ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
In the closing scene of the 1972 movie "The Candidate," Robert Redford's character, Jim McKay, ponders his success and future as a recently elected official. Looking to his political election specialist, Marvin Lucas, played by the late Peter Boyle, for direction, he contemplates what steps to take next. Jim asks Marvin, "What do we do now?"
After years of military service, many Active Duty members, guardsmen and reservists ask this same question; what do they do now? American Corporate Partners may have the answer: mentorship.
Business professionals from Fortune 500 companies, as well as the private and public sector, are looking for newcomers who they can mentor. They are searching specifically for veterans recently separated from the military who have served on Active Duty since 2001. The program is also available to spouses of former military members who have been severely wounded or killed in action.
"There are many programs out there for veterans who are transitioning out of the military. They could benefit from participating in these opportunities," said Dottie Mazeroff, 316th Force Support Squadron Airman and Family Readiness Center community readiness consultant and transitioning military counselor. "The ACP program, however, is unique in that protégés and mentors alike have the chance to better understand how military experience and skills transfer into the civilian workforce, and how to make those skills work for them. Plus, it builds relationships and fosters networking, which is very important when looking for employment."
Ms. Mazeroff said that a late 2007 CareerBuilder.com survey revealed that more than two-thirds of employers surveyed look favorably on hiring veterans, however, 61 percent of those employers do not know what veterans bring to the table.
"One of the biggest challenges for our military members is translating the military skills into something that prospective employers can understand, and through the work of ACP and the mentorship opportunities it offers its protégés, it can allow our military members to do just that - learn ways to make themselves marketable to the outside world," Ms. Mazeroff explained.
The unemployment rate for veterans who served in Iraq or Afghanistan is 11.2 percent, ranking above the 9.4 percent national average. "That's why I think this mentoring program is so important," Ms. Mazeroff said. "The unemployment rate for veterans serving in Iraq and Afghanistan is higher than the national average, but yet our veterans have so much more to offer than the general population." Ms. Mazeroff said some of the professional attributes military members take for granted are their work ethic, security clearances and their higher education and training levels, as well as their global experience and experience with other cultures.
"One other big thing that business employers are emphasizing today is leadership, and that's something that everyone in the military has - whether you are an E-1 or an O-10 - you have leadership training and experience. That's really valued in the private sector workforce," Ms. Mazeroff said.
Though not a job placement program, ACP strives to build relationships between transitioning military members with professionals from Morgan Stanley, IBM, GE, Home Depot, Verizon, PepsiCo and URS Corporation. Currently, ACP has 350 business professionals in 16 cities, including Washington D.C., with corporate backgrounds in operational and strategic management, finance, marketing, engineering, operations and sales are available as mentors. In-person and e-mentoring programs are available.
For more information, visit
www.acp-usa.org.