What’s next for ex-GIs?

Whether you’re fresh out of the military, or haven’t worn fatigues for years, if you’re a military veteran, you have something special to offer the job market. Unfortunately, it may not always feel as if the market is returning the favor. In particular, veterans in their 20s are experiencing some of the highest rates of unemployment and underemployment of any sector in the workforce.

What’s going on here? These are workers in the prime of their lives, newly returned from intense periods of training and experienced with highly complicated equipment and processes. Why would they struggle to find suitable employment?

From my conversations with veterans and their job search counselors, and from my research while writing a guide for veterans (“Job Search for Transitioning Military Personnel,” from Prototype Career Media), I have developed an initial checklist for diagnosing a veteran’s job-search woes. Here are a few of the ways things might be going wrong.

AMY LINDGREN

WORKING STRATEGIES

1. Returning to old jobs with new skills. Under USERRA, the federal act guaranteeing re-employment for deployed military members, former employers are obligated to rehire returning veterans. Most do so happily, but they are not always able to accommodate the veteran’s new skills. The result can be an underemployed, unhappy worker who feels stuck.

2. Not finding civilian translations for military skills. Some military positions are more easily translated into civilian terms than others. The more the veteran dealt with people, the more likely he or she is to find suitable replacement jobs in the general market. But military positions relying on highly specific technical expertise can be quite difficult to translate into civilian job duties. These veterans may find their strongest career bet will involve retraining.

3. Having too many unresolved life issues. Older veterans who were deployed as part of a National Guard or Reserve unit have an advantage over younger veterans when it comes to the stability of their lives as a whole. They generally have established homes and families, for example, while younger veterans may be leaving the service with no particular structure awaiting them. Hence, they must make decisions not only about work and careers, but also about where to live.

Younger veterans are also less likely to have completed academic degrees, and may face choices about training programs that can feel quite urgent. The combination of so many unresolved issues can create a “freeze” syndrome that quickly overwhelms job search efforts.

4. Not knowing where or how to look for work. Depending on the length of military service, and on the veteran’s age when he or she enlisted, job search methodology may be nothing but a distant memory. New job search skills and a competent adviser will break down these roadblocks quickly.

Luckily, there are more job search resources available for veterans now than at any time in recent memory — everything from Web sites to magazines and books to specially-trained counselors in the state-funded workforce centers. If you are a job-seeking veteran, remember that most of the basic job search steps are the same for veterans and nonveterans alike. That means you can hunt for good advice across the entire spectrum of job search information.

But when it comes time to present yourself to employers, you are definitely special. Start by using your résumé and interviews to emphasize your discipline, teamwork, adaptability, maturity and ability to work under pressure, as well as your job-relevant skills and experience. And check the list above to see if anything is getting in the way of conducting a good search.

- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecaree rservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.