TAOnline Transition Insight Newsletter

Quality of Life Vs Quality of Work

Among the reasons for leaving the service most often cited by military personnel is quality of life. If this applies to you, it would be prudent to use it as one of your evaluation points as you seek out a civilian career and evaluate job offers.

First lady unveils new military spouse hiring effort

By Elaine Sanchez
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON — First lady Michelle Obama this month announced a new hiring effort intended to deliver thousands of portable, flexible job opportunities to military spouses and veterans in the coming years.

Eleven companies have pledged more than 15,000 jobs for military spouses and veterans, the first lady said, noting the vast majority of these jobs can be accomplished from home.

This commitment will make a "huge difference" for military spouses, Obama said in announcing the initiative.
Read More

Disabled Veterans National Foundation Supports Legislation to Allow Veterans with Certain Military Training to Bypass Job Training or Certification Requirements

SOURCE - Disabled Veterans National Foundation

The Disabled Veterans National Foundation is endorsing the Veterans Skills To Jobs Act, which streamlines the bureaucratic processes for Veterans with relevant training so they can get jobs more quickly when returning home from serving in the armed forces.

The law, HR 4155, directs the heads of federal departments and agencies to treat relevant military training as sufficient...
Read More

Service Connected Disability

Part 2: Eligibility

By Josh Penner, Veterans Advocate

Last month I wrote an article discussing why a Veteran might go about filing for a service connected disability. If you missed it, here is link: part 1. For part two I will be sticking with the service connected disability theme, but adjusting fire a bit - to focus in on eligibility.

Click here for a complete list and description of organizations of TAOnline.com growing Partners!

Seven (7) Texas colleges are offering a unique program where your Military Training and Expertise may be transferred into College Credits. The colleges will provide models for awarding college credit by evaluating military training, including testing and prior learning assessments which other Texas colleges may replicate. There will be a focus on allied health careers, and the initiative will partner with the Military Education Training Center (METC) in San Antonio to provide current active duty service members with an accelerated degree plan. To learn more and determine eligibility, contact the Texas Workforce Commission at (512) 463-8942

Quality of Life Vs Quality of Work

By Tom Wolfe, Career Coach

Although you probably hear and use the phrase quality of life (QOL) often, have you ever stopped to consider what it actually means? Let's start by distinguishing it from its sister phrase, quality of work (QOW). QOW deals with the internal elements of the job. Consider these: working conditions and environment, job satisfaction, corporate culture, co-worker relationships, and advancement opportunity. QOL addresses issues beyond the workplace. Where you live, your commute, personal time for family, hobbies, interests or community service, and compensation are among those elements that impact most people's QOL.

There is a close connection between QOL and QOW. The work you do will directly impact your QOL. Your working hours, the pressure of the job, salary, benefits, holiday and vacation policy, out-of-town travel, and job satisfaction have both a direct and indirect impact on your QOL. Conversely, your mental, physical, spiritual, and financial health away from the job will probably impact your QOW.

In its most basic form, QOL involves two issues: where you live and how much money you make. These are interconnected through geography and cost of living. How does a starting salary of $75,000 in Manhattan sound to you? Well, are we talking about Manhattan, Kansas or Manhattan, NYC?

Objective: I want a fast paced career with a growing, dynamic company where compensation is based on work ethic and results and where there is an opportunity for rapid professional growth.

Objective: I want a nice house in a safe, quiet neighborhood with access to good schools, and a personal life that allows me to spend time with my family, play golf, coach little league, and get involved in community service activities.

Which of these statements best reflects your desires? Let me guess—you want it all! Is that possible or are they mutually exclusive? While not quite mutually exclusive, there is a connection. You might have to make a few sacrifices in each category to attain an acceptable situation in the other. What kind of sacrifices? That is totally up to you. Everyone has different priorities in their personal and professional lives. The key is finding a balance that works for you. Try this one on for size:

Objective: I want a career opportunity that allows me to balance the requirements of my personal and professional lives.

