VFW Joins VA to Help Veterans Find Jobs

The VFW this week participated in a veterans’ career fair hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.

Thousands of veterans of all eras, services and ranks converged on the convention center to apply and interview for more than 6,500 jobs across private industry and government. Many of the veterans were conducting their first job search after separating or retiring from the military.

The career fair provided an opportunity for employers to explain their industry and to collect resumes and conduct on site interviews. The VA helped veterans polish their resumes and interviewing skills, and veterans' organizations like the VFW were on-hand to help inform veterans about their VA benefits, and to help them navigate the complicated VA claims process.

At the VFW's booth were VFW service officers Chance Sizemore and John Steiner, and VFW Deputy Legislative Director Ryan Gallucci. They spoke to hundreds of veterans about their earned VA benefits and about the mission of the VFW to protect these government programs and services. Steiner called it one of the most dynamic and constructive career fairs he had ever witnessed.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and other key leaders from the VA and the Departments of Labor and Defense participated in the career fair, which was held as part of First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden’s “Joining Forces” campaign to provide services and raise awareness on issues of importance to America's military families.

With the end of the conflict in Iraq and announced 2014 drawdown of forces in Afghanistan, the VFW has made veterans’ employment a top priority, especially with recent proposals for a leaner active duty military.

Last year the VFW scored a major legislative victory with the passage of the VOW to Hire Heroes Act, which creates an environment more conducive to hiring veterans. VFW leaders in Washington will continue to monitor the veterans’ employment situation closely, and continue to make sound recommendations to Congress on how to improve transitional and employment services to America’s veterans.

(Images: Top: Thousands of veterans converged on the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C., for a career fair hosted by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Bottom: VFW Deputy Legislative Director Ryan Gallucci speaks with a Marine Corps veteran during the career fair. Photos courtesy of the Department of Veterans Affairs.)