Tag Archives: New Jersey

First Lady of New Jersey, Mary Pat Christie, Joins with Excelsior Medical to help Recareer Veterans and Transitioning Military

Posted by Mike Grice on

On May 13th, Excelsior Medical will be hosting a recareering event with the First Lady of New Jersey, Mary Pat Christie, at their Neptune headquarters for transitioning military and veterans. Partnering with the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program (MPV) and several other medical device manufacturing companies, the workshop will include job skills training, engagement with mentors from the industry, and an opportunity to meet with hiring managers from participating companies that are looking to fill positions with participating veterans and transitioning military. You can read the press release about the event here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/excelsior-medical-host-innovative-job-120000522.html

The May 13 event at Excelsior will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at 1933 Heck Ave. in Neptune, NJ, and will include:

* An overview of Excelsior Medical

* An overview of the medical technology and biotechnology industries, including career opportunities

* Mentoring and small-group sessions with Kevin Callahan

* Panel on the medical device industry

* Working groups on resume writing, digital networking, in-person networking, and interview skills

* Information about how to stay connected with MVP

A quote from Excelsior CEO Steve Thornton:  “Veterans are people who want to make a difference. That doesn’t stop when they leave the military. Our gratitude to them shouldn’t stop then, either. We are very pleased to be part of this innovative effort to bring more veterans into the civilian workforce.”

The Excelsior Medical event follows the very successful first MVP Recareering event that was conducted at Ethicon in Somerville on April 29th. At that event, 15 veterans participated in the daylong seminar and within a week three were interviewing for positions and others are in the employment process. The CEO of Johnson and Johnson, Alex Gorsky, personally addressed the group and the day culminated with the J&J Talent Acquision Team mentoring participants about the careers available within the family of J&J companies. You can read about that event here: http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20140430/NJCARING/304300040/Career-program-Bridgewater-lets-veterans-realize-their-value-civilian-life

There are a total of 20 seats for veterans at the Excelsior Medical event on May 13th, and slots are still available. Preregistration is necessary to secure a seat in the recareering workshop. Honorably discharged veterans and those still serving are eligible to participate. To preregister, please follow this link: http://www.mvpvets.org/mvpvets-event-interest-form

 

 

 

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Helping New Jersey’s Veterans Find Jobs: Recareering Event at Excelsior Medical on May 13th

Posted by Mike Grice on

New Jersey has over 463,000 veterans in the state, and unfortunately it has the dubious honor of having the highest unemployment rate for veterans in the country. According to information released by the Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the state had an unemployment rate for veterans of 10.8 percent in 2013.

Fortunately, there are some great companies that are eager to hire veterans.  Not because of a sense of pity, but instead because they recognize the remarkable value that someone who has served in uniform brings to their ranks; someone who will show up on time, knows how to lead and how to follow, how to effectively function in diverse and challenging environments, and the dozens of other traits that every veteran or transitioning military person has inculcated through their service.

Excelsior Medical is one such company.  On May 13th they will be hosting a daylong recareering workshop for transitioning military and veterans.  There is no cost to veterans and meals and parking are included.  The event will include one-on-0ne mentoring with veterans who already work at the hosting company as well as human resources experts and hiring managers who will work with the veterans to improve their resumes, refine job-seeking skills like interviewing and effective social networking, and to interview qualified veterans for jobs. Space is limited to 20 veterans at Excelsior Medical on May 13th.

To register and reserve a seat at the event, follow this link  http://www.mvpvets.org/mvpvets-event-interest-form or go to the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program website at www.mvpvets.org and follow the “Mentor and Veteran Workshop” link under “events”.

How Ethicon and Johnson and Johnson are helping veterans find new careers

Posted by Mike Grice on

I spent yesterday in New Jersey, where Ethicon (a Johnson and Johnson company) partnered with the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program (MVP) hosted 15 veterans in their Somerville headquarters. The veterans were paired with mentors from a half dozen supporting companies, and were able to participate in a full day of industry familiarization, job seeking skill building, resume review, social media branding, and networking.

