With a continued focus on lowering the unemployment rate among young veterans, a new survey conducted by G.I. Jobs Magazine provides a bit of good news. Researchers polled a number of Fortune 500 companies and found that many of them are in the process of actively seeking out young vets to fill leadership and management roles, USA Today reports.
The poll
To gauge the interest of hiring veterans, researchers talked to more than 575 companies. Many of them said they want to hire servicemembers to fill a number of different positions ranging from project managers to customer service experts. Respondents said that veterans are well-suited to such roles because they are well suited to making split decisions under pressure. While they are certainly much different situations, the skill set is still important.
"They're in situations where they have to make critical decisions with minimal information and a lot of distractions around them," Dan Piontkowski, veterans staffing program manager for Hewlett-Packard, told the publication. "And they have to make the right decision. And they do."
Good positions for big name companies
Perhaps most importantly, the findings reveal that many of the open jobs are paying well, with salaries ranging from $54,000 to $90,000 yearly. The hiring companies include a number of big name corporations including AT&T, Amazon, Capital One and Lowe's. The results indicate the unemployment rate among post-9/11 may be on its way down.
Part of a larger effort
The results underscore the countrywide effort to find jobs for former soldiers, a cause that has first lady Michelle Obama as one of its most vocal advocates. Last week, she called on governors to implement policies that make it easier for soldiers to transfer skills they learned in the Armed Forces to positions in the civilian world.
"In the coming years, more than 1 million service members will make the transition to civilian life," Obama told them. "Think about that – a million people hanging up their uniforms … figuring out what's next … and doing everything they can to make that change as seamless as possible for their families."
Where to look?
There are many resources available to servicemembers looking to find new employment opportunities including AFBA's Career Center. This online tool helps troops connect with employers who are looking to fill vital open positions.