Helping veterans transition from the military to civilian workforce, one mentor at a time.
Learn how Verizon’s partnership with American Corporate Partners helps veterans in their transition from the military to the civilian workforce.
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With over 10,000 veterans currently contributing their skills and experience across our business, we’re proud to support our military. Verizon was recently ranked #10 as a 2020 Military Friendly Employer out of 114 companies and #7 as a Military Spouse Friendly Employer out of 106 companies. We exceeded Military Friendly standards in areas like hiring and onboarding, opportunity and advancement, recruiting and sourcing, and more.
Many of you have served us, so now it’s our turn to serve you. Following our commitment to the military community, Verizon recently launched a one-year mentoring program with American Corporate Partners (ACP), which connects newly employed or job-seeking veterans with corporate professionals who guide them as they enter, or re-enter, the workforce. Ultimately, they coach veterans on their path to obtaining a fulfilling, long-term career in their desired field.
Continue reading to learn how this program gives veterans the power to go beyond in their transition from the military to the civilian workforce.
Veterans mentoring veterans.
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| ACP Founder and Chairman Sid Goodfriend with Verizon CTO Kyle Malady. |
Our V Teamers love to give back to their communities, so when the ACP mentoring program was introduced, we received an overwhelming amount of responses from leaders across our Global Network & Technology (GN&T) team who were eager to mentor fellow veterans transitioning into the workforce. Their goal is to prepare exiting military members for the next step in their career through resume assistance, mock interviews, career planning and goal setting.
Teresa Allen, an HR business partner in Network Assurance who helped coordinate the program, believes pairing veterans together should form strong bonds since mentors can relate to how overwhelming it can be to adjust back into civilian life. “These mentors remember what it was like as they were exiting the military, and they are there for mentees every step of the way to help them better translate their military skills and experiences into the corporate world," she said. "Any mentor is great, but the fact that they can relate on this level just enhances their relationship.”
V Teamers who are giving back to the military community.
Thomas Jones is a retired Army First Sergeant and senior manager in military and diversity recruiting. In his role, he aims to honor service members by helping them find a place here at Verizon. "We focus our efforts in acquiring and retaining Military talent and their spouses through our recruitment efforts and programs. Our employees continually ask for ways to contribute to our initiative to be the best military friendly company we can be," Thomas said. "Adding ACP to our portfolio of resources allows us to continue to support our employees and the military community with meaningful engagements."
The ACP mentoring program helps veterans transitioning into the workforce by pairing mentees with our mentors who are located across the country and hold a variety of leadership roles in different business areas. Hear from our mentors who’ve begun their year-long partnerships with mentees.
“My mentee and I exchanged life histories and discussed his career goals. I was able to identify with many of his military and life experiences — particularly his transitioning back into civilian life. It’s important that we recognize the tremendous sacrifice military members, veterans and their families make. We should feel a duty to help them transition and prepare for new careers. As a veteran I am proud to be part of an organization that values and appreciates fellow veterans.” - Michael Jenkins, Director in Network Engineering | |
“As a nation, we should be more empathetic of the sacrifices that members of the Armed Forces and their families make, which often presents extreme challenges for them in their transition to civilian life. Having someone to provide them with necessary tools for a successful transition is critical. I started my journey with Verizon under their military hire program, so being able to give back to other service members through Verizon is incredible.” - Jennifer Kessler, Senior Manager in Network Operations | |
| “As service members are looking to transition, they have many questions but do not often have access to people who can answer them. I hope to get my mentee excited about future opportunities based on what he is capable of thanks to the skills and strengths that he has acquired in the military. I wish this program existed when I was transitioning to help me understand my full potential.” - Michael Cogar, Network Outreach | |
| “I don't think people always realize what a big life change it can be to leave the military and seek a new path. Networking and having someone to bounce ideas off is really important during this time. I was very excited to mentor a military spouse because many years ago, I was also a military spouse who needed to transition into the corporate world. I didn't have a program like this, so to have something like ACP available to both military and military spouses is truly an advantage.” - Amy Donahue, Product Management & Development |
By participating in these kinds of programs, we're not just saying that we care — we're showing how much we care. Verizon is here to support our military.
V Teamer Teresa Allen
As a top Military Friendly Company, we don’t just thank service members — we hire them. Learn more about our ongoing commitment to the military community
