By Anita Bruzzese

 With a national unemployment rate of 9.6 percent, finding a job is challenging for many Americans. But for veterans trying to re-enter the work force — despite having a variety of skills — landing a position can be even tougher.

Part of the reason is because it's often difficult for former military personnel to explain how their skills can translate into the civilian world, but another reason is often not discussed openly among employers. Specifically, many companies fear that
veterans have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and would be a problem at work.

According to a Society of Human Resources survey, 46 percent of surveyed employers said they believed PTSD and other mental issues would be a problem in hiring veterans, but only 13 percent said they had real problems with veterans in the work force who had PTSD. With some estimates of 294,000 Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans returning home with PTSD, the odds of finding employment if companies turn away from those with PTSD is daunting.

Linda Sykes, a retired Marine and project manager of military recruitment for HRworks, says that any employer hiring former military personnel will find them to be workers who are educated team players with leadership abilities. "Of course they've been
trained to carry a gun, but they're not equipped to only work in security," she says. "They have a wide variety of skills and have taken on a lot of different responsibilities."

There are nearly a half million people on LinkedIn who currently list the military as part of their profile for the professional social network. LinkedIn Corp. says after mining its data, the most popular industries that attract vets include information technology, telecommunications, financial services, law, computer software, government, higher education, health care, retail and management consulting.

Employers may be more comfortable dealing with a disability they can see — such as an amputated limb — rather than something that may not be easily  visible, such as symptoms of PTSD. In addition, many employers may not understand the stress disorder, which can include a wide variety of issues — in varying degrees — such as insomnia, anger and depression.

Kurt Ronn, president of HRworks, which specializes in military recruitment, expresses frustration when talking about employer unwillingness to hire vets because of PTSD or other concerns.

"You know what? These employers need to just suck it up and deal with it. If we all wait for the perfect program (to hire vets), we've taken an enormously complex situation and thrown up a roadblock. If these employers want to help these people, then
they need to take action and find a way to make it work. If they don't, well, that's the real crime," he says.

Anita Bruzzese is author of "45 Things You Do That Drive Your Boss Crazy ... and How to Avoid Them," (www.45things.com). Write to her c/o: Gannett ContentOne, 7950 Jones Branch Drive, McLean, Va. 22107. For a reply, include a SASE.

View original publication online in the Greenbay Press Gazette