Hiring Our Heroes Serves More Military Job Seekers Than Ever Before
Make no mistake: 2022 will be remembered as an incredible year in Hiring Our Heroes’ history.
Hiring Our Heroes experienced its sixth year of consecutive growth in 2022 by serving a record number of 50,000 military community members. Also, the Career Connector team had 111,795 interactions through fellowship applications, job inquires, and event registrations.
“We exceeded our expectations and had our best year yet,” said Eric Eversole, president of Hiring Our Heroes and vice president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Fellows Program Expansion
The Corporate Fellowship Program (CFP) saw a 45% growth in participants in 2022 compared to 2021. Nearly 2,300 transitioning service members completed the program during their last 180 days on active duty. The 2022 cohorts included veterans from every branch of service, including the Space Force and Coast Guard.
The job offer rate was 85%, and the average starting salary was $110,000 for CFP fellows in 2022.
The next CFP cohort, which starts in January, has more than 700 fellows placed with host companies throughout the United States.
More than 320 military spouses participated in the Military Spouse Fellowship Program (MSFP) last year. The current job offer rate is 91% for participants. The average starting salary is $69,000.
The Salesforce Fellowship Program (SFP) also grew in 2022 with more than 150 participants. This program currently has the highest job offer rate (97%) among Hiring Our Heroes’ fellowships. The average starting salary is $90,000.
Notably, 53% of SFP participants in 2022 were female. This is great news for Hiring Our Heroes as the organization works to connect women with in-demand tech careers, said Crystal Cochran, Senior Director of Programs and Events at Hiring Our Heroes.
“Hiring Our Heroes programs are effectively helping to create opportunities and economic growth for women,” she said.
In-Person Events + Virtual Hiring Is a Winning Combination for Hiring Our Heroes
Nearly 5,500 attendees and 1,560 employers attended 27 in-person hiring events across 18 states. Additionally, 2,835 job offers were extended to job seekers at HOH events in 2022.
Hiring Our Heroes virtual events continue to be popular. In 2022 we hosted 31 virtual hiring events for nearly 9,000 registrants. More than 800 employers participated and reported that on average, 80% of 19,000 conversations held with job seekers were rated as “actionable leads.”
Amplify was another HOH program with a high number of reported positive outcomes. More than 1,000 people attend one of 19 Amplify workshops, and 62% of attendees reported a positive job outcome within 90 days of attending.
By comparison, in 2021, Amplify served 418 attendees at 13 workshops.
Celebrating Milestones and Recognizing Winners
Career Forward, with support from Google, celebrated its first anniversary in November 2022. With more than 1,200 completers and 4,600 learners, Career Forward provides a pathway for military community members to start a new career or level up a current career in under six months through a choice of 6 Google career certificates.
In March, Hiring Our Heroes presented Air Force Tech. Sgt. Adlai Ceja with a 2022 Toyota RAV4 hybrid as the Committed to America’s Heroes sweepstakes winner. Nearly 234,000 registered military community members entered the sweepstakes. This is the fourth time Hiring Our Heroes has given a new Toyota to a veteran.
Hiring Our Heroes presented Sen. Elizabeth Dole with the President’s Award for Lifetime Achievement at the 12th annual Lee Anderson Hiring Our Heroes Awards Gala.
U.S. Army veteran Ashley Leiva received the 2022 Transition Trucking: Driving for Excellence Award at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in Washington, D.C., in December 2022.
During the the 6th Annual Military Spouse Employment Summit, we presented the Bonnie Amos Impact Award for Lifetime Achievement to the Honorable Cheryl Mason.
What’s Ahead
Hiring Our Heroes is busy making plans for 2023. This includes an events calendar of hiring events, career preparation workshops, and new programs and partnerships.
Here are two exciting programs currently accepting applications.
Military spouses of currently serving service members may apply to the new Military Spouse Career Accelerator Pilot from Hiring Our Heroes, Deloitte, and the Department of Defense. This program provides spouses with paid 12-week fellowships at employers across various industries and locations.
Salesforce and HOH will work together to help veterans and military spouses launch careers in green tech. Through the Green Fellows initiative, veterans, transitioning service members, and military spouses are interns at organizations taking climate action.
“I have no doubt that 2023 will be another banner year,” Eversole said.