeted
required from all partners. Included in the
communications portion of the awareness
changes are a requirement for DoL and VA
campaign. In short, figure out who you are
to track participant outcomes from various
trying to reach and where they go for
programs. A more comprehensive transition
information, and design communications
program was announced in July 2012, and is
using social media, mobile, and person-to-
expected to be in place across the services
person awareness efforts. Start by reading
by the end of 2013 (Daniel, 2012).
military blogs, reading comments on
Facebook and Twitter Veteran-specific
groups, and reading what the VSOs are
16

18. saying, and then invite conversation from
The DoL is struggling with coordinating
owned platforms and “borrowed” social
efforts across the government, and with state
media spaces. Talk to veterans at Hiring Our
government efforts. DoL has partnered with
Heroes job fairs, or at TAP classes, or on a
organizations including the Chamber of Com-
VetNet Google Hangout. Find out how their
merce and the American Legion to sponsor
concerns are evolving and gauge their level of
hiring events in communities across the
awareness. Include call-to-action
country. The Hiring Our Heroes employment
messages with links to important information,
initiative, which provides basic job skills
but streamline the number of clicks or swipes
assistance, has resulted in 300 job fairs with
it takes to reach information. Consider
14,100 confirmed hires between its start in
seeding partner stakeholder messages with
2011 and February 2013 (Morton & Goettel,
“did you know?” content.
2013).
ACT AS A VETERAN BRAND EVANGELIST
DoL hosted Twitter Townhalls in May and
Government agencies can seek dialog with
June 2013, using the hashtag #vetsjobschat.
business leaders through existing forums,
DoL worked with their Hiring Our Heroes
including Business Executives for National
partners, the Chamber of Commerce and
Security (BENS), American Corporate
American Legion, as well as American
Partners, the Joining Forces Initiative and the
Veterans, the Military Officers Association of
100,000 Jobs Mission to spread awareness
America, Student Veterans of American, and
of the value of a veteran beyond the federal
the VFW to engage real-time. Though the
government.
volume of questions was not high, the act
of using social media to provide information
In addition to the Yellow Ribbon Program and
indicates a step in the right direction.
ESGR, initiatives at the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff and Department of the Army
Government agencies should review
attempt to take on the problem of
social media and mobile policies. The policies
post-service employment by espousing the
should encourage transparent engagement on
business value of hiring veterans as a
a variety of social platforms. Negative
component of larger community connection
comments and spirited disagreement should
initiatives (Copeland, 2010; Manglicmot,
be fostered as opportunities for positive
Kennedy, & Sutherland, 2011). These
information sharing.
programs have varying levels of awareness
with key stakeholders and measurements of
their impact are not yet fully established.
17

19. GOVERNMENT SPOTLIGHT: THE PUZZLE OF THE VA
Chief among government agencies, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is struggling with an
overwhelming number of benefits claims and is perhaps being unfairly scapegoated as the source for all
negative veteran experiences. While the organization’s widely publicized healthcare backlog has rightly
been the subject of criticism, many of the employment assistance programs available for veterans are in
fact sponsored not by the VA, but by veterans service organizations, community organizations, and the
Department of Labor.
Although the VA has a robust information presence, online, in social media, and in conjunction with DoD,
it struggles with awareness on the part of both veterans and employers about the benefits it does provide.
The VA’s website is packed with useful information to help veterans, employers, and other government
agencies wade through the transition process. There is an opportunity, however, for it to create a more
user-friendly, intuitive index for where to find the available and applicable information.
The problems exist not only on the VA’s primary website, but on its program-specific sites as well. For
example, it has an established program to reach its goal of hiring veterans within the VA, VA for Vets,
launched in 2011. VAforvets.va.gov has tools from skills assessments to resume builders to resume
databases for agencies who want to hire veterans. However, it takes at least three clicks and specific
knowledge of the ‘VA for Vets’ program name to get to the tools from the VA main page. For employment
outside the VA, it has a website, VetSuccess.gov, which links to many Chamber of Commerce Hiring Our
Heroes events. VetSuccess.gov has a section for employers, explaining the benefits of hiring events.
However, unless the searcher knows to look for “Vet Success,” from the main VA page, it is difficult to find
this information. The VA has also established eBenefits, a program that lets service members register for
services before they leave active duty. However, as with other, more tailored resources, access from the
main VA page requires several clicks and an awareness of the program name.“We have these neat tools
and nobody knows about [them],” says Dennis May, the Deputy Director of the VA’s Veteran Employment
Services Office.
The VA has also made a concerted effort to meet the information needs of the veterans it serves using
social media. Its Facebook page has nearly 300,000 likes, with nearly 12,000 people talking about it, but
rarely re-engages the community after it posts daily content. Across several Twitter handles, the VA has
over 130,000 followers and seems to re-engage and cater to their audience frequently. However, it can be
initially confusing to figure out which Twitter handle goes with which VA service.
In order to overcome the lack of awareness about the tools available to help veterans and employers, the
VA can take a three-pronged approach. First, broad awareness campaigns aimed at veterans could be
launched in conjunction with the full-court media press about how the VA is fixing the backlog. The
awareness efforts could include mainstream media in regions with large veteran populations, as well as
those with major military bases. Second, the VA can take a targeted and community-nurturing approach to
its social media presence by consistently engaging in two-way conversations (rather than one-way
broadcast messaging) and by working to provide information that veteran brand ambassadors can use.
Both approaches are recommended to include a complete and clear description of which social media
channels provide what type of information. Finally, periodic reminders of what crucial information is
being shared on which Facebook page or Twitter handle can be integrated into the messaging plan
(editorial calendar) across all social media and online channels, to ensure that potential engagement
oportunities are being routed to the appropriate channels.