The CEO of Johnson and Johnson, Alex Gorsky, and the President of Ethicon, Dan Wildman, both took time from their incredibly busy schedules to address the participants.  As if that were not enough commitment from the organization to help veterans, the day culminated with the J&J Talent Acquisition team opening showing how participants could access the thousands of job openings across the J&J family of companies.  It was a testament to how the company is a leader in the veteran employment space, and it is the first of what will become an annual event.

The event is one of six that MVP will be conducting with Life Science companies this year.  The next event is scheduled for May 13th, where Excelsior Medical will be hosting up to 20 veterans at their headquarters in Neptune, New Jersey.  Other events will be held in Chicago, San Diego, Minneapolis, and Boston, so if you are in any of these areas please consider attending!  The events are free for veterans, and each company will be sharing job opportunities as a part of the event.

For more information about upcoming events and the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program, go to http://www.mvpvets.org and scroll down to the upcoming events section of the landing page.

If you would like to participate, sign up!  We are looking for veterans to participate in every event, and the opportunity to learn about the life science industry and how companies operate is an opportunity that is very different from a job fair or career seminar.

I hope to see you at one of the events!

Transitionnews: Military/Veteran Jobs and Benefits news of the day for for 4/3/14

Posted by Mike Grice on

Good news story of the day

MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program Announces New Jersey’s First Veteran and Transitioning Military Re-careering Seminar  (PR Newswire)  On April 29th, the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program (www.mvpvets.com) will host its inaugural re-careering event for transitioning military and veterans in New Jersey.

Military Transition and Jobs News

Businesses target veterans and civilians at job fairs   (Clearwater Gazette) Two job fairs planned for next week target veterans and the general public.

Front Porch: Veterans Job Fair  (Weekly Herald)  Naval Station Everett Fleet and Family Support Center will host a biannual Veterans Job Fair today from 10 a.m.-2p.m. at their Smokey Point Totem Recreation Center, 13922 45th Ave, Marysville.

Blunt sponsors bill to encourage hiring vets  (KSPR)  Missouri Senator Roy Blunt has introduced the “Hire More Heroes Act” (S.2190), bipartisan legislation aimed at encouraging companies to hire more American veterans. Blunt serves as a member of the bipartisan Congressional Veterans Job Caucus.

Free Career Programs for Veterans and Spouses  (Military.com)  The Institute for Veterans and Military Families at Syracuse University is currently enrolling eligible veterans and their spouses in an online program to enhance their career skills and job marketability.

Wanted: Heroes  (The Washington Post)  A two-tour Army veteran of the Afghanistan war pulled on a pair of old combat boots and headed off to his $8-an-hour job washing cars at a Ford dealership in Wichita Falls, Tex. “My military background don’t mean nothing,” he said. “I am just another guy with a GED.”

Veterans News

We aren’t doing enough to help veterans transition to civilian life  (The Washington Post)  George Washington once declared that “the willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation.”

Iraq vet charged with soliciting money for Wounded Warriors, keeping it  (St, Louis Post Dispatch)  A wounded Iraq War veteran from St. Charles County is accused of soliciting unauthorized donations of at least $6,200 for the Wounded Warrior Project but keeping the money himself.

VA Pays $200 Million for Nearly 1,000 veterans’ Wrongful Deaths  (The Daily Beast)  Since 9/11 almost 1,000 veterans have died due to negligence in the Veterans healthcare system.

FDA Warnings to Body-Parts Vendors Overlooked by VA  (Bloomberg)  A U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs safety office isn’t tracking a health agency’s warnings on the potential for contaminated body tissue, a federal auditor’s review found.

Benefits News

VA wants widow of WWII survivor to pay back benefits  (MyFoxAustin)  The widow of a Pearl Harbor survivor is not only fighting for her life but fighting with the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Reno Veterans Affairs ‘Worst in Nation’ Rank Proves Need for Reform, Accountability   (The Blaze)  A recent Reno Gazette-Journal report cast a harsh light on the shameful reality of the local office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which has been ranked the “worst in the nation” for processing veterans’ benefit claims.

Betrayed military spouses often keep quiet for fear of losing benefits  (Los Angeles Times)  Within the tight circle of Army spouses, Kris Johnson and Rebecca Sinclair became close friends as their ambitious husbands advanced rapidly in the officer corps.

