In Will Smith’s theme song from The Fresh Prince of Bel Air TV series he states “My life got flipped-turned upside down” lately this is how my life has been. 3 years ago I had the rug pulled out from underneath me. I had been a subcontractor for 8 years in an area that I was constantly busy and was making a difference. The issues weren’t with my my contractor it was actually with the distributor. My contractor was actually doing the best he could for me. I couldn’t really rely on him to keep me constantly busy while the work in my area had been pulled and we couldn’t figure out why.
While I have experience in quite a few areas while in the Army, I also had experience in other areas before I joined the Army. For over 6 months I had put out multiple resumes as well as applying for multiple positions. I even applied to a company 4 different times, 4 different position, and had 4 four different interviews, yet I didn’t even receive a call, e-mail or letter back. It was frustrating because I felt like I wasn’t worth anything let alone being able to actually provide a decent life for my family.
I had the same experience just before I was ETSing out of the Army. I only found out that those who would employ anybody out of the military were those who have government contracts, have businesses around military bases, or were veterans themselves. While it is great to be working for somebody who has the same experience that many veterans have, the lot of us who have been out for a long period find it hard to be back into this type of environment.
One of the things that has surprised me over the years is how much businesses care little about our veterans. While they may show their appreciation in their transactions they do not show it toward potential employees. We wonder how come we have so many veterans who are homeless I believe that it is because they have given up on society. When they came out of the military they had a lot of experience and were trained in multiple areas. When they applied for the position that they were good for they were never given the time of the day. They couldn’t even get an actual interview because something either in their resume or application turned them down.
I have experienced what they have experienced yet while I did a full-time position in an area that is great, it strikes me how people can just turn a blind eye towards our veterans. We shouldn’t have to fight tooth and nail just to have an interview let alone feeling like we are worthless in the eyes of the public. I think that even with all of our experience as well as our military bearing we have a lot to offer to our potential employers.
Employers do not care about experience anymore it is strictly either you have a degree or you don’t. In the town I live in trying to get a job it is more or less about who you know. Even with a degree doesn’t guarantee getting a foot in the door anymore. Many college students come out of school thinking that they will be able to finally get a decent job because they have a degree. They are now finding out that all of the decent jobs are taken, their degrees don’t mean squat while they now have to pay back a big college loan and work at a minimum wage job.
I believe that it is time for employers to actually step up and start helping out our veterans as well as potential employees. We have too many business out there looking for good people, yet when those people come in they are treated like they are not worthy of their time. If you want to make a difference in somebody’s life hire a veteran, the college student graduate, or the high school graduate. Let the start having a life as well as a career. They are people just like you are as well as being people with feelings.