Transitioning vets get job-seeking help

WYOMING, Mich. (WOOD) - While serving in the Army, Efran Robles viewed the sluggish economy as a civilian problem. But now that he's a civilian, he's got to find work. That means he has to sell himself, his skills and his qualifications to an employer.

"It's pretty difficult to verbalize what I did physically and try and translate that into something I can do cognitively or functionally for an administrative office," Robles told 24 Hour News 8.

There are 700,000 veterans in the state of Michigan, the 11th highest total in the US. Of the Michigan veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan, 20% are either unemployed or underemployed.

Many of the veterans who attended a job fair at the Wyoming National Guard Armory on Wednesday just returned from Afghanistan and thought they would be able to hop into the workforce. But the reality is different.

While employers see veterans as loyal, reliable and natural leaders, there's often a stigma attached from issues such as post-traumatic stress.

"Some employers back away from the veteran feeling that you have to be damaged goods because you served in the military," said Major General Robert W. Smith III. "No, that is not the case, that is not the majority."

Maj. Gen. Smith is the director of the Veterans Services Division for Workforce Development Agency in the state of Michigan.

Through that agency, the military has created more than 14,000 new jobs for Michigan veterans.

This job fair is one of the ways the military is helping veterans overcome those barriers. Providing resume services and language transition from military to "civilian speak."

"They took a look at my resume and the recruiter said, 'Hey, Shawn, our hiring manager's really don't understand what three bronze stars really mean," Shawn Sternberg told 24 Hour News 8.

Sternberg spent 20 years in the Army, serving in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Finding work was difficult, but a transition program taught him how to relate his skills and land a job.

"They next thing I know, I switched my resume around to have it make some sense," he said. "That very next week Haworth called me and the phone calls just stared rolling in. It was amazing."

Companies like Fifth Third Bank are meeting veterans halfway. Their mobile e-bus is equipped with computers for job research, and Fifth Third reaches out through various initiatives.

"The campus is actually sending out appreciation letters and writing personal thank you letters to vets that are overseas, so we're creating awareness throughout West Michigan and inside Fifth Third," said the bank's Joshua Buckenrouth.

In some cases employers can receive up to $9,600 per veteran, and some veterans have their own health care that a company will not have to provide.