Do empolyers discriminate against the Military

[vikesfankevin1986]

Ok so here is the deal. I was active duty Air Force for 4 years and have been in the Air National guard for 2. I went on 2 deployments while on active duty. My main job is cooking. I am a math class away from having an associates in Hotel, Fitness and Restaurant management. I CLEPd (Meaning I took a test and scored high enough to get credits for the class without taking it) Principles of Management and Principles of Supervision, not to mention all my generals other than math. I have been a shift leader on active duty and I am a staff sergent with troops under me right now...

I finally got a job at Subway after almost 4 months of looking. I applied at a number of restaurants. Some of them are Apple Bees, BWW, Perkins, and all of the ones in the Mall of America. I also applied at PDQ gas staion and Wal-Mart. I applied for almost every position at Wal-Mart, including supervisor positions. Because of that I had to take a test to see if I was qualified to be a supervisor...I passed it...shocking I know...

Why did I not get a call from a single place? Am I not capable of doing the jobs that high schoolers do? Am I not qualified to push carts?
The only things I can come up with are;
1. They assume that because I am in the military I will deploy for years at a time and don't want to deal with it. or
2. They assume I would not be happy because I am over qualified.

Am I over qualified to work in about every position I applied for...yes...but for any stupid a** employers out there do this math...
No job = $0
A job = more than $0
What do you think makes me happier? Do I want to make minium wage? No, but a smart person knows that you need to do what you have to, to pay the bills.

I try and order a sub at a Subway and the guy is struggling to get it right because he doesn't speak English. When I see a high schooler working at a gas station or something and my bill is, lets say 18.00 bucks, I give them a 20 dollar bill, a 1 dollar bill, and a dime and watch them scramble because they don't know what to do.

Am I not smart enough to compete with that? Do they discriminate aginst military members? What is the reason it took so long to find a job?

[heliochrome85]

first and formost, thank you for your service. whether one agrees with the wars, or not, that shouldn't mean that they get to disrespect those who served. often times, it doesnt work out that way. i have a couple marine/army friends who were in Iraq, and while i cant say we can agree on alot of things, i know that they are honest and good people who are often asked to justify policies they had no part in making.

Secondly,
yeah, i think its an issue of overqualification. Honestly, I have run into this issue before personally. I think ultimately, they want someone who isnt accomplished, but is dependable because accomplishment means you may recognize that your talents are worth more than 5.15 an hour, so why waste the time and money in training someone who is only going to bail in ac ouple months, when you can get someone who is a welfare queen (yes, i know this has been known to occur. working welfare queens, and honest politicians) who doesnt have anything better to aspire to. she will show up to that job come hell or high water because she knows thats the absolute best she can land given her limited skill set.

Dont be discouraged. times are tough, and unfortunately for many guys leaving the service, a bit tougher than the country has any reason to allow it to be for them. If i had my way, anyone who serves would get a pension that would allow them to live comfortably, and allow them to have easier time into government positions. then again, im a liberal-socialist who pals around with terrists. CZ knows this to be true

[Looneybomber]

Here's my guess.

You're in a saturated job market. There are a billion people looking for lower/entry level management positions, and as you can see with the idiots working, the positions are filled. What will help is getting your BA/BS, and then later work on your MBA. One of my bosses even had his PhD. (BTW, this is not to get the entry positions, but the upper level)

There's quite a few job markets that require at least an undergrad degree if you want to do anything above remedial work. Business is one of them.

If you're still in the ANG, do they have any AGR positions that you might be interested in? Or, can you finish up your degree and go to OCS? An officer in an AGR position would be pretty awesome. Decent pay, benefits, and job security!

Now, my opinion on military experience and getting jobs:
I've seen too many under qualified veterans get positions most likely because of their prior military background. Later, they get fired for incompetency, but they still got the job. So in my experience, being prior military has very much helped people get jobs.

[vikesfankevin1986]

Thank you for supporting even though you may not agree with the war. What people don't understand is I signed up to serve my country, not to fight in this or that war. I have to do what I am told to do whether or not I agree with it.
A number of the places said they were hiring or had signs up. For the most part I am fine because I am going to school. During the school year I get 1,500 a month from my GI bill, 550 a month from disability (yes I think it is cheap too) and 250 a month from my guard weekend. So I don't NEED a job during the school year but I want one for a little extra cash. During the summer though, we are out 1,500 a month and it has been real rough. Our bank account is empty and I have maxed my credit car. The 550 pays for my car and other random things like food.

