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© 2013 KentuckyGuard
Story by David Altom, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs
Jim Stinnett is the Kentucky National Guard’s education, employment and incentives specialist. (Photo by David Altom, Kentucky National Guard Public Affairs)
FRANKFORT, Ky. – One of the great things about being in the Kentucky National Guard is that you can serve your nation in a military role and still be part of the local community. It also means that you can have a civilian career as well as military, which is the best of both worlds, right?
But what if you haven’t made up your mind as to what kind of civilian career you want? Worse yet, what if you don’t even have a job?
Not to fear! That’s what Jim Stinnett is here for!
CHECK OUT THE EDUCATION AND JOB LINKS AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS ARTICLE!
Stinnett is the education, incentive and employment specialist for the Kentucky National Guard. It’s his mission to – you guessed it – educate you and give you the incentive to become an employed and productive member of the community … and ultimately a better Soldier or Airman.
And guess what? He does this for Guard spouses, too!
“It’s my job to provide education and employment assistance to the service member and their spouse,” said Stinnett. “We do this by giving them access to employment training programs and online assets to help better themselves and their families. The bottom line is we provide assistance to help build opportunities for success.
Stinnett loves his job, mostly because he loves working with the troops. “The Guard is family and I’ve been a part of this family since 1983, first as an M-day Soldier and then a full-timer and now as a civilian contractor. One thing I’ve learned about life is that you do everything you can to help your family. So many of our military family need help finding that perfect job and I want to be part of that service support team that helps our brothers and sisters in uniform.”
The most common question Stinnett gets from the troops is “Where do I start?”
Many military skills, like the ones displayed here by the Soldiers of the 149th Vertical Construction Co. during a construction course at Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center, easily convert to jobs in the private sector. For those jobs that aren’t easily translated into civilian language, a solution can be found. (Kentucky National Guard photo by Sgt. Scott Raymond)
“I can work with the soldier or family member to create a career action plan and an employment status review worksheet,” Stinnett said. “This will help determine a career path and what they need to do to obtain that ‘dream job’.”
“You have to make a goal or create a career action plan. You can’t be an underwater basket weaver if you don’t have the right knowledge. So you have to set smart goals.”
Stinnett explains that when you’re goal setting you should keep the following items in mind:
Make connections “Good relationships are important. Accepting help and support from others strengthens resiliency.”
Move towards realistic goals “What’s one thing I can accomplish today that helps me move in the direction I want to go?”
Accept change as a part of living “Accepting circumstances that cannot be changed can help you focus on circumstances that you can control.”
The biggest mistake Stinnett sees applicants make is using too much military jargon in their resume.
“Probably the number one reason employers don’t hire veterans is that they can’t interpret the military lingo,” said Stinnett. “There are ways to translate military occupational skills into language that is more civilian friendly, and we can help you with that.”
And finally, Stinnet says the most important thing a Guard member can do to find the right job is to create a career portfolio.
“This should have your DD214, performance appraisals, job descriptions, old resumes and any previous job applications,” said Stinnett. “Don’t be shy. Take note of your accomplishments and achievements in the past as they are key to becoming the best qualified person for the job you’re applying for.”
So there you have it. If you’re unemployed or underemployed, don’t give up. Where there is a will there is a way. And then there’s people like Jim Stinnett.
For more information on how to find your dream job email Stinnett at james.b.stinnett.ctr@mail.mil or call him at 502-607-1941.
HELPFUL LINKS TO HELP YOU IMPROVE YOUR EDUCATION AND GET A BETTER JOB!
GoArmyEd is the virtual gateway for all eligible Active Duty, National Guard and Army Reserve Soldiers to request Tuition Assistance (TA) online, anytime, anywhere for classroom and distance learning www.goarmyed.com
Hero2Hired (H2H) was created to help Reserve Component service members to connect to and find jobs with military-friendly companies. https://h2h.jobs
O*NET OnLine can help you translate your military occupational skills and experience into job descriptions for use by job seekers, workforce development and HR professionals, students, researchers, and more! www.onetonline.org
Hire A Hero is an online job board and employment resources center with more than 337,000 registered members and candidate profiles and in excess of 2 Million unique visitors. www.hireahero.org
VA for Vets facilitates the reintegration, retention and hiring of Veteran employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs. http://vaforvets.va.gov/
MJO
By: Ela Karczewska
FORT KNOX, Ky. – Starting June 4, Army National Guard (ARNG) Soldiers will begin familiarization with GoArmyEd, the U.S. Army’s online portal for the delivery of education services.
GoArmyEd accommodates all online transactions related to the continuing education needs of Army personnel, including tasks such as requesting and processing tuition assistance for classroom and distance-learning courses, and the management of their educational activities.
“Adding the Guard to GoArmyEd completes the Army’s vision of an enterprise education system that serves every Soldier, regardless of their service component,” said Ileen Rogers, the director of the Army Continuing Education System. “By virtualizing and centralizing tuition assistance operations, we take a significant step toward providing the very best education service for our men and women in uniform.”
GoArmyEd currently supports active duty and Army Reserve Soldiers as a one-stop operation in which Soldiers, Army Education counselors, and member schools can seamlessly conduct online business for all education needs. In addition to providing the Army with centralized management of tuition assistance (TA) for Soldiers, GoArmyEd also offers greater visibility and improved accuracy in funding and forecasting. Additionally, it has streamlined and standardized services at all Army education centers.
More than 325,000 Soldiers already have active GoArmyEd accounts. Allowing ARNG Soldiers into the GoArmyEd system will increase that population by nearly 75,000, bringing the total to more than 400,000.
On Aug. 1, ARNG Soldiers who have setup GoArmyEd accounts can begin requesting tuition assistance for courses that start on or after Oct. 1. ARNG Soldiers will continue to use the current ARNG system to request courses that start prior to Oct. 1.
“Soldiers have registered for nearly 1.3 million classes in GoArmyEd since its inception in April of 2006, and including the Army National Guard is expected to significantly increase annual enrollment volumes,” said Maj. Jerome “Scott” Loring, the GoArmyEd migration lead for the National Guard.
The benefits are evident. GoArmyEd supports centralized management of tuition assistance, which helps to reduce administrative workload at 108 education centers, and it allows Soldiers to receive TA from more than 2,500 regionally or nationally accredited schools. Users can also utilize the program to handle applications for admission to participating schools, use centralized applications for TA, receive online course registration, check the recording of grades, enrollments and graduations, track degree requirements, receive automated invoicing from schools, and benefit from customer relationship management and help desk support.
On Oct. 1, all ARNG Soldiers and ARNG education personnel will begin using GoArmyEd to manage TA and all other education activities, thus accomplishing the Army’s one-portal objective.
For more information , visit www.goarmyed.com
