Special to the News-Sun
SEBRING - Heartland Workforce, the Regional Workforce Board serving Highlands, DeSoto, and Hardee counties, now has two veterans representatives who specialize in assisting eligible veterans find employment.
U.S. Army veteran Nancy Stalter is the Disabled Veterans Outreach Program specialist. She focuses on helping veterans with disabilities and barriers to employment become employment ready. Ken Willis, also a U.S. Army veteran, serves as the local veterans employment representative. Willis specializes in helping veterans locate jobs through different means of job search and business outreach. He visits local employers and provides them with information on incentives available for hiring veterans.
Both Statler and Willis can be contacted at any one of the three Heartland Workforce locations and on Monday, Wednesday or Friday in Highlands, or Tuesday or Thursday in DeSoto or Hardee.
Questions to consider when deciding to come to a Heartland Workforce One-Stop Career Center to visit a veterans representative:
Should out-of-work veterans call ahead for an appointment before visiting a Heartland Workforce One-Stop Career Center for the first time, and how long does the initial visit typically take? No appointment is necessary - any staff member can serve you as a "walk-in"; however, there are times when the veterans representatives will make appointments to assure their availability to better serve you. Each meeting with a veterans representative, or any staff member, can take 20-30 minutes.
Veterans can speed things up by registering online ahead of time on the Employ Florida Marketplace website at www.employflorida.com, and entering their personal general information, a resume, and the basic background information. The following website offers additional guidance and assistance to veterans: www.employflorida.com/portals/veteran. Along with job referrals provided to you by staff, employers also use the system to locate qualified candidates; therefore, the more information you enter into the system, the better your chances of landing employment.
What should veterans bring with them for their first visit? For their initial meeting with a veterans representative, the veteran should bring a copy of their Department of Defense form DD214 (their discharge document) and a copy of their resume. This provides the veterans representative with information on your history and work experience. This is helpful whether you are considering training, additional education, or employment.
The veterans representative will conduct an initial assessment of your skills, needs, work history, prior training, and goals. This information helps in making recommendations for training or other services, or jobs, and whether you are looking for full-time or part-time employment.
What if the veteran doesn't have a resume, and isn't sure how to prepare one? Resume writing workshops are available at each Heartland Workforce One-Stop Career Center. Following attendance at a workshop, staff members are available to help write or critique your resume to assure it is fine-tuned for each job you are interested in applying for. Workshops are also available in areas such as: labor market information, mastering interviews, and identifying your transferrable skills. All services are at no cost.
Is there a dress code, even unofficially, for veterans visiting a Heartland Workforce One-Stop Career Center? As a rule of thumb, you should be dressed appropriately for all job-search activities. Many times, Heartland Workforce is hosting employers interested in interviewing someone on the spot; or we may be on the phone with an employer who wants a qualified candidate referred immediately. Services are designed to help prepare the veteran to be ready to meet an employer at a moment's notice.
Is there any reason for a veteran who is struggling to find work, to be embarrassed or hesitant about meeting with a veteran's representative? Absolutely not. Heartland Workforce honors our military veterans and is grateful for their service. Veterans representatives are veterans themselves, and have likely seen or experienced many of the situations that may be of concern.
So whether you have recently been released from the military, are a veteran who recently lost their job, or are a veteran thinking about making a career change ... take time to visit a Heartland Workforce location and meet with one of the veteran representatives.
The DeSoto One-Stop Career Center is at 2160 NE Roan Ave. in Arcadia. It is open Tuesdays and Thursdays, as is the Hardee One-Stop Career Center at 324 N. 6th Ave. in Wauchula. The Highlands One-Stop Career Center is at 5901 U.S. 27 S, Suite 1 in Sebring. It is open Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
For more information about Heartland Workforce and/or Veterans Services and Programs, visit the Heartland Workforce website at www.hwib.org.
Friday, March 15, 2013 - www.newssun.com/031713-heartland-workforce