Corporate recruiters get a taste of the military

JOINT BASE LEWIS-MCCHORD — At the firing range here last week, Army marksmen were joined by an assortment of corporate types from Boeing, Starbucks, Microsoft and other Washington businesses, all of whom struggled to steady M-4s against their shoulders and hit a posted target.

They were at a symposium, a "day with American soldiers and Airmen," an effort to build bridges between employers and a downsizing military whose members increasingly will be entering the civilian work force.

"We're not a bunch of automatons," said Lt. Col. Greg Harkins, a battalion commander with the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division. "We are dedicated to the mission, highly competitive and people who want to win."

Here and elsewhere, concern is growing about unemployment among veterans, particularly young people just exiting the military.

In 2010, unemployment for veterans younger than 25 averaged just below 22 percent, roughly the same as for their civilian peers according to federal Department of Labor surveys.

But in the first quarter of 2011, even as the economy improved, the jobless rate for veterans rose to 29 percent, the Labor surveys say.

One possible reason for the rising unemployment has been heavy dependence by post-9/11 veterans on government jobs.

Some 30 percent of them work for local, state or federal agencies, double the number in the overall work force, Labor surveys show.

But many government jobs are vanishing in a period of wide-ranging budget cuts.

Washington earlier this year became the first state to pass a law that lets private companies voluntarily give veterans a hiring preference.

Earlier this month, Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, who chairs the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, introduced a bill that would require all service members to take a job-skills training course before leaving the military. At Lewis-McChord, 60 to 80 percent of personnel already take a voluntary, three-day training course, a base official said.

"Too often, what a service member has done in the military does not really seem to count in the civilian work force, and even more often it is just not recognized," Murray said.

Last week's symposium to showcase military skills was organized by the base and Hire America's Heroes, which was launched in 2007 by a half-dozen Washington corporations. Some 250 Washington corporate representatives attended.

At an afternoon round-table, representatives of Microsoft, Boeing, Starbucks, Amazon and others said they are eager to recruit veterans.

"Amazon is going through a tremendous growth spurt now, and we need folks who can grab on quickly," said Phil Dana, a Navy veteran hired by Amazon 18 months ago as a "staffing manager for military talent."

Recruiters shared tips about what might put off recruiters. At job interviews, some soldiers seem too intense, as if they were going to knock down a building to get the job done. They need to relax and shouldn't overdress in a suit and tie for an interview where the hiring official may be in bluejeans.

Veterans also can find apprenticeships and internships. Jesus Carbajal, who left the Army last year, was accepted at a Port of Seattle fellowship that trains young vets and recently landed a full-time job with the Port.

"I was one of those 24-year-old, likely-to-be-unemployed kind of guys, and this program really gave me the confidence to succeed," Carbajal said.

But in the tech-heavy Seattle market, many young soldiers don't have the skills to compete for jobs.

"We tell them to get a degree in computer science or software development," said Joe Wallis, a military recruiter who works for Microsoft.

A beefed-up GI bill, which pays a living stipend as well as tuition, has encouraged a lot of young veterans to head for college.

State officials are concerned that some of them may have a hard time staying in school. But there is plenty of interest in education.

Sgt. Lewis Greene, an infantry soldier who briefed corporate representatives at the firing range, said he plans to enroll at Seattle Central Community College. He wants his bachelor's degree so he can teach history.

Sgt. Matthew Butler said he's headed to Penn State, where he plans to major in business.

"Pretty much everyone I have talked to has some plans for education," he said.

Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com