Month: June 2019

Volunteer Spotlight: Kaile

Volunteer Spotlight: Kaile

Kaile is a military spouse and Wellness Coach who has been volunteering with Hire Heroes USA since 2016. She believes the volunteer program with Hire Heroes USA to be a rewarding experience and is excited to speak with new and unique clients. “I’m extremely fortunate to not only work in a position that I love, but also for a company that encourages and empowers me as a military spouse. I want to do everything I can so that others can find the same success and support,” she said. Volunteering with Hire Heroes USA is flexible, allowing Kaile to easily help clients from home. She says “I appreciate the flexibility – I’m able to volunteer at a time that is convenient for me.” With 42 volunteer hours completed, she has helped more than 20 veterans and military spouses in their job searches.

She says that this story perfectly describes why she volunteers with Hire Heroes USA:

“[I received a phone call] from a military veteran that was going for a promotion at his job. Almost two years after initially talking to him, he called to ask if I would do another mock interview, saying that he found the first one so helpful in securing his current position he wanted to go into his next interview just as prepared and confident. Of course, I said yes and we scheduled a time to prepare for his upcoming interview. Knowing that just one hour spent with someone made such an impact that they thought to call me two years later to help again blew me away. It made me realize that I can, and do, make a difference and it only encourages me to help many more people.”

You can support military members, veterans, and their spouses just like Kaile by signing up to volunteer!

Make a difference in the lives of veterans and military spouses, just like Kaile by becoming a Hire Heroes USA volunteer today!

Annual July 4th Golf Fundraiser to Benefit Hire Heroes USA

One extraordinary man has raised nearly $1,000,000 over 12 years to support veteran and military spouse employment.

HARTLAND, WI (PRWEB) JUNE 27, 2019

For the 12th year in a row, Carl Meyer will spend his Independence Day holiday on a golf course at Chenequa Country Club in Wisconsin, raising awareness and funds for Hire Heroes USA. To date, Meyer has raised over $820,000 with his 100 Holes for Our Heroes event, in support of Hire Heroes USA’s mission. The national nonprofit provides free employment services to transitioning military members, veterans and military spouses. It is the leading veteran service organization specifically targeting the issues of underemployment and unemployment among veterans.

Meyer, Executive Vice President at The Wetrich Group, typically plays more than 100 holes each July 4th for the event. Since the fundraiser began in 2008, his total exceeds 1400 holes – that’s over 80 rounds of golf! It is an all-day effort, starting well before sunrise and ending just before nightfall.

“Given today’s booming economy, we forget that there are hundreds of thousands of service members leaving the military each year who need jobs, so the need for the amazing services Hire Heroes USA provides continues,” says Meyer. “When someone joins the military, they put their life on the line for our country. Their family takes on many sacrifices as well, such as the prospect of long deployments. As such, should these veterans not be at the head of the line for jobs that they are qualified for?”

“Carl Meyer has been an outstanding supporter of Hire Heroes USA for many years,” says Christopher Plamp, chief executive officer of Hire Heroes USA. “His dedication to and deep passion for US military personnel is inspiring and we are so grateful to him for his continued efforts on our behalf. He has truly made a positive impact on veteran and military spouse unemployment.”

The funds that Meyer brings in will be used to provide various employment services at no cost to eligible clients, including:

  • – Virtual Career Coaching: Clients receive one-on-one assistance from individually assigned Transition Specialists to create a professionally-revised resume, teach effective job search techniques, and help a client understand their transferable skills
  • – Volunteer Mentoring: More than 650 volunteers support Hire Heroes USA clients with industry-specific mentoring, mock interviews, and networking opportunities
  • – Access to the Hire Heroes USA Job Board and training resources

Hire Heroes USA recently surpassed 34,000 hires, an exciting milestone helped along by Meyer’s efforts. To donate to 100 Holes for Our Heroes, visit the event website.

About Hire Heroes USA
Hire Heroes USA is a veteran service organization dedicated to empowering US military members, veterans, and their spouses as they seek civilian employment. Services include one-on-one coaching, professionally revised resumes, mentoring, workshops, a job board, career fairs and more. Hire Heroes USA is funded exclusively through public donations and private grants, allowing services to be provided at no cost to clients. Hire Heroes USA has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and also holds the GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency. For more information about our mission, services and how to get involved, please visit hireheroesusa.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Hire Heroes USA Hosts Raleigh Motorcycle Ride to Support Veterans and Military Spouses

Proceeds will provide free one-on-one transition support to local veterans and military spouses.

RALEIGH (PRWEB) JUNE 19, 2019

North Carolina motorcycle riders and other supporters of the veteran community will come together on Saturday, June 22, at Tobacco Road Harley-Davidson for the 2nd Annual Hire Heroes USA Ride for Heroes. The event raises funds to support Hire Heroes USA’s free employment services for transitioning military members, veterans, and military spouses.

