Transitioning from military to civilian life is a significant journey filled with challenges and opportunities. Hope For The Warriors is dedicated to providing comprehensive support to service members, veterans, and military families through Warrior’s Compass. This program is designed to assist with career transitions, educational pursuits, and overall well-being, ensuring that those who have served our country can navigate their new paths with confidence and hope.
In this blog, we will explore the various facets of Warrior’s Compass. To provide deeper insights, we have conducted a Q&A session with three key HOPE team members: Brian Papakie, Director of Transition Services and Life Roles; Kristy Warren, Career Transition Manager/Scholarship Program Manager; and Michele Brackin, Career Transition Case Manager.
Michele, can you describe what you, Brian, and Kristy do at Hope For The Warriors?
“Our role here at Hope For The Warriors is to serve as a bridge for transitioning service members and veterans. Transitioning from service member to civilian can be difficult on many levels. We do this through career coaching and helping clients to get started on their path to career success.”
Brian, how does HOPE support veterans during the hiring process?
“As certified career coaches, Kristy, Michele, and I play a crucial role in the hiring process by providing our veterans with personalized support. We help prepare our veterans for interviews through mock sessions and feedback. Sometimes, we will pair up with clients during mock sessions to give them ample feedback from each of our perspectives. We additionally provide tips on negotiation skills for salary and job offers. Our team offers motivation to improve confidence as we assist our veterans with overcoming the stress or anxiety related to the interview and overall hiring process. We believe this type of assistance helps increase their chances of securing the desired job.”
Here is a great example of Warrior’s Compass success story.
”“For any transitioning veteran, we make the mistake of thinking we have to go at it alone,” Christian says. “When you ask for help, you end up meeting some pretty awesome people.”
Kristy, how does it feel to be a part of those success stories like Christian?
“It’s indescribable. You feel good because it always feels good to see the positive impact of your work. We all do what we do because we care deeply about those we support. We at HOPE are a military family; each staff member has either served or has a loved one who has served or is serving. Therefore, we feel a strong connection to thank our clients for their service by supporting them. Beyond just feeling good, it’s very humbling knowing that you helped someone find a career opportunity that can ultimately change the course of their lives and their families. We love celebrating them and their hard work in making that happen.”
Michele, what specific strategies do you use to help veteran candidates?
“I engage in active listening and not only listen to but hear what the client is saying. We work together to identify areas of need and the client’s strengths. I hear their stories and tap into those stories to help the client visualize their career goal and identify priorities for goal setting. If needs in other areas of the client’s life arise, we discuss these needs, and I research and provide resources if appropriate. It is essential to build rapport with the client to support the creation of a safe space where the client can share and process through the barriers to achieving career goals. Providing a safe space where a client is heard and seen allows the client to be open to growth and positive change.”
Kristy, can you describe the Spouse and Caregiver Scholarship program?
“Hope For The Warriors Scholarship Program is one of HOPE’s first programs, founded in 2006, and created to support spouses, caregivers, and spouses of the fallen who needed to further their education to assume critical roles in providing for their families financially after being impacted by the tragedies of war, which changed their lives forever.”
Here is one of our favorite scholarship success stories!
“HOPE offers five scholarships that range in financial award from $1,800-$2,500 and support degree types from certifications and associates through master’s and doctorate degrees. The application period happens twice a year to support fall and spring academic semesters.”
Brian, do you partner with any veteran organizations or job fairs? If so, how have these partnerships influenced your hiring process?
“Yes, 3 or 4 times a year, our HOPE transition team will have webinars featuring various companies and organizations with initiatives focused on hiring veterans. We see these webinars as productive workshops and part of our Warrior’s Compass initiative to help support career readiness. Each event focuses on our warrior community, including our current military spouses, service members preparing to separate or retire, and our veterans and their spouses.”
“The goal of each event is to have each organization we host provide real-time, relevant material that will be of value to the community we serve. This may be gaining information about a specific career field, resume tips or other career search campaign advice. Some events will include employers with information about their company and how to successfully navigate the process for obtaining a career with that company.”
Michele, how do you tailor resumes to appeal to recruiters? How does military experience translate to civilian job requirements?
”“One should first thoroughly review the job posting. What problem is the company trying to solve, and why are you the one solving it?”
“Include a summary at the top of your resume. Showcase relevant skills and accomplishments. Be intentional in the language they use to describe their work experience. Paying attention to keywords and complex skills in the job posting helps this process. Including relevant, measurable results helps a resume to stand out. Be sure skills are updated. Proofread! When translating military experience to civilian job requirements, be sure the skills and experience gained in the military are relevant to the job for which you are applying. Avoid military language and acronyms.”
Kristy, what additional training or support does HOPE provide to help veterans transition into civilian roles?
“Outside of one-on-one career coaching that includes support from resume writing, job search tactics, interview support, and more, clients have access to training and webinars through the JobScan platform. We also host our own webinars that feature industry experts and companies that are committed to hiring veterans. We also believe sharing is caring…as elementary as this sounds. We provide clients with a large list of webinars, training opportunities, and job fairs that are hosted by other veteran service organizations and companies monthly. This can be found on the Warrior’s Compass website.”
