Today’s post comes from Al Thompson, principal at Mehlman Vogel Castagnetti.
Too many of the American people hold this common assumption that lobbyists are merely
a special interest group whose sole purpose is to help the privileged receive favors from the government; and unfortunately, there are too few stories available to combat such judgment. The truth is that we spend a great deal of our time advocating for clients who cover wide swaths of society. For instance, over the past three years I have had the distinct privilege to represent Monster.com, along with its subsidiary Military.com. Military.com is the largest military member website in the country with over 9 million subscribers, and it remains one of the top ten largest news sites on the internet.
Military.com has put forth a significant effort to develop a system that assists military
personnel as they search for employment once they leave the service. It has also conducted extensive research on the barriers that military members often face when trying to find civilian employment. Our government, along with the private sector, has created many successful programs that have resulted in veterans getting hired; however, even despite these triumphs the veteran unemployment rate remains well above the national average. The primary barrier for a veteran seeking work is their ability to translate his or her skills in a way that civilian employers can understand. I can speak personally about this issue, for I have experienced this challenge myself; when I left the military, I had to pay someone who could translate my resume in such a way that it highlighted my qualifications for work on Capitol Hill.
It has been an absolute privilege to work with executives from Military.com and share in their pursuit to educate Members of Congress, and their staffs, on the ways that our government can harness technology to improve the employment transition programs for military personnel. These efforts have resulted in the improvement such programs, such as the Vow to Hiring Heroes Act. I can say that when President Obama signed this law into action, it was one of my proudest days as a lobbyist, because I was able to serve those who serve us.
