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January 19, 2013, 5:20 am -- /EPR NETWORK/ -- Last year, unemployment among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans
trailed the national average by almost 4 percentage points. Though
many companies recognize the benefits of hiring veterans, few have the
expertise and knowledge needed to attract, evaluate, and retain members
of this extraordinary talent pool.
“This is a great opportunity to introduce New York City employers to a variety of
methods to hiring veterans,” says Zach Iscol, Founder and CEO of HirePurpose.
“Employers can learn why hiring these exceptional young men and women can be
incredibly beneficial to their businesses and we are very excited to have partnered
with Four Block and the Wounded Warrior Project.”
More than 80 companies, including Wal-mart, Goldman Sachs, Viacom, Delta, Etsy, Securitas, The Ladders, and others from a wide range of industries will be in attendance to learn best practices from leading experts in the veteran employment space. Employers will also hear from a group of recent military veterans and college graduates about the challenges they’ve faced and the types of industries they are interested in.
“Wounded Warriors come to the table with an extraordinary set of soft skills that employers crave,” says Lisa Stern, Economic Empowerment Executive Vice President at the Wounded Warrior Project. “Veterans are loyal, work well independently and as part of a team, are creative, and are mission-focused.”
Linda Cawley, a specialist of the Warriors to Work program for the Wounded Warrior Project, and Mike Abrams, Co-Founder of Four Block Diversity Leadership, a service that provides student veterans with professional development and connects them with internship opportunities at corporations, will lead a panel discussion titled, Hiring, Managing, and Retaining Veterans.
A second panel, Veterans Speak: Employment Challenges Facing Veterans, will be lead by Bryan Adams of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Aubrey Arcangel of Operation Iraqi Freedom, Joshua Ray of Operation Iraqi Freedom-Indonesia Tsunami Relief, and Katie Dexter of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
About HirePurpose: Built by veterans for veterans, HirePurpose has developed a state of the art online platform to match military veterans with civilian jobs. Founder and CEO Zach Iscol, a former Marine officer and Iraq veteran, built and ran the Recruiting, Screening, Assessment, and Selection Pipeline for US Marine Corps Special Operations. HirePurpose uses a similar methodology to screen, guide, and match veterans with great civilian careers online. After taking a career assessment, the platform provides veterans with automated personal career guidance and then optimizes matches between employers and job candidates.
When it comes to hiring veterans, HirePurpose believes that the resume alone is an unjust measurement of potential and capability. “Resumes are backward looking, they only illustrate a candidate’s job history, but are often shortsighted in measuring behavioral strengths and potential,” says Iscol. “The resume is not a good predictor of job performance, especially for a transitioning or entry-level workforce.”
“It is important to make clear that hiring veterans is not charity or the right thing to do,” says Iscol. “Hiring veterans is one of the smartest business decisions an employer can make. Studies have proven they work harder, make better team members and managers, have increased retention rates, and greater performance levels than civilian counterparts. "
Advantages of Hiring Veterans
- Increased retention
- Reduced employee turnover
- Reduced training costs
- Increased productivity
- Increasing company overall ROI
- Veteran employment tax breaks
Currently, there are more than 2.2 million Iraq and Afghanistan military veterans. Alarmingly, on 24 percent of today’s youth are eligible for military service. Most young Americans lack the skills, education, or physical fitness to join the military, while many others have criminal histories or a record of drug abuse. That means post 9/11 veterans represent the top quarter of America’s youth. These service members represent the best and brightest our Nation has to offer. “Couple that with tax incentives, tested work ethics, solid principles, and leadership skills, our veterans are an incredibly attractive group for any company to hire,” says Iscol.
Contact:
Demetrios Tzortzis
Demetrios@HirePurpo.se
611 Broadway St.
Suite 814
New York,
New York
Ph: 720-339-3808
