1201. All About Veteran Transition, Employment and Hiring Programs

Matt J. Louis is one of the nation's leading experts in career transition for members of the military community. He coaches individuals on their transition efforts and advises employers on hiring programs designed to successfully assimilate this valuable talent pool. He is the author of the award-winning and best-selling HarperCollins book, Mission Transition, a practical guide for veterans in career transition, their families, and their employers. His second book, Hiring Veterans, is a practical guide for organizational leaders on how to build programs to successfully assimilate veterans and military spouses. He is a Member of Louis Advisors LLC, a veteran-owned small business, was President of Purepost, Inc. and spent 17+ years at Deloitte where he became a Senior Manager and Practice Leader. Matt is a retired officer, US Army Active Duty and Reserve, 1991 to 2012. He graduated from the Military Academy at West Point and received his MBA at Indiana University – Kelly School of Business. Matt in discussion with Don Hutcheson: "On average, today's transitioning veterans will be unemployed for 22 weeks before they find a job. And when they do, they are simply looking to replace a revenue source. They'll take a job to get any job – and it is usually not the right one. They'll rotate out of that job within the first year and a half, and they'll continue to job hop and job hop and job hop. So much so that by their sixth post-military job, 50 percent, yes, half of transitioning veterans are still not in their optimal career field. I would peg that their sixth job is between three to five years from when they re-entered civilian life. That's alarming." "Why would I raise my right hand and enlist if today's service members are not finding full-time employment? And suicide rates continue to be at unacceptable levels. There is a direct correlation with all of these things."