Although I would not suggest using that statement on your resume, you should keep it in mind. Identify and prioritize your QOL and QOW requirements and use the result as a guide as you conduct your career transition and job search.

Comments or questions regarding this column or any career transition topic? Feel free to contact me: tom@tomwolfe-careecoach.com

© 2012; Tom Wolfe, author; all rights reserved; excerpts from Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition; used with the permission of the author and publisher, www.potomacbooksinc.com.

Tom Wolfe is an author, columnist, career coach, veteran, and an expert in the field of military-to-civilian career transition. During his career he assisted thousands of service members in their searches for employment, placing more than 3000 in their new jobs. Prior to civilian life, he graduated from the U. S. Naval Academy and served as a surface warfare officer. He teaches transition courses, gives seminars on career and job change, writes about the career transition process, and continues to counsel current and former military personnel. His book, Out of Uniform: Your Guide to a Successful Military-to-Civilian Career Transition, was published by Potomac Books in 2011. Tom lives on the North Carolina coast with his wife, Julie, and their Chesapeake Bay retriever, Maggie.

Back

First lady unveils new military spouse hiring effort

By Elaine Sanchez
American Forces Press Service

Eleven companies have pledged more than 15,000 jobs for military spouses and veterans, the first lady said, noting the vast majority of these jobs can be accomplished from home.

This commitment will make a "huge difference" for military spouses, Obama said in announcing the initiative. "We're working hard on their behalf because we're proud of them," the first lady said. "Having an opportunity to have a decent job...is one of the most important ways we can support these families."

This new effort will offer spouses thousands of at-home employment opportunities in areas such as customer support and telemarketing, as well as jobs that are physically located near military installations, a White House news release said. Nearly two dozen contact centers -- which offer family-friendly scheduling, growth opportunities and the ability to transfer seamlessly from one center to another -- have committed to hiring spouses.

These companies and their job opportunities will be integrated into the Defense Department's Military Spouse Employment Partnership, the release said. MSEP is an effort in which more than 100 private-sector companies have committed to a focused effort on military spouse employment.

The first lady noted the value of flexible, portable jobs for military spouses, who must balance work and home life with military-related demands. Portability enables spouses to move without the stress of finding a new job at each new location, the first lady explained, noting military families are 10 times more likely to move across state lines than civilian families. And flexible work hours offer a better work-life balance, particularly for spouses caring for children or elderly parents.

Military spouses shoulder a significant burden, Obama noted. They move frequently, take on additional responsibilities during deployment -- all while balancing the demands of family, careers and community.

But while challenging, a military lifestyle also equips spouses with a vast array of in-demand job skills, the first lady said. They're able to troubleshoot a variety of situations, manage schedules and deal with changing circumstances -- all qualities any employer would value, she noted.

"Military spouses often are the most talented and most resilient and most employable people around," she said. "What we're trying to do is meet these spouses where they are."

Companies' key commitments include:

-- Alpine Access has pledged to recruit, train and hire more than 3,000 military-connected Americans over the next two years. The company also will launch TalentSprout, an online portal with skill-building and job training curriculum. These career and personal development courses will be offered free-of-charge to qualified members of the armed forces and to their eligible spouses and caregivers.

-- Arise Virtual Solutions Inc. plans to add 10,000 new independent business and client services professionals from military families over the next several years. Arise also intends to develop special programs to create awareness among military spouses and veterans.

-- DialAmerica aims to increase the number of military-affiliated employees to make up 20 percent of its workforce by 2014.

-- Etech Global Services has committed to hiring a minimum of 200 military spouses and veterans in next two years.

-- Prosperity America intends to hire 50 more veterans and military spouses.

-- Agility Marketing is planning to add 100 jobs for military spouses and veterans over the next two years.

-- SP Data intends to add more than 150 jobs for military spouses and veterans over the next two years.

-- Veteran Call Center, LLC plans to create an additional 1,000 jobs for military spouses and veterans over the next two years.

