Its been over a month and I have not yet posted anything. Well, I guess I was busy looking for a job during these crazy pandemic times. Let me tell you that I was looking for a job in February and the next thing you know there was COVID-19. Not a great time for job hunting.

That is why I want to talk about a free service for military service members (and spouses) who are transitioning to civilian life or veterans that are looking for jobs. Hire Heroes USA is a nonprofit organization that helps people find jobs by providing some online tool/services. I learn about them when I got an email from O2O (Onward to Opportunity) and I signed for their help in January.

So if you want to know about this organization then check their web site’s about page. They provide online videos about interviews, resume improvements, and they sometimes call you about whats going on with the job search. Its helpful that they check out for you. I believe they are now implementing online webinars and Virtual Federal workshops, because of the Corona virus. I recommend that you check out their videos and slides as they will help you in how to write and how to be prepare for the interview.

Well, after I registered and waited for an email confirmation, I quickly login and saw there was a list to do: upload your resume, your DD-214 form, and some other information. Next was to read tips and read slides about resume writing. I continue to read and watch some videos.

I think I got a call from one the representatives from Hire Heroes USA (from now on I will use HHU) like in less than a week after registering. We talk and discuss about what I am looking for and some critiques about my resume. Very friendly guy. He suggested to keep looking new jobs being posted in the job board. To be honest, the job board needs some improvements (like better filters), but as long I can find a job that fits me, I'm happy.

The job board that has job postings from many companies, but the best thing about the search engine is that it combines some job searches from Indeed.com and Ziprecruiter.com. However, when I was looking jobs in February and April, the jobs posting were decreasing. I believe it was due to the pandemic of 2020. Its a nice job board, but sometimes I went to other job search engines (like Google Jobs) and LinkedIn.com to make sure I'm not missing an opportunity.

However, if you don't have any skills or education, then your resume won't look good...

If you don't have any skills or you recently left the military and looking for school or some training, then HHU does have partnership with other organizations that provides some training or education for free. In HHU’s training tab, I search for education from Coursera. I email HHU and they provided a link for me to get free education. I knew that I was looking for a job during these unconventional times that I need some kind of training that involves remote communication with clients. I chose the IBM Customer Engagement Specialist Professional course from Coursera. It’s a short 4 week course. Next time or if I have the time, I am willing to take a professional certificate like Palo Alto Networks Cybersecurity or Google IT Support.

So how was my job search? Well I got a job from a different job search engine, but I do like to thank HHU for polishing up my resume. If it wasn’t for them, I would have a lower chance of getting a job. Thank goodness I learn something from them and got a job during 2020.

If you know someone from the military that is leaving, or a veteran that is having trouble looking for a job, then I recommend them to check out HireHeroesUSA.org as getting a job is very difficult.

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