Hire Heroes USA has helped more than 32,000 veterans and military spouses secure civilian jobs since being founded in 2007. This includes hundreds of men and women helped in the Raleigh area and more than 5,300 across North Carolina.

“The Ride for Heroes is an important event for Hire Heroes USA, and it’s grown at an impressive rate during this second year,” says Christopher Plamp, Chief Executive Officer of Hire Heroes USA. “Raleigh’s biker community has really shown up to support the work we’re doing to help veterans and military spouses find new careers.”

Carolina Career College will participate as the Presenting Sponsor for the second year in a row. “All of us here at Carolina Career College are excited to sponsor the Ride for Heroes,” said Scott M. Aaron, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Hire Heroes USA and CCC have a similar mission to help military members, veterans and military spouses succeed in the civilian workplace. We hope everyone comes out for a great day of riding and fun.”

To register for the Ride for Heroes, visit the event website; supporters can also make a donation if they cannot attend on Saturday. On-site registration will begin at 10:00 am with kickstands going up at 12:00 pm. The police escorted ride will feature two pit stops along the way and will conclude at MoonRunners Saloon with live music from Mark McKinney & Co.

Other sponsors of Saturday’s Ride for Heroes include Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial, VanProducts Mobility, Smithfield’s Chicken ‘N Bar-B-Q, SpeeDee Oil Change & Auto Service, Baker Roofing, Tom McGrath’s Motorcycle Law Group, and Vinyl-Lite Window Factory.

About Hire Heroes USA
Hire Heroes USA is a veteran service organization dedicated to empowering US military members, veterans, and their spouses as they seek civilian employment. Services include one-on-one coaching, professionally revised resumes, mentoring, workshops, a job board, career fairs and more. Hire Heroes USA is funded exclusively through public donations and private grants, allowing services to be provided at no cost to clients. Hire Heroes USA has earned a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator and also holds the GuideStar Platinum Seal of Transparency. For more information about our mission, services and how to get involved, please visit hireheroesusa.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram.

Debunk Your Bias: Sales Jobs

Debunk Your Bias: Sales Jobs

This is part one in a series to explore opportunities in Sales and provide insight from experienced sales professionals on different ways to turn sales into a career.

I want to begin with a scenario. Let’s say a friend reaches out to you about needing help in buying a new car. Your friend trusts you, and you recently bought a car so the experience is still fresh and relevant. You gather information to assess what they’re looking for and then share your insight. When you provide advice, you’ll probably share the reasons behind your recent purchase, along with other options you considered or passed on. Your friend is so grateful for the information, and you help narrow down their choices to two cars. In this very common scenario, when you provide advice – as a good friend would – you’re actually selling your friend on a car.

You might think that’s not true because you’re just trying to help, but this is actually the essence of selling. Sales professionals want to help customers evaluate solutions for a problem until the customer can make a happy decision. The scenario I described above is a common situation, but this is how sales work in many different industries.

Have you heard of Sales Engineers? Sales Engineers have extensive knowledge of the mechanics around cutting edge technology, services, and products; they can also explain options and provide recommendations on solutions for various companies. Most Sales Engineers have engineering degrees but actually have a higher earning potential than other types of engineers. Their median salary is over $100,000 based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics (April, 2019). Sales professionals are important for a growing business and are quite prevalent in our economy; there are about fourteen million Americans in sales and related occupations (Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2018). The sales world is expansive and essential to a growing market for tangible and intangible products and services.

In this blog series, we want to debunk your biases on sales jobs and highlight opportunities that you may be missing out on. We have several employment partners who want to hire veterans and military spouses in sales roles, but it’s a challenge.

Why is it a challenge? Think about the military community. There is a set of industries that seem like a natural fit for veterans leaving the military, like defense contractors and government agencies. It’s evident in our 2017 Hire Heroes Report, which analyzes and summarizes trends with our clients, that the top three industries and job functions for hired clients are as follows:

Industries:

  1. Government and Public Administration
  2. Defense Contracting
  3. Information Technology

Job Functions:

  1. Safety / Security / Law Enforcement
  2. Administration / Clerical
  3. Installation / Maintenance / Repair.

These trends make sense since these are common careers in the military. After leaving the service, a new chapter can either be terrifying or the most rewarding step. It is important to face the risks and learn about opportunities outside of your comfort zone.

To help you make the best decision about your career path, we’ll be interviewing professionals in the field and representatives from companies with excellent cultures. I had the pleasure of interviewing Mark Hoag, VP of Medical Sales at CNF Medical and Dan Riley, Retired/Custom Design Project Manager at Achieve Global and Hire Heroes USA volunteer. Click the links below to get their full interviews:


In the next Debunk Your Bias: Sales Jobs blog post, we’ll speak with veteran sales consultants at CaliBamboo and Grainger.

For more information on working in Sales, check out these recommendations: