LEADING THE WAY: FACTORS TO SUCCESSFUL CAREER TRANSITIONS FOR VETERANS As veterans transition from military culture to navigating college campuses, apprenticeships and on the job training programs through the expanded benefits of the Post 9/11 GI Bill, they must adapt to differences in organizational cultures and social environments. The large waves of veterans undergoing this transition provide an opportunity to discover pathways to aid others in similar life transitions. As noted by Feist-­‐Price & Khanna (2011, p. 38), “the key to successful transition to long-­‐
term employment is support services provided within a community context." This panel will discuss factors influencing the successful transitions of veterans and the role of campuses, peers, and employers as community resources. The first presentation highlights military culture and the individual competencies developed through military service that contribute to veteran success in a large urban university environment. Beyond resources related to mental health counseling, peer mentoring and changes in admissions processes may hold promise for increasing veteran success. The second presentation focuses on service learning through which students studying human resource management coached veterans in the job application process. Initial project data indicates it has dramatically reduced time to full employment for some veterans and may hold keys to breaking the cycle of application rejection, homelessness, and return to medical facilities experienced by these veterans who face multiple challenges. Finally, the implications of these applied models for research and training is discussed. Training to prevent negative stereotypes, selection for organizational fit, and socialization processes are presented as areas for future research with implications for practitioners assisting veterans in their career transitions. Returning Veterans: Opportunities, Challenges and the Role of the Academic Community Mr. Robert F. Shields Lieutenant Commander U.S. Coast Guard (ret.) Coordinator, Veteran Student Success Center, Cleveland State University Much popular press has highlighted the fact that while survival rates for military war veterans have improved, veterans experience higher rates of physical and psychological injuries. Even though veterans are at elevated risk for posttraumatic stress disorder, this same condition is also reported to affect approximately 7.7 million Americans over the age of eighteen (Roy, Foraker, Girton, & Mansfield, 2015). Veterans have an unemployment rate higher than the rest of the U. S. population and constitute approximately one-­‐third of the adult homeless population (Feist-­‐Price & Khanna, 2011). Sixty percent of veterans in Federal and State prisons suffer from substance abuse addictions leading to the establishment of Veterans Treatment Courts (Lewandowski, in press). Yet, other veterans are successful in graduating from college and securing employment. Research indicates social support as a factor toward overcoming adversity and building resilience for those who succeed (Tsai & Rosenheck, 2013; Luthans, Vogelgesang & Lester, 2006). Veterans have succeeded in a military culture that is strong, mission-­‐oriented and respects authority. They arrive on campus with competencies prized by employers such as leadership, teamwork, innovation, and an orientation toward serving others. They have global experiences yet return to communities that are dealing with intolerance issues. The Veteran Student Success Program provides peer mentoring and social support that has shown to help academic progress. Colleges may consider ways to eliminate hurdles for veterans who have demonstrated the ability to learn through previous military training. Discussion will focus on ways veterans are socialized in the campus community. Veterans Service Learning Project Dr. Tracy Porter Associate Lecturer and Faculty Advisor SHRM Student Chapter, Management Department, Cleveland State University Educational programs, such as service learning, may play an important role in the process of veterans transitioning from military service to the civilian workforce (Ruh, Spicer, & Vaughan, 2009). Service learning is a pedagogical approach which combines traditional academic study with a community service component (Ngai, 2006), offering students a mechanism to connect their personal beliefs with academic study while impacting community social issues. Veterans living at the VA domiciliary in Cleveland normally took a year or two to find jobs if they were able to find one at all (Walker, 2015). They received numerous rejections, did not understand how to navigate the current digital marketplace, and needed substantially more help and support than available resources could provide. Veterans would often give up on their job search, become homeless, and return to the domiciliary. Research shows that veterans require a great deal of assistance with respect to the employment search beyond that found in traditional employment assistance programs (Hershberger, 2005; Ratcliff & Shilito, 1996). Through the Veterans Resume Project, students worked one-­‐on-­‐one with veterans discussing the veteran’s background, coaching them on how to present their skills and knowledge, and helping them write a marketable resume. To date, 127 out of 281 (45%) of veterans in the project have found full-­‐time employment. The one-­‐on-­‐one coaching approach utilized in this project appears to be key to its success. Preliminary data also points to extending research on self-­‐esteem, self-­‐efficacy (Reeb, Folger, Langsner, Ryan, and Course, 2010) and the translation of service related skills to job opportunities. Serving Veterans Through Career Transition Dr. Mary Hrivnak, Associate Professor Management Department, Cleveland State University Veterans face a myriad of challenges in their post-­‐military career transitions which may vary depending on the nature of their injuries and individual recovery from stress and trauma. Human resource professionals and managers are in a position to facilitate the transition of veterans into the workforce. However, with increasing media attention on posttraumatic stress disorder and other cognitive disabilities among veterans, the likelihood of negative stereotype and bias toward veterans also emerges. Employers may be more apt to avoid what may be perceived as a potential problem of hiring a veteran, despite the evidence that many veterans are resilient and are living “normal” lives (Meichenbaum, 2012). Increasing knowledge among recruiters and managers regarding characteristics of military positions and deployment context would facilitate the translation that occurs when recruiters review the resumes and job applications of veterans vis a vis position requirements. Feedback concerning applicant status and reasons for rejection may also aid in veterans’ formation of realistic expectations regarding the job search process. Realistic job preview information may assist veterans in their job choice decision especially when they are unlikely to have consumer knowledge about the context of a job (Breaugh, 2008). Attention to socialization processes may assist in veteran perceptions of being a valued part of the organizational team. Research on stress management and posttraumatic growth from the veteran population may also lead the way to innovative training and techniques for wellness in the workplace. References Breaugh, J. A. (2008). Employee recruitment: Current knowledge and important areas for future research. Human Resource Management Review, 18(3), 103-­‐118. Feist-­‐Price, S., & Khanna, N., (2011, January). Improving vocational rehabilitation access and employment success for African American homeless veterans with disabilities. Published in Langston University Department of Rehabilitation Counseling and Disability Studies. Hersberger, J. (2005). The homeless and information needs and services. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 44(3), 199-­‐202. Lewandowski, C. (in press). Social service needs of military veterans. Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity. Sage. Luthans, F., Vogelgesang, G. & Lester, P. (2006). Developing the psychological capital of resiliency. Human Resource Development Review, 5(1), 25-­‐44. Meichenbaum (2012). Roadmap to resilience: A guide for military, trauma victims and their families. Clearwater FL: Institute Press. Ngai, S.(2006.). Service-­‐learning, personal development, and social commitment: A case study of university students in Hong Kong, Adolescence, 41(161), p. 165-­‐176. Ratcliff, D., & Shilito, S. (1996). The employer’s role in the job success of people who are homeless. Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal, 19(3). 97-­‐90. Reeb, R., Folger, S., Mangsner, S., Ryan, C., and Crouse, J. (2010). Self-­‐efficacy in service-­‐learning community action research: Theory, research, and practice. American Journal of Community Psychology, 46, 459-­‐471. Rooy, S., Foraker, D., Girton, R. & Mansfield, A. (2015). PTSD and incident heart failure among a community-­‐based sample of U. S. veterans. American Journal of Public Health, 105(4), 757-­‐763. Ruh, D., Spicer, P., & Vaughan, K. (2009). Helping veterans with disabilities transition to employment. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 22(1), 67-­‐74. (references continued, next page) References Tsai, J. & Rosenheck R. (2013). Conduct disorder behavior, childhood family instability, and childhood abuse as predictors of severity of adult homelessness among American veterans. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 48, 477-­‐486. Walker (2015, personal communication), Veterans Administration, Cleveland, Ohio.