ELD: How does the Call of Duty Endowment’s partnership with the organizations and nonprofits it supports set it apart from other nonprofits and endowments?
DG: We are narrowly focused and results driven. While we love to hear individual success stories, we’re 95% intent on quantifiable results. Zeroing in on quantity, cost, and quality of veteran employment efforts ensures we can do the most good for the most veterans. Additionally, focusing solely on veteran employment ensures we have a deep understanding of the issues surrounding it and can therefore be smarter about our grants, which we view as social investments.
ELD: What has the Endowment learned about serving veterans’ employment needs in 2018? How do you plan to use this knowledge in 2019?
DG: We are keeping a very close eye on the quality of placements: starting salary, full time vs. part time employment, and retention rates. We know that the forces of underemployment hit vets harder, so we’re vigilantly watching these numbers.
ELD: What is one thing any veteran can do today to help themselves in their quest for meaningful employment?
DG: Get help! I can’t tell you how many vets have told me that they’ve submitted 100+ resumes and haven’t gotten a single offer. This is not the fault of employers. It is your fault, and you need to get help from the pros. When I say “it’s your fault,” I don’t mean it’s because you don’t have the drive, the commitment, or haven’t put in the hours to get a job. I mean YOU simply don’t know how the civilian employment process really works and how to market yourself within its “rules.”
You need to learn how to tell your story in ways employers understand. The Transition Assistance Program/Transition GPS did NOT prepare you to be successful at this. The good news is that CASY can help you here in a customized way and it’s free! Work with them, let them help you get the job you know you’re qualified to do. The civilian workforce needs you.
Thank you, Dan, for speaking with us. We appreciate the work you do, and are proud to have you and the Call of Duty Endowment as partners in our mission.
2016: The Endowment set a goal to place 50K vets into high-quality jobs by 2019.
2018: On October 15th, we rang the opening bell at the Nasdaq, and were honored to announce that we've achieved our goal.
We are now committed to placing 100K vets into great careers by 2024!