Janelle Hughley ⋅ Riverdale , GA U.S. Army, Sergeant ⋅ 4 years served

I can only speak in my experience but I think the ACP and Joining Forces Mentoring programs have been useful for me. I also had the privilege to go to a resume workshop at Google last month and I think that has very helpful for me as well. Getting the feedback from personnel who are in a corporate environment to tell me what corporate America sees when they view my resume was extremely helpful.

As far as what doesn't work, once again I am speaking from my own experiences. I think the ACAP program, Department of Labor, and some military friendly employers don't work. I think the ACAP should work more with transitioning military to pair them with successful transitioned military personnel. No one know best about the transition than someone who was in the military and actually successfully transitioned back into civilian life. The Department of Labor and some military friendly employers tell veterans to put their MOS into a translator and apply for the jobs that they are qualified for. True is being truly qualified and successful in a position requires more than translating someone's job description and matching it to a job that matches that description.

My proposed solution: Putting more successful transitioned personnel into the ACAP program and the Department of Labor. Why? They've been through it and were successful at it and are more than likely to want to share those experience and help others. A veteran understands a veteran best! As for military friendly companies I suggest dedicating someone or some people dedicated to meeting veterans and linking them to careers they are qualified for. Some companies have personnel dedicated but their sole purpose is to explain the hiring process or easy roles for veterans to get into. That just leaves the veterans either still trying how to effectively transition their skills or in jobs where they are underpaid and not using their skills to the best of their abilities.

America called and only few took the oath! I believe people should take the time to give us more than 5 seconds of their time to see how they could be of assistance to those who may need help!