Back

Disabled Veterans National Foundation Supports Legislation to Allow Veterans with Certain Military Training to Bypass Job Training or Certification Requirements

SOURCE - Disabled Veterans National Foundation

The law, HR 4155, directs the heads of federal departments and agencies to treat relevant military training as sufficient to satisfy training/certification requirements for federal license, to get Veterans back to work quickly. Congressman Jeff Denham of California, who served for 16 years in the U.S. Air Force and fought in Operation Desert Storm in Iraq and Operation Restore Hope in Somalia, introduced the bill March 8.

Currently, many Veterans are hampered by licensing/certification requirements, delaying their opportunities to get jobs upon returning home from duty.

"Many Veterans have training and expertise that isn't recognized as meeting the job requirements by the federal government or civilian employers," said Raegan Rivers, Chief Administrative Officer of DVNF. "Allowing Veterans to match their expertise in the field to training or certification requirements at home would help many military heroes get the jobs they deserve. DVNF supports this legislation for that reason."

Seven states have passed laws to expedite the licensing of transitioning Veterans, including Washington, Virginia and Utah. All of these states' laws require state licensing boards to take into account relevant military training when issuing licenses, and all of them determined that the legislation would entail no additional costs.

The American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States also announced their support for the Veterans Skills to Jobs Act.

Back

Service Connected Disability

Part 2: Eligibility

By Josh Penner, Veterans Advocate

The first thing a Veteran should know about their eligibility for this benefit is that it is not a matter of policy, or practice – subject to varying degrees of interpretation. Their eligibility to file for this benefit is codified in Title 38 of the US Code. In other words it's law. This is actually good news for Veterans wanting to access this benefit, as it sets the stage for appeals to unfavorable decisions, a system which has been used extensively in recent years.

Digging in to this law – there are two main things a Veteran is going to want to answer when figuring out their own eligibility to file for service connected disability.

1) - Do they have a qualifying condition – an/any (persistent) "illness or injury that was incurred or aggravated during active military service."

2) - Did they serve in an honorable manner – or as the law states, were they "terminated through separation or discharge under conditions other than dishonorable."

Taking a look at those criteria, #1 is relatively clear, but #2 is a nightmare of verbiage for Veterans and Veterans advocates both. In fact, this seemingly straightforward statement is why I wanted to dedicate a stand-alone piece solely to eligibility in this series

"...terminated through separation or discharge under conditions other than dishonorable."

So what is a condition other than dishonorable? The issue here is that the language of the law and the language of Veterans discharges are slightly misaligned. One would assume the VA probably always views Honorable and General discharges as issued under conditions other than dishonorable, and oppositely – Dishonorable discharges are most likely always issued under dishonorable conditions. Which leaves a huge hole of ambiguity regarding the small but significant number of Veterans who have Other than Honorable (OTH) or Bad Conduct Discharges (BCD), especially if they have an injury that is otherwise service related.

If you haven't figured it out – the idea of what a condition other than dishonorable is, has not been determined – so if this applies to you, or a Veteran you're working with - it's going to be one of those case-by-case situations. This can be another piece of good news, especially to those Veterans in this grey area (OTH/BCD vs 'dishonorable conditions').

It's clear that not every Veteran is going to be considered eligible for a service connected disability, but if questions about eligibility keep a Veteran from filing – they're never going to receive the compensation they deserve.

The bottom line to this article. If a Veteran has:

1) A service related illness or injury
and
2) A discharge other than dishonorable

They should file for a service connected disability, either themselves, or through an intermediary. Both methods I will break down next month in part 3.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, send me an email: Josh@VetsCVC.com

Josh Penner, Veterans Advocate:
Owner, Core Values Consulting - www.vetsCVC.com
Josh served in the United States Marine Corps as a Radio Operator from 2004-2011. He is a Veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and uses his experiences as well as his business education to advocate for and assist Veterans in connecting to resources and benefits. In addition to providing direct services to Veterans, Josh is a regular speaker on Veterans Benefits topics, and regularly consults with businesses and organizations wishing to gain insight in to the broad spectrum of Veterans Benefits and Resources from the Federal, State, County, and Local levels

Back