Pathways to Purpose: Celebrating 275 Career Summits
On October 20, Hiring Our Heroes celebrated a major milestone at RAF Mildenhall: its 275th Career Summit. These events connect transitioning service members, veterans, military spouses, and caregivers with employers committed to hiring military talent—locally, regionally, and nationally. Through industry-focused workshops, interactive panels, hiring fairs, networking opportunities, and other resources, these summits empower job seekers to pursue meaningful civilian careers.
Thanks to Our Partners
The success of these summits, which have served nearly 100,000 military-connected participants over the years, would not be possible without the steadfast support of partner organizations and businesses.
“We’ve never done this work alone,” said Elizabeth O’Brien, Hiring Our Heroes’ senior vice president of programs and events. “We’ve built collaborative partnerships with the Department of Defense, installation teams, community organizations, chambers of commerce, and businesses of all sizes across the globe, enabling our military-connected community to pursue economic opportunity.”
At RAF Mildenhall in the United Kingdom—one of several HOH Career Summits hosted for transitioning service members and military spouses stationed overseas each year—employers and organizations collaborated with HOH to connect with more than 125 job seekers, resulting in dozens of extended job offers and follow-up interviews. This powerful collaboration creates real, lasting impact for the military-connected workforce.
Employers who participate in Career Summits praise the highly qualified talent pool they meet at the events, noting that these events introduce them to strong candidates for current and future roles. One employer who attended RAF Mildenhall shared, “This was a very worthwhile event. The quality of [job seekers] we met was very high.”
Expanding Impact for All Military-Connected Community Members
While Career Summits have evolved over time, the mission remains the same: helping the military-connected community access economic opportunity.
“When we launched our first summit at Fort Bliss in February 2014, HOH made an intentional decision to shift our strategy and engage as far left of transition as possible,” HOH’s O’Brien explained. “Instead of waiting for service members to become unemployed veterans when they returned to their communities, we chose to meet them while they are still in uniform, helping them build pathways to civilian careers before they took that next step.”
Today, HOH hiring events serve military-connected populations in all 50 U.S. states and on military installations around the world.
International Career Summits, like the one held at RAF Mildenhall, play a vital role in extending HOH’s mission to military families stationed abroad. These events are uniquely positioned to support military-connected job seekers living overseas, who often face additional hurdles such as limited access to local employment networks, time zone differences, and unfamiliar job markets. By bringing together global employers who understand and value the skills of the military-connected workforce, these summits help bridge geographical divides, create pathways to employment, and reinforce the importance of career development regardless of location.
As one attendee put it, “This [summit] should be mandatory for all service members who are separating. This was an amazing and insightful event.”
Join Us
If you are a military-connected individual looking for your next career opportunity, consider attending a Career Summit near you.
Employers interested in hiring military-connected talent are encouraged to connect with Hiring Our Heroes to learn how to participate in upcoming Career Summits.
