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Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations
U.S. House of Representatives
Remarks by Theodore L. Daywalt, CEO and President/VetJobs.com
27 September 2000
“Chairman Everett and distinguished members of the subcommittee, I am Ted Daywalt, CEO and president of VetJobs.com.
It is an honor and a distinct pleasure to be here this morning.
VetJobs is a company owned by veterans. Our primary mission is to assist veterans, their spouses and dependents.
Since we launched last Veterans Day, we have grown into the largest resume database and job-posting site for military veterans on the Internet.
All of our many services are FREE to veterans of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Merchant Marine, Navy and National Guard, plus their spouses and dependents.
We are proud and honored to call the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States our FRIEND and PARTNER. The VFW owns 10 percent of VetJobs. We work with them on a daily basis in their Military Assistance Program, and in many other initiatives to help America’s veterans.
Today, we have more than 400 military-friendly companies posting jobs at VetJobs. They include large corporations like General Dynamics, US Filter and Intel. Small companies like PE Systems of Charleston, South Carolina and the University Alliance of BISK.COM out of Tampa, Florida. Some members of the public sector have also gotten the message the military veterans are special people. Our public sector customers include the U.S. Custom Service, the U.S. Postal Service, the Wyoming Highway Patrol and the Phoenix, Arizona Police Department.
Let me tell you a short story.
I spoke recently to the operations manager of a Georgia consumer products shipping firm.
He told me on a recent Friday night, the backlog of orders was horrendous and he asked for volunteers from his 12-man crew to work overnight to give the next shift a fighting chance to get through the weekend.
He said, “All 3 of the military veterans volunteered without hesitation because they understood what MISSION FAILURE was all about. The others said to me “Sorry, we’ve got plans and left.”
Ladies and gentlemen, that Can Do spirit, reliability, discipline and mission-oriented work ethic of veterans makes them highly employable in the civilian and public sectors.
Sadly, however, that is simply not what is happening in America.
The unemployment rate for our military veterans is substantially higher than the national average, and we at VetJobs are committed to doing something about that.
Many corporate job recruiters never consider military veterans for employment because they have had no exposure to America’s armed forces. We have had a volunteer military for more than 30 years, the draft is a distant memory and the last war was a decade ago. Consider the following:
After World War II, one out of every 10 Americans was either a veteran or on active duty in our armed services.
Today, that number has shrunk to one veteran for every 147 Americans.
In years past, American heroes like Daniel Joseph Daly and Smedley Butler, Alvin York and Eddie Rickenbacker, Bull Halsey and George Patton, Lloyd Burke and Chesty Puller were chronicled in the news media and known in every household in America.
Today, probably the best known veteran in America is TOM HANKS, who played United States Army Captain John Miller in the Academy-award winning film “Saving Private Ryan.”
What has resulted from all this?
According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate for male military veterans discharged since 1994 is 7 percent, compared to an overall U.S. unemployment rate of 4.5 percent. Among black and Hispanic male veterans, unemployment is 6.8 percent and 8.1 percent, respectively. The unemployment rate for female veterans is 5.9 percent.
Our armed forces are no longer soldiers in foxholes and sailors aboard gunboats. We have a high-tech military billeted by men and women superbly trained in state-of-the-art technology, leadership and teamwork.
For example, did you know that 92 percent of active duty military use personal computers and 51 percent use LAN systems. All major military operating systems – control and command, administration, logistics, intelligence and weapons – are highly computerized and require superbly trained and motivated people to operate them.
We firmly believe that message needs to find its way in America’s corporate boardrooms, and, if I may be permitted to use a military term, VetJobs is “SCOPE-LOCKED” on that mission.
Here are some of the things we are doing.
We have developed the most comprehensive veterans job board on the Internet, with multiple services to help veterans and employers understand each others needs, language and work environments.
Often, veterans and civilian employers speak a different language.
We had a retiring senior chief petty officer from the United States Navy forward her resume to one of our corporate customers. During her 20-year career, she had worked as a DETAILER in the Bureau of Naval Personnel, in charge of the career paths of hundreds of sailors, and a position in the civilian world that would be on a senior management level. The employer thought she washed cars.
We offer our services FREE to all veterans, their spouses and dependents.
We offer and market our services to BOTH officers and enlisted men and women, because for every officer, there are 20 enlisted personnel.
We put together a Board of Advisors that includes retired E-10s from each of the services, and a group of flag officers that includes a Medal of Honor winner and one of the first African-Americans to command a United States Army infantry division.
We offer veterans assistance in resume preparation, job interview techniques and career planning.
We are educating human resources personnel, recruiters and employers on why they should hire veterans. In your packet you should have a sheet that we provide employers on 12 reasons to hire veterans.
As of August 31st, we have more than 15,000 veterans posting resumes on our site, and have helped more than 530 veterans find jobs. Our top employer through August is Combined Insurance Companies of America, headquartered in Chicago, Ill. – with more than 60 hires.
Premier Technology Group Inc., located nearby in the Washington suburb of Springfield, VA – hired 12 veterans off our site in their first six months with us, which is typical for many of the technology companies posting positions with VetJobs.
We publish two monthly newsletters – one for veterans and one for employers. The newsletters are one of our best vehicles for bringing veterans and employers together.
Through these newsletters, plus our advertising and public relations campaigns, we are trying to educate employers and veterans that in the 21st Century economy, the Internet is fast replacing newspaper want ads, so much so that last year 90 percent of the Fortune Global 500 companies were actively recruiting on the Internet.
We work closely with the military transition offices around the world to ensure that transitioning veterans are aware of our services.
To assist veteran spouses and dependents, VetJobs in October is launching a BRAND NEW SERVICE where jobs, resume preparation and career counseling will be specifically tailored to the veteran’s family needs.
But just as important, VetJobs is dedicated to supporting the mission of America’s active duty military, reserves and National Guard. We are not here to encourage military members to leave the service, but to give them the best possible assistance once their decision has been made. We have dedicated “CONSIDER STAYING IN” and JOIN THE GUARD/RESERVE links on our homepage. We have done this on the home page at the suggestion of the active duty commanders. Sometimes the best job answer for a young service member is to stay in a while longer and gain more schooling and experience. If we can facilitate that happening, we have again succeeded.
We are active financial sponsors of the athletic programs at the United States Air Force, Coast Guard, Military and Naval Academies.
In addition, the military has hired us to help them find civilian employees, reservists and National Guardsmen. Our military customers include:
* The United States Navy Recruiting Command
* The United States Naval Reserve Command
* The United States Air Force Reserve Command
* The Naval Surface Warfare Center
* The Army and Air Force Exchange Service
Ladies and gentlemen, VetJobs – together with our partner the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States – will do anything to help our veterans.
Mr. Chairman, thank you for your gracious invitation to speak here this morning, and Please Remember:
Freedom is NOT FREE – Support our Armed Forces and Veterans.
Thank you.”