21. VETERANS
Service can be a defining experience, but
learning how to relay that experience in way
employers understand is a skill veterans need
to invest in. “Personal branding will go a long
way to helping people understand the value
of veterans, have confidence in me and my
potential, and help me earn an opportunity to
continue greatness,” says Chris Manglicmot,
former National Programs director for the
Army’s Soldier For Life program. Establishing
“PERSONAL BRANDING WILL
GO A LONG WAY TO HELPING
PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE
VALUE OF VETERANS, HAVE
CONFIDENCE IN ME AND MY
POTENTIAL, AND HELP ME
EARN AN OPPORTUNITY TO
CONTINUE GREATNESS.”
-Chris Manglicmot, former
National Programs Director for the
Army’s Soldier For Life Program
a strong personal brand is a multi-step
process; a suggested approach tailored
TRANSLATE SKILLS
specifically to veterans is outlined below.
Once they’ve studied the culture they will
STUDY CULTURE
soon live in, veterans should take a look at
themselves through the potential employer’s
Veterans should approach preparation for
lens. The road to employability starts in how
finding and getting a job like they would
the veterans are packaged. According to the
prepare for encountering a foreign culture—
Armed Forces & Society study on post-9/11
i.e., by studying the “culture” of the industry
veteran employment, veterans whose military
or employer they’d like to work for. They must
job skills translate easily into the civilian job
learn the language, just like they had to learn
market may have a better chance of being
the alphabet soup that is military speak. Learn
employed than a veteran whose skills do
the shop talk. Figure out how the company
not translate as easily (Humensky, Jordan,
interacts, both with the public and with each
Stroupe, & Hynes, 2012).
other. Does the company use collaborative wiki pages? Do they blog? Do they use
The November 2012 Monster.com Veterans
Google+? Do they use Skype? Do they email?
Talent Index showed that while one-half of
Do they text? How do they dress? Are they
the veterans surveyed did not feel ready to
formal with each other in conversation? Will
transition to civilian careers, two-thirds of the
the boss be called “Bob” instead of “Sir,” or
respondents felt their military-acquired skills
“Sergeant?”
were relevant to business use. Two-thirds
of the employers surveyed recommended
veterans invest time in translating those skills
to gain the best hiring advantage (Monster,
20

