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AARP aiding veterans, military spouses with job search
BY ALLISON BROWN
Sound of Freedom Staff Writer
AARP has launched a new, free digital platform bringing information and resources to help Arizona’s 522,382 veterans and military spouses compete in today’s job market.
Th e AARP Veterans and Military Spouses Job Center launched nationwide earlier this year and has resources like the veterans career advantage course, which focuses on career planning and skills development; a job board with a “veterans wanted” search fi lter; a resume advisor and others.
“I’m pleased that we can off er these free resources to our military veterans,” says Troy Broussard, senior adviser in the AARP Offi ce of Community Engagement and Desert Storm veteran. “Th ey served our country, and you don’t serve alone when you serve — you serve with your spouse and your family, so we want to make sure that we take care of that family and are helping them.”
Broussard says service members and their spouses face unique challenges when facing the job market. Reports from the U.S. Bureau of Labor show veteran unemployment has decreased over the past year, but Broussard says underemployment continues to hold many veterans and their spouses back.
“From a report back in 2020 from the Blue Star Families, we found that two-thirds of employed active-duty spouses reported they were underemployed in some way, indicating that their current employment does not match their education desires or experience,” Broussard says.
“So, that was our call to action to bring this job center online. It’s a one-stop hub where veteran and military spouses can go to get these free resources.”
Broussard says one of the challenges faced by veterans returning to the workforce is a lack of prior job experience, as it is diffi cult to translate a military background into experience for the civilian job market. Th e AARP job center’s resume tool helps veterans fi nd the right wording for military jargon and matches their skill set to possible civilian jobs.
In addition, Broussard says AARP works with companies and employers specifi cally looking for veteran employees, and there are a wide range of opportunities available on the center’s job board.
“Th ere are companies in technology, companies focused on the service delivery industry, some opportunities in sales, across the entire gamut. Th ere are available jobs that can fi t any career,” he says. “Th e key thing for us is that this job board fi lters what veterans want, so you initially have an upper hand.”
Another struggle comes from moving every two to three years, which means a nearly constant cycle of applying, getting references, updating resumes, interviewing or sometimes just not staying anywhere long enough to move up the ladder. Broussard says this is why the job center is also an important resource for veteran and active-duty spouses.
Retired U.S. Air Force Col. Len Kirschner was on active duty for 22 years and had 14 assignments. His wife, Peggy, was formerly a high school guidance counselor but had to continually jump through hoops and was not able to be hired as one for years because of all the moving around they did.
“She had her teaching license in California. Th en we went to Colorado and she got her license there,” Kirschner says about his wife. “Th en we went to Texas and she had to get a Texas license, so she had to take some classes. Th en, she tried to get a job as a guidance counselor and failed again. She ended up teaching fi ft h grade, but it wasn’t exactly what she wanted to do.”
He says her experiences aren’t dissimilar to other military spouses who have to fi nd a new job aft er relocating. Broussard points out that, in addition to the hassle of having to keep fi nding jobs, it doesn’t look very good on a resume to not stay in a position for more than a few years. He says the AARP job center has resources to help with that, too, and Kirschner says he wished something like that would have been available to his wife at the time.
“Any type of help where you would have some information about how to approach these kinds of jobs would have been helpful,” Kirschner says.
Out of AARP’s nearly 38 million members, Broussard says more than 5 million are military or veteran families. He adds that AARP is excited to provide this service aft er the service military members and their families did for the country.
“We want to attack this underemployment, and we want to make sure that those who serve our country and those that are in the family of those supporting our country are employed to where they should be and that they have the skills to make sure they can move forward to their next rewarding career,” Broussard says.
