‘It Comes Down to Passion and Commitment’ – Highlighting Hiring Our Heroes’ Accomplishments in 2019
It’s an understatement to say 2019 was a busy year at Hiring Our Heroes. Strictly by the numbers, you can see the exponential growth of the program:
- Nearly 13,000 veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses attended 60 hiring events.
- The Hiring Our Heroes Corporate Fellowship Program saw 25% more fellows graduate than the previous year.
- Twelve new Military Spouse Economic Empowerment Zones were launched at cities and states throughout the country.
- Hiring Our Heroes hosted its 100th Career Summit, 3rd annual Military Spouse Employment Summit, and 9th annual Lee Anderson Awards Gala.
- Hiring Our Heroes celebrated 75 years of the GI Bill.
On this episode of the Hiring Our Heroes Sitrep podcast, Eric Eversole talks about this year’s accomplishments and how this U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation program will strive to do even more in 2020.
Eversole is a vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and president of Hiring Our Heroes. As the leader of Hiring Our Heroes, Eversole strategically engages the program’s private- and public-sector partners to connect businesses with the talented men and women transitioning out of the military, as well as with their spouses.
Eversole’s commitment to the military and the men and women who serve spans nearly two decades. He first entered military service in 1994 as an enlisted security specialist in the Indiana Air National Guard. Eversole later accepted a commission in the U.S. Navy JAG Corps in 1998. He served on active duty until 2001 when he transferred to the Navy Reserve. Eversole recently retired as a captain and has continued his service as the leader of Hiring Our Heroes.
Listen in as Eversole discusses how Hiring Our Heroes is expanding its events to meet the changing needs of today’s transitioning service members, and why training will be a key component of HOH’s 2020 programming.
Top Takeaways from “It Comes Down to Passion and Commitment:”
1. 2019 was a year of progress for Hiring Our Heroes. Transition Summits became Career Summits. The Military Spouse Corporate Fellowship Program was launched at seven locations throughout the country and many transitioning service members were fellows at remote locations – cities not located near military bases.
“While some people are afraid of change, we really celebrate the fact that we are able to adapt and modify programs to provide the maximum impact at HOH.” – Eric Eversole, president of Hiring Our Heroes
2. Hiring Our Heroes is determined to remain relevant in the military talent employment space.
“We are in a constant state of thinking about how we can most impact our constituents, both our service members and family members, in finding employment opportunities.” – Eric Eversole, president of Hiring Our Heroes
3. In 2019, partners LinkedIn, Indeed, and Prudential led portions of the Career Summits professional development training. This kind of immediately applicable training will be standardized and expanded in 2020.
“Career Summits are as much training events as they are hiring events now. There is a lot that goes into finding a job beyond just making a connection. We want to be able to provide service members with a range of tools and resources so that they can put their best foot forward.” – Eric Eversole, president of Hiring Our Heroes
4. The Military Spouse Fellowship Program, launched in 2019, will make an impact in military spouse employment in 2020.
“The internship allows military spouses to go in and showcase his or her skills and ultimately, makes the resume not matter. It’s about the person and not the paper.” – Eric Eversole, president of Hiring Our Heroes
5. Hiring Our Heroes wants to do more than help people find jobs. We want to help transitioning service members, veterans, and military spouses find long-term meaningful careers.
“It comes down to passion and commitment. If you look across our team, we are focused on the needs of our service members — our brothers- and sisters-in-arms. They are the motivation for why we do what we do.” – Eric Eversole, president of Hiring Our Heroes