Veterans’ Civilian Employment Experiences: Lessons Learnt From Focus Groups

Abstract

Emerging evidence highlights employment as a key factor influencing the success of transition from military to civilian life. Historically, employment programs have focused on improving skills such as resume writing and interview skills. However, it is likely that employment challenges are more than these practical barriers. Four focus groups with employed and unemployed Gulf War era II veterans were conducted aimed at moving past a practical perspective by gaining experiential understandings of veterans' employment. Thematic analysis indicated that the veterans' employment experiences were best understood temporally in two master themes: Pretransition and the divergent experiences of veterans who did and did not plan ahead; and, Living the transition and the veterans' experiences of employment barriers and facilitators. Further to the two master themes an underlying thread of the need for self-determination was evident.Interpretation of the results led to the development of recommendations for policy, service provision, and future research.

Who they are versus what they want: How dominance, influence, steadiness, and compliance profiles can aid in developing employability

“…To illustrate, although selling behaviors may be more initially stressful for an introvert, trait-based assumptions that an introvert may not be successful in selling directly to customers is short-sighted. Keeling et al (2019) argue that a perceived inability to communicate effectively may create barriers for veterans seeking an effective transition to civilian employment. Although veterans are considered an excellent source of talent, a perceptual mismatch may exist between the ability to communicate effectively in military contexts (e.g., command-oriented exchanges) and the more personal style of communication commonly found in many non-military organizations (Dieter, 2019).…”

Human resources challenges of military to civilian employment transitions

“…There is considerable research on veteran employment in civilian contexts, and most of it focuses on returning veterans with significant disabilities and the challenges that they face reentering the civilian employment market (Davis et al, 2019;Harrod et al, 2017;Winters, 2018). There is also some research that generically focuses on veteran to civilian employment transitions (Burnett-Zeigler et al, 2011;Chicas et al, 2012;Keeling et al, 2019;Kirchner and Akdere, 2019;Kleycamp, 2013;Little, and Alenkin, 2011). This study, however, is unique in that the research focuses on the returning veteran's hiring and onboarding experiences and does not differentiate among any specific personal challenges that the returning veteran may have.…”

Communities Serve: A Systematic Review of Need Assessments on U.S. Veteran and Military-Connected Populations

“…Employment and Broader Workforce Needs. The needs assessment literature supported the findings from the abundance of scholarship conducted on veteran employment and self-employment (e.g., Boldon, Maury, Armstrong, & Van Slyke, 2016;Humensky, Jordan, Stroupe, & Hynes, 2013;Keeling, Ozuna, Kintzle, & Castro, 2018;Perkins et al, 2019;Schulker, 2017). A large majority of the literature reported veteran needs for employment, particularly the pre-interview stages.…”