I was so happy when the guy at subway gave me an interview. First off I wanted to work there because of the feel. I always felt good every time I walked in there and I wanted a low stress job since I am going to school. I just want someone to keep me on track. I mean last semester I took 16 credits and made the dean's list, while getting drunk almost every night...I figure if I have a job and take another class, or both I won't have so much down time to be lazy and drink. The manager at subway said he wasn't sure what they had to offer me and I told him I was just looking for a little extra money in a relaxing environment. Basically we are on the same page with everything and he is real excited to have me.
I think a lot of these places missed out...If only they would have given me an interview. You can't just assume that someone is too good for the job. Honestly I have no problem being at subway for the next 4 years or so until I graduate.

[vikesfankevin1986]

And forgot to mention I was not looking for a career job. There are some good government jobs I could probably get being a vet and all. The degree I plan on getting is History and Religious Studies. Not really sure what kind of job I can get with that by my friend works at a federal prison and says they are always looking for chaplins. People in prison are always looking for God or something else and that would be perfect for me because I know a lot about many religions. I would make around 60k a year doing that...might be my best option...being military would help get that job for sure.

[Bubba1]

I also say thank you for serving our country. I think the big issue you're experiencing is not your qualifications or your miitary career, but that the job market really sucks right now and you're facing a lot of competition, especially for supervisory positions. I just interviewed for a job this week and the interviewer noted there were over 2,000 applicants (from outside the company) for this position.

I don't believe there is a bias against hiring veterans, but unfortunately it does not does necessarily put you at the front of the line when seeking employment in an industry like food service or retail. There are some entities that do give some a hiring preference to veterans, like USPS, and many state government agencies. Unfortunately, USPS and most states are having financial problems too, but it's an area you might look at.

Good luck.

[IBCoupe]

It's always hard to spot employer discrimination, but I know that it is a problem today. Especially for combat veterans, employers may be hesitant to hire combat vets for fear of TBI or PTSD.

Sorry that you're having trouble with the job market. It could be discrimination, or it could be overqualification (they don't want to hire you only to have you leave in two months), or it could be just a bad job market. Keep hunting!

[vikesfankevin1986]

I know...I guess I'm just frustrated that they won't even give me an interview. They assume they know me because of what some paper said. If you talked to me it is clear I'm not crazy from it, I mean I did things most people couldn't do, but that made me grow up and appreciate life more, not turn crazy.
But hey, Subway just got a good, overqaulified employee that they don't need to worry about for the next 4 years because he took 15 minutes to sit down and talk with me.

[smockers83]

It is a fact of being overqualified. Having graduated from one of the best universities in the country right into a job market that was in the beginnings of tanking, I found myself overqualified for a lot of things I was applying for. I know I didn't get them because I was overqualified. At the same time, you're in market that's saturated with excess labor available. There are millions of people looking for jobs. Now, I was overqualified for the position I took to get where I'm at today, but I just happened to be in the right spot at the right time where promotion was imminent. It took me almost exactly one year after graduating college to find a job.

Now that I have said job, I have been on both sides of the interview table. Managers won't hire overqualified people for two reasons. First, they are afraid that an overqualified person will command too big of a salary for the position, depending on the company. Another reason being is that if there is no room for promotion for an overqualified person, a manager risks losing that employee altogether in a short period of time because said employee will not want to be in the same position indefinitely with no room to grow. They also don't want to do that person a disservice by bringing him/her on and only limiting him/her to the position.

You also have the government doing you a disservice as well, the very one you serve. Yes, sir. The government has created all of this fear and uncertainty in the business world that businesses are legitimately scared to hire and grow. It's the truth and if you (not you necessarily, just you in general as in all of you who read this) can't put down your political differences and recognize the environment and atmosphere that has been created by this Congress and administration, the country will only continue to suffer. I'm off my soap box now. The workaround to that for companies is to hire temps because they don't have to take on the risk of new high costs from policies enacted or planned by this administration and the Congress that supports it.

It's not that they don't want you or are discriminating against you, it's just a business decision. You can't take it personally, you have to persevere, and keep your head high. I know it's tough, I've been there.