Senate Panel Signals Possible Future Relief from Full Sequester Cuts  (Seapower)  After provided a break from deep sequester cuts in fiscal 2014 and 2015, lawmakers seemed poised to continue easing up in future years as well.

House appropriators cut military construction spending  (The Hill)  The House Appropriations Committee is cutting spending on military construction in its first 2015 appropriations bill, while boosting funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

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Have a great day!

A few thoughts on job and career fairs, part 3: Industry sponsored events

Posted by Mike Grice on

Job and career fairs are not all the same, and this is the third in a string of posts about the different types of transitioning military and veteran job and career fairs.  In the last post we explored fairs that focus on open events held on military bases, and in this post we will shift from military bases to industry sponsored events in which a specific company, group of companies, or an industry hosts an event that focuses on their specific area.

Industry specific opportunities are usually centered around providing insights for veterans and transitioning military into what businesses within the industry specialize in, such as manufacturing, oil and gas production, financial services, and healthcare.  They are usually held outside the realm of military bases at either a hosting company’s facility or a hotel or conference center.  There is usually no cost for transitioning military or veterans to attend, and often there are industry-centered orientation an training seminars offered during the event.  Since the seminars are hosted by companies or groups of companies, there are usually hiring managers present with job opportunities in hand that they want to fill with the veterans who participate in the seminar.

One example is the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program (MVP), which conducts recareering seminars for veterans and transitioning military that are sponsored and supported by companies within the life sciences industry.  These events are held at sponsoring company headquarters or training centers, and offer an inside view of the hosting business and the larger industry, along with skills building training and mentorship.  MVP will be conducting two such events in New Jersey during the next two months, the first of which will be held at Ethicon, a Johnson and Johnson company on April 29th, 2014.  For more information, follow this link to the press release for the event, and it is republished below as well:

MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program Announces New Jersey’s First Veteran and Transitioning Military Re-careering Seminar

SOMERVILLE, N.J., April 2, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — On April 29th, the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program(www.mvpvets.org) will host its inaugural re-careering event for transitioning military and veterans in New Jersey.  Military personnel in transition from service and honorably discharged veterans are invited to apply for the opportunity to participate in this free one day seminar that will include active one-on-one mentoring, industry specific training, eLearning enrollment, and personal engagement with hiring managers seeking to employ program participants.

The event brings veterans and transitioning military together with mentors from the medical technology industry while they participate in active sessions that include resume review and refinement, job interview training and rehearsals, creating a professional online presence in social media, and networking. Hiring managers from companies strongly desiring to hire transitioning military and veterans participate in the program as mentors, trainers, and interviewers.

The event on April 29 will be hosted by Ethicon, Inc., a global leader in the medical device industry, at their Somerville facility.

Participants will be able to submit their resumes for review and editing the week prior to the event so that they can be thoroughly prepared for submission to hiring managers. Additionally, each participant will be provided with personal business cards for use in networking and job-seeking.  Capacity for this event is 30 people maximum.

There is no cost for participating veterans and transitioning military.  All materials, breakfast, lunch, and parking are provided free of charge.  Transitioning military and veterans interested in participating in the program can apply at the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program website (http://www.mvpvets.org/public-events/mentor-and-veteran-workshop-new-jersey/registration.html)

About the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program (MVP):
The MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program is a nonprofit organization with the mission to bring 5,000 veterans and transitioning military into the Life Sciences by 2018.  Co-founded by  Abiomed (www.abiomed.com) and Zero Boundaries Global (www.zbglobal.com), MVP brings active mentorship together with an integrated collaborative online portal and eLearning from the Life Collaborative in a concerted effort to help those who have served the country in uniform re-career into meaningful and impactful careers in the MedTech, MedDevice, BioTech, Pharmaceutical, BioFuels, and Wireless Medical Technology sectors across a variety of corporate functional areas such as project management, supply chain, quality, and many others. http://www.mvpvets.org

 SOURCE MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program

(In the interest of full disclosure, I serve as the Chief Operating Officer for the MedTech and BioTech Veterans Program, which is a 501(c)3 fiscally sponsored nonprofit organization that aims to recareer 5,000 veterans and transitioning military into the life sciences by 2018)