Despite learning incredible skills on the battlefield, more than 60 percent of military veterans are either unemployed or underemployed.
In 2019, Daniel Crabtree began to plan for civilian life after 16 years of military service. A petty officer second class, Crabtree had served across the globe, most recently in human resources positions looking after navy staffing needs.
Not only was 40-year-old Crabtree well-experienced in the HR arena, he’d also earned a master’s degree while in the service. The challenge for Crabtree was translating those skills (and that degree) into the civilian marketplace.
“I’d never really applied for a job or written a résumé or negotiated a salary,” Crabtree said. “I had a lot to offer companies, but no idea how to market myself to them.”
Enter Hire Heroes USA, an employment assistance organization that helps service members and veterans transition into the civilian workforce. Six months after starting with Hire Heroes, Crabtree found a job in HR with CFI, a leading trucking company. “So many veterans wind up homeless or unemployed because they didn’t know how to make the shift into civilian life,” says Crabtree. “Hire Heroes was an essential component of my success.”