Photo By Sgt. Adam L. Mathis | Sgt. Fred Prince of Olympia, Wash., with Company B, Warrior Transition Battalion,...... read more read more
SEATTLE – For years, Sgt. Fred Prince had served the U.S. Army. He deployed to Iraq, served in the infantry, and came home only to fight leukemia. The battle with leukemia was a partial victory. He survived the disease, but the illness cost him the job he loves.
Instead of wearing a uniform, Prince stood in a gray, pinstripe suit, waiting to speak to a representative of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection about a job.
At the last table he visited, Prince had his résumé in hand to give to a representative of the Seattle Port Authority only to find they did not take applications on the spot.
“I think I’ll ask this time if they accept résumés instead of looking like an ass,” Prince said.
Like so many other applicants at the Hire America’s Heroes job fair at Safeco Field, Sept. 7, Prince wanted to make a good impression. His situation was complex—the kind of complexity that can scare a potential employer. A medical discharge board would decide if he could continue to serve in the U.S. Army, but that decision may not come for three to 18 months.
“What’s a prospective employer supposed to do with this?” said Prince of Olympia, Wash., now with Company B of the Warrior Transition Battalion.
Networking
“It’s never too soon to start networking,” said Andrea Nelson, a program manager with Hire America‘s Heroes. “Eighty percent of jobs are gotten because of someone you know. Eighty percent.”
Hire America’s Heroes hosted the job fair to provide former service members, and those transitioning out of the military, a chance to meet with companies that are looking to hire veterans and to equip those job seekers with the skills they need to get hired. This goal served the needs of the Warrior Transition Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, whose mission is to prepare soldiers for separation from the military. The battalion arranged to have Prince and others come to the fair to facilitate a smooth transition into the civilian world.
Many service members need help translating their experience into something civilian employers can understand. Nelson said one soldier told her his job was simply to drive a tank. However, she pointed out that the coordination and leadership necessary to be a tank driver is something veterans need to include in a résumé, because potential employers are looking for those qualities.
“[Service members] know how to lead and follow; that doesn’t come out of college every time, but it comes out of the military darn near every single time,” Nelson said.
Prince took advantage of the transition services, to include sitting with an interview coach who reviewed his résumé. Prince knows he needs help with this transition; he cannot afford too many months of unemployment while his wife attends college and his family needs his income.
“I’ve been looking online getting information about the qualifications necessary; I’ve been talking with people that have been in law enforcement and asking them about the skills necessary … basically picking up whatever information I can, from whoever I can, whenever I can,” Prince said.
Uncertainty
Prince approached the table and listened to the border patrol representative’s pitch: a job with the same team-oriented approach as the military, the opportunity to travel, and a potential income more than double what Prince currently makes. They were not taking résumés either, but their brochure went into his bag.
“That’s promising,” Prince said after leaving the table. “I didn’t know it’s that lucrative.”
Lucrative or not, Prince does not want to leave the Army. Though fighting leukemia cost him a lot in terms of health, the sergeant wants to stay in the service and continue to protect people. If his medical condition will not let him do that as a soldier, he wants to find a way to do it as a civilian.
“There’s always a need for people to stand up in front of bad people and say, ‘You’re not going to do this,’” Prince said.
| Date Taken: | 09.07.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 09.11.2012 15:59 |
| Story ID: | 94520 |
| Location: | SEATTLE, WA, US |
| Web Views: | 109 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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