Google Releases New Search Function Designed to Help Veterans Find Jobs Matching Their Skills

By Wes O’Donnell
U.S. Army & U.S. Air Force Veteran. Managing Editor, InMilitary.com & InCyberDefense.com. Speaker, filmmaker and veteran advocate.

Of the roughly 250,000 servicemembers who transition out of the military each year, one in three veterans end up taking jobs well below their skill level. This discouraging statistic is what prompted a group of veterans who work for Google to design solutions for Google’s platform. These solutions make it easier for transitioning servicemembers to translate their military skills into civilian jobs.

On August 27, Google rolled out their “Jobs for Veterans” initiative. It allows anyone to type the phrase “Jobs for veterans” into a Google search bar. A search box asking for a servicemember’s Military Occupational Specialty (MOS) code, rating or Air Force Specialty Code (AFSC) then appears.

The search results pull up civilian jobs that Google deems would be a good fit, based on what the veteran did while he or she served on active duty. For instance, as a veteran of the United States Air Force, I typed in my AFSC of 2A553D (Surveillance Radar Journeyman) into Google after the words “Jobs for veterans.” I found hundreds of avionics technician positions around my geographic location.

Previously, many independent services provided this capability through their offerings. Companies like Orion Talent, Hire Heroes USA and Military.com have been the standard “go-to” resource for recently separated veterans. This new Google service provides veterans with more control over their job search before, during and after their transition.

In addition, Google has made the service available on their Cloud Talent Solution platform. This allows any job board or corporate recruiting page to leverage the power of Google’s new capability on thousands of internal job boards.

Google Also Identifying Veteran-Owned and Veteran-Led Businesses

Furthermore, Google recognizes that veteran-owned businesses make up nine percent of all businesses in the United States. As a result, Google now offers a new “Google My Business” service, which allows business owners to identify their business as veteran-owned or veteran-led. This feature ensures these businesses can find customers who specifically want to support veterans and their companies.

This article was posted originally by the author at InMilitary.com.