For David May, Wisconsin is home. So when he had his fill of PCS moves, the Air Force officer left behind 13 years of active-duty service to become a full-time member of the Wisconsin Air National Guard. Though the uniform remained unchanged, the transition came with a learning curve.
“One of my first experiences in the Guard in 2010 was bringing back an entire brigade, about 3,000 troops, and reintegrating them into civilian life,” said May, a retired brigadier general. “As an active-duty guy, I didn’t really understand it.”
Mired in the aftermath of the Panic of 2008 — the financial crisis that swept across America — the brigade’s guardsmen were returning to shuttered businesses and disheartening job prospects. It was hardly the soft landing a soldier hopes for after a year down range.
“I was working with the joint staff with the Wisconsin Guard at the time, [and] there was a 12 to 15 percent unemployment rate,” May said. “I learned coming back from a demanding deployment to no job is an individual and a family crisis. That experience stuck with me.”
May served another 15 years before retiring as Wisconsin’s adjutant general this year, but that early Guard experience was burned into his heart and head, making his next career move just another step in service to others. He began serving as VetJobs’ director of National Guard and Reserve Partnerships in August.
“The leadership of VetJobs brought me in because I know the Guard, and to a degree, the reserve,” said May. “As far as outreach and partnership building, that’s been a natural transition from what I was doing with the Guard.”
VetJobs is a national leader in securing employment for veterans, transitioning active-duty members, and those in the Guard and reserves as well as their spouses. At no cost, they walk candidates through resume writing, skills training and placement with military-friendly employers.
In his role, May is focused on strengthening state-level partnerships to better reach the jobless and underemployed across the Guard and reserves. When he superimposes current U.S. unemployment rates on the reserve component, he estimates a deep need.
“There’s about 650,000 part-time Guard and reserve members. Add to that spouses and people who are underemployed, and I think 25,000 to 50,000 people is the scope in the Guard and reserve that needs outreach,” he said.
Promoting guardsmen and reservists to employers is also in May’s wheelhouse. Their leadership experience, discipline and task-oriented bent make for an easy pitch.
“That’s a fun aspect of my job — talking to employers about what Guard and reserve members bring to their employers,” May said. “As long as you’re in the military, you’re a lifelong learner, and that mindset translates to a civilian job and is incredibly valuable.”
A soldier’s focus is also helpful when candidates are pounding the pavement. By being proactive, military members who anticipate being on the hunt for work can get a leg up in a competitive job market.
“My first piece of advice is to start early,” May said. “Start working in the first year on your resume. Register with us early and you’ll have a relationship built.”
From there, VetJobs can secure training that will fill the skills gaps, ensuring a marketable candidate. But May is emphatic that support doesn’t end once a guardsman or reservist lands a gig.
“Support that lasts a lifetime is kind of the bumper sticker,” he said. “Our goal is full employment for everyone who wants it or needs it.”
Visit VetJobs to learn more about programs for job seekers.