Kristy, what are some common challenges you see in veterans transitioning?
“We often see a wide range of challenges and obstacles that our transitioning veterans face. Our biggest asks from our clients are a resume, interview, and job search support. As career coaches, we also help our clients tackle tough questions like, “What is next for me in my career?” “What do I even want to do?” As an organization, we strive to meet our clients where they are at. Financial hardships or mental health struggles compound some employment challenges; in these situations, we take a collaborative approach to support these individuals alongside HOPE social workers and various members of our HOPE team.”
Kristy, how have you addressed or overcome these challenges?
“We empower clients to overcome these challenges by providing them with the education, tools, and resources to be successful in their transition. As coaches, we don’t believe in the “doing it for them” approach to providing support. One of the tools we use is JobScan, which helps clients build resumes and cover letters, customize resumes per job descriptions, rebuild their LinkedIn profiles, and more. For those who are simply unsure what to do next, we help them examine some of their passions and interests to see how they match career options. We use tools like the Myers-Briggs to assess how their personality matches careers.”
The battle didn’t end for Hector Dominguez after his last deployment. It was escalating. This is his story of resilience, triumph, and HOPE.
“Also, before we begin really working with clients, we have clients put “pen to paper” and complete a goals form that helps them think of all different aspects of what they are looking for in a career, from short-term to long-term goals, lifestyle goals, industry interests, education, and more. This provides the framework for our coaching model. Also, just being there for our clients. We always joke that finding a job is a lot like dating. You are being vulnerable and putting yourself out there, hoping to find that perfect opportunity. A lot of the time, you are met with rejection. That hurts, and it can feel very isolating. Just being there as a listening ear and providing encouragement can make the biggest difference to those in a career and life transition.”
Brian, what advice would you give to hiring managers who are looking to hire veterans?
“Hiring veterans can bring a wealth of skills, discipline, and experience to an organization. As a veteran who once aggressively pursued a career with a company dedicated to hiring veterans, I identified several areas for improvement. With seven years of experience assisting veterans in their career transitions, I’ve observed that hiring managers can enhance their company’s commitment to hiring veterans by understanding and learning how military skills translate to civilian job roles. Veterans attend classes and work hard to understand this translation of their skillset during their transition to civilians. Tools such as Military Skills Translators can help understand how a veteran’s military experience can fit into your organization.”
“Veterans often possess strong leadership, teamwork, problem-solving, and resilience skills. Recognizing these valuable soft skills, even if they don’t directly align with the job description, can lead to enriched management within a company. Lastly, veterans are often looking for a similar culture to the one they left. A veteran-friendly company culture can be important to our veterans. Our veterans are indoctrinated into becoming service members through “boot camp” or Officer Candidate Schools; no one teaches us how to become civilians again. Hiring managers can understand how their own company is similar or relative to the military culture our service members are coming from.”
Brian, what future initiatives are you planning to enhance the Warrior’s Compass program?
“Our team has been working on the development of a more comprehensive assessment tool, which will include outlining goals, identifying personal accountability items, and scripting out your success and obstacles. This new assessment will help both of us as career coaches and our veteran community as we strive to support the client in all aspects of their career search campaign.”
Brian, how do you see the role of veterans evolving in the workforce over the next few years?
“Veteran training and experience in technology and cybersecurity has definitely evolved. This is a rapidly growing field, and veterans with relevant military experience will be seen as highly desirable candidates. Also, many companies are developing targeted hiring programs and partnerships with veteran organizations to attract and retain veteran talent. This trend is expected to continue, with more companies recognizing the value of veterans and actively seeking to employ them.”
Brian, what upcoming events or seminars should HOPE veterans circle on their calendars?
“As for now we are looking at a 3rd installment of an I.T. and cyber-security webinar. The field is trending big, and we see a lot of interest from our clients. The focus is to equip our veteran community with the best possible knowledge from experts in this field. As usual, we will provide the opportunity to ask a question during the registration to have a more interactive webinar experience. The webinar date has yet to be set but is forecasted for the fall of 2024, and it will be highlighted in our HOPE newsletter and social media.”
Warrior’s Compass
Warrior’s Compass, our career resource and career coaching assistance program is part of Hope For The Warriors’ comprehensive Transition Services offering. Warrior’s Compass offers a premier connection to Jobscan providing access to the best tools empowering job seekers so they can land their dream jobs. Resources provide jobseekers notifications to hiring events and other career expos focusing on veteran and military spouse hiring.
Our Warrior’s Compass Team will assist in areas of job searching, resume review, interview support, career resources, career mapping and mentorship. Think of our career coaching support as a proactive approach to building your own career mental fitness.
We look forward to meeting you and connecting you to HOPE programs, services, and events both nationally and in your local area. Click here to start your journey today.
