The American Legion and Hiring Our Heroes give veterans and military spouses face-to-face with employers and connection on LinkedIn.
CJ Smith, a military spouse, is currently looking for a job and came to The American Legion and Hiring Our Heroes hiring fair and networking reception that was held in conjunction with the Legion’s 106th National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 23.
With 10 copies of her resume in hand, Smith is looking for work in project management and business continuity. She has been networking through LinkedIn and other avenues so “it’s just a question of when, honestly,” a job offer will happen. “It’s not if, it’s when. And I’m doing everything I can to network,” Smith said, as well as network for others. “I come to these also to talk with my peers because I know a lot of folks that are looking for jobs, but they are not able to make it. Sometimes you pay it forward and sometimes you’re the one that gets paid.”
Prior to walking out her front door to attend the hiring fair at the Tampa Marriott Water Street hotel, she posted the Legion’s networking reception on her LinkedIn page. “I had 25 people click like before I walked out the door,” she said. “It’s a good way to connect.”
There were over 20 employers with job openings at the hiring fair that included law enforcement, hospitals, construction, security, theme parks and more.
“At Walt Disney company we create happiness” for guests, staff and military veterans and their families, said Jimmy Fleurius, an Army veteran who is a senior recruiter for Walt Disney. With job openings in California, Florida and all over the world, Fleurius said Disney wants “to be a destination for military veterans to work and their families because the whole family served, especially the military spouse.”
He encouraged job seekers at the hiring fair to network and apply for positions “because you won’t know unless you apply,” said Fleurius, who loves his job with Disney because “I get paid to talk with veterans. How cool is that?!”
Mike Cesaroni, a member of American Legion Post 152 in Tampa, brought his son to the hiring fair with hopes of him finding a job in welding. Though his son is not a veteran, Cesaroni said as a Legionnaire he wanted to expose his son to quality companies that The American Legion and Hiring Our Heroes provides during these hiring fairs. Chris Davison, the veteran recruitment program manager for BAE Systems, told Cesaroni and his son that with a shortage of welders right now, he will not have any trouble finding a good job.
Davison spoke to many of the job seekers prior to them meeting employers and said to “have their elevator pitch ready, get involved and ask questions. This is an opportunity to meet employers face-to-face, to ask questions and smile.”
BAE Systems is a defense, aerospace and security company headquartered in Falls Church, Va., with more than 30,000 employees nationwide. Davison said it’s the mission behind BAE that he likes which is “we protect those who protect us.”
William Gonzalez transitioned out of the Army in 2021 after serving 12 years where he helped with internal recruiting, a job area he is looking to get back into. In his search at the hiring fair for talent acquisition positions, he found employers he interacted with to be “very positive and very willing to help you in any shape or form,” he said. “This networking, you have to take advantage of it.”
Gonzalez was one of many job seekers who attended a LinkedIn workshop before the hiring fair to learn on how to effectively create a LinkedIn page, build a network and find a job. The workshop was conducted by Charles Hodges Jr., vice president of veterans events with Hiring Our Heroes.
“The LinkedIn training was absolutely incredible,” Gonzalez said. “Big takeaway was that you have to utilize technology for your own gain. I’m now going to look at all my connections on LinkedIn and see how many people fit the job role I’m looking for. As (Hodges) said, you have to know someone inside the (employer) bubble to get a job.”
The following are a few tips shared during the workshop:
- Upload a professional photo where you are smiling.
- Upload a background photo that speaks to your skills or job you are looking for.
- Write a clear headline of what you do.
- Write one to two sentences in the “about” section of who you are, three to five sentences about your experience, skills and passion, and one to two sentences about your future goals. Hodges encouraged attendees to write from the heart and not use AI.
- Don’t leave a gray box blank. Upload photos of your service branch logo, education logo, etc.
- Add all education, licenses and certificates, and volunteer experience.
- Fill in all 100 skills but name skills that a civilian company would be looking for, and skills that you can answer in an interview.
- Invite people to connect with you by first sending an invite request with a note about why you are reaching out.
- Use filters to narrow search in finding people, especially those who work for a company you want to be hired on with, by military branch, location, company and industry.
- Take advantage of LinkedIn’s one-year free membership to veterans at linkedin.com/military.
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