22. Using language in a resume or interview that
2/3 OF VETERANS SURVEYED
FEEL THEIR MILITARY
ACQUIRED SKILLS ARE
RELEVANT TO BUSINESS, BUT
1/2 DO NOT FEEL READY TO
TRANSITION TO CIVILIAN
CAREERS.
-Monster.com’s Veterans
Talent Index
2012). That means identifying the tangible
skills they, as veterans, bring to the company
and how a they will improve the company’s
bottom line. The same skills used to figure out
where an IED might be buried or which dining
facility at Kandahar had the shortest lines can
also be employed when building a network.
It’s also important to translate the intangible
skills developed during service. These are
often more difficult to quantify, including:
“integrity; used to working as part of a
diverse team or as an individual” (May, 2012);
“they show up on time, they stay until the job
is done, they have leadership and
training, they teach you discipline, how to
lead, how to work as a team, all of those
things that aren’t necessarily taught in the
civilian world; functioning in foreign
environments and bringing communities
together” (Casey, 2013); and, “a strong and
unwavering desire to do a good job, make
difficult decisions in stressful environments,
negotiate with other cultures” (Preston, 2013).
tells a perspective employer the veteran is
capable of both leading and following,
comfortable working in teams or alone,
thriving in unfamiliar circumstances, and
committed to performing the task to
completion is a start to expressing the value
of those skills.
Another component of translating skills is
relaying the value of experience versus
education. While most companies are looking
for a minimum of a bachelors’ degree, the
experience a veteran gains may more than
make up for education (Preston, 2013;
Monster, 2012). Veterans must be prepared to
address this issue by being able to succinctly
convey the value of their experience. For
example, being in charge of eight people for
four years provides practical education in
managing employee schedules, assessing
personnel training and resource requirements,
allocating and requisitioning resources, and
monitoring all facets of task management for
a team.
Questions that veterans must ask themselves
include: Does my LinkedIn profile convey my
value? Does my resume read like my military
file, or like the resume of an employee of the
company I want to work for? According to
Meg Garlinghouse of LinkedIn for Good, “HR
people and recruiters could learn to use
veterans’ language, but ultimately they are
working in the civilian world” (Garlinghouse,
21

23. 2012). Because of this, veterans must be
proactive in handling as much of the skills
translation process themselves, rather than
relying on HR managers and recruiters to
understand the equivalencies.
NETWORK - ONLINE AND OFF
Veterans must develop and exploit their
network to get a job. They can use the
military’s transition program, job fairs like
Hiring Our Heroes, and VSO-sponsored
events to establish job-related contacts. They
also can use social media tools, including
Google’s VetNet, LinkedIn, and even
Facebook, to expand reach beyond in person.
Who can help the veteran get a job? Use the
network to build and refine the resume. Take
out the inscrutable acronyms and express
experience in a way a hiring manager would
“HR PEOPLE AND RECRUITERS
COULD LEARN TO USE
VETERANS’ LANGUAGE, BUT
ULTIMATELY [VETERANS] ARE
WORKING IN THE CIVILIAN
WORLD.”
-Meg Garlinghouse, LinkedIn
hangouts or Skype or Facetime to practice, if
not in person, to get comfortable expressing
passion.
In addition to practicing passion, practice
talking to people. Veterans already have the
ability to interact with people of different
backgrounds. Veterans should adapt that
ability to the environment where they want to
work, and how they will interact with
understand.
colleagues on an interpersonal level. Showing
PRACTICE PASSION
a message, but probably not the message
Once veterans have figured out where they’d
like to focus their job-hunting efforts, built a
network to help get hired, and polished their
resume to succinctly convey their assets and
strengths, it’s time to practice
articulating passion. Practice talking about
what gets them fired up. Practice conversing
up for a job fair in overly casual attire sends
an employer wants to interact with. On the
opposite end of the spectrum, sitting ramrod
straight, avoiding eye contact, and including
“Sir” in every response conveys a stiffness
that may lead employers to conclude the
veteran won’t fit in with the company
environment.
about what is important to them, and what is
important about them. If they drove ships in
the Navy but want a job as an actuary,
practice talking about their passion for
numbers. They can use networks to practice
informational interviewing. Use Google
22

24. CONCLUSION
After World War II, veterans returned home from the war to find ample opportunities for further
education and employment. As a result of these opportunities and their efforts, veterans rose
to positions of leadership in all sectors of American society, from academia to business to
government. The economic success of the post-war years was the peace dividend borne from
confidence developed by overcoming adversity in war. It was reinforced by a public
narrative that supported veterans as the very best the country had to offer, and critical in
improving future prospects.
By adopting more effective communications practices today, the stakeholders outlined in
this research can ensure that the young veterans returning from their service can have similar
opportunities. Employers can empower veteran employees to champion employer initiatives.
VSOs can reframe the narrative to show veterans strengthened by service and up to the
challenge. Government can improve communications within and among organizations to
reduce redundancy and increase message clarity. Veterans can become their own brand
evangelists. Taken together, these steps taken by stakeholders related to the veteran
employment issue can overcome the barriers facing this generation of young veterans—our
‘Next Greatest Generation’—and get them to work.
23

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