We hear a lot about returning veterans being out of work, but to many of us, the numbers — a 16.7 percent unemployment rate for New York veterans last year; an estimated 234,000 post-9/11 vets looking for jobs — are an abstraction.
Not to the five men and women featured below. These veterans and reservists have three things in common:
They’ve left their homes, risked their lives and sacrificed their time in the service of their country. They’ve picked up some impressive skills along the way. And now they’re looking for work post-service.
Looking to make some hires? Want someone who’s committed, resourceful, highly trained and has proven themselves under the toughest conditions? Read on. And e-mail vets@nypost.com to get in touch with any of the service members you see here; please specify their name in the subject line.
— Additional reporting by Gregory E. Miller.
Louis Corriea, 37, Newark, NJ
Branch: Marine Corps, active duty November 1998 to November 2003; reserves, November 2003 to August 2006
Rank: Corporal
Active Duty Deployment: 2001 to 2002, mobile deployment, assisting in multiple countries including Bosnia and Kosovo
Recent Work Experience: Director of training for Ginc Vision, a military training and solutions company
Dream Job: To work for a nonprofit organization that aids veterans, or head a company that does national and international logistics work
Skills: As a logistics officer running supply and relief operations — dealing with “what we call the beans, bullets and band-aids” — Corriea developed both advanced administrative skills and an ability to set priorities and work under pressure. Fluent in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and able to read German, Corriea can work around numerous language barriers.
Why you should hire him now: Give Corriea a task, and he’ll have finished it five minutes ago. “Commitment: It’s more than just a word for us,” he says.
Corriea was responsible for bringing the first “Be A Hero, Hire A Hero” event to New Jersey, connecting more than 1,000 veterans with employers. No one asked him to do it, he just saw the task at hand and made it happen.
“My best trait is commitment: commitment to my job, commitment to my task, commitment to whatever it is I’m assigned to do,” Corriea says. “I see it to completion.”
Erik Swanson, 29, Summit, NJ
Branch: Army National Guard, September 2003 to the present
Rank: Staff sergeant
Active Duty Deployment: June 2008 to July 2009, at FOB Union 3 (Green Zone) in Baghdad, Iraq
Recent work experience: Military trainer
Dream Job: Any project management or corporate development position within a company
Skills: Able to manage large teams of individuals, administrate tasks and keep a team focused on the job at hand. Swanson, who holds a master’s in administration science, notes that vets “have a list of skills that are good for any company,” including leadership skills and a knack for problem solving and decision making. He’s applied for jobs in law enforcement and with corporate firms, and notes hopefully that corporate hiring seems to be on the upswing.
Why you should hire him now: Curveballs don’t faze Swanson, who’s learned to get the job done, no matter how many obstacles are thrown in his way. “You can’t accept no for an answer,” says Swanson, “I still have to complete the mission.”
Thanisha
Mitchell, 31,
Brooklyn
Branch: Marines Reserve, December 2006 to the present
Rank: Corporal
Recent work experience: Front desk clerk at the Crowne Plaza New York Sports Club
Dream Job: Working in healthcare
Skills: Mitchell has experience with warehouse inventory, checking on all the supplies a soldier needs in combat. The Marines have also trained her to handle finances and make monetary transactions, so she can crunch numbers like a champ.
Why you should hire her now: A self-described workaholic, Mitchell says her military experience has taught her to be punctual, responsible and reliable. And she’s learned valuable lessons in leadership from her commanding officers.
“People are not going to respect you if you’re a mean manager,” Mitchell says. “If you’re tactful, they will listen to you.”
She’s applied to companies from Duane Reade to Hilton Hotels to the Long Island Rail Road, but has yet to land a position. it’s frustrating for Mitchell, who’s anxious to show what she can do.
Employers “should look at a person’s experience, and give them a chance,” she says.
Matthew Pizzo, 29, Manhattan
Branch: Air Force, September 2001 to February 2005, followed by two years as an Air Force civilian contractor
Rank: Senior airman
Active Duty Deployment: September 2004 to February 2005, at Tallil Airbase in Nasiriya, Iraq.
Recent work experience: Part-time law clerk at the Watanabe Law Firm, construction worker and volunteer for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
Dream Job: Strategic planning or operations management for a fashion, entertainment or other creative company
Skills: Matt has prowess in technological installation, maintenance and repair, which is matched with the legal and procedural savvy he picked up while earning a degree from New York Law School. Add a military-honed work ethic, and the package is complete.
Why you should hire him now: If there’s a piece of technology that uses signals to send data back and forth — satellites, routers, servers — Pizzo knows its intricacies down to the last wire. “I developed a program training new troops on how to work on equipment,” he says.
That tech savvy lifted Pizzo into a trusted position: “I had a very high security clearance,” he says, “so I got to work on a lot of classified pieces of technology.”
Larry Rivera, 29, Brooklyn
Branch: Army, April 2005 to October 2011
Rank: Specialist 4
Active Duty Deployment: January 2006 to February 2007, in a mobile caravan across Afghanistan
Recent experience: Campaign assistant and volunteer coordinator for Brooklyn State Senator David Strobin, student at Kingsborough Community College
Dream Job: Event coordinator or public relations agent for a major league sport
Skills: Working on convoy logistics and training Afghan soldiers has taught Rivera “how to coordinate events and coordinate people” — not to mention how to persevere under difficult circumstances. As a highly trained dignitary driver, Rivera escorted generals and other VIPs around bases — which means his interpersonal skills are as strong as his driving ability.
Why you should hire him now: Leadership runs through Rivera’s veins. As a leader in the BOSS (Better Opportunity for Single Soldiers) program at Fort Hamilton, Rivera oversaw up to 80 people.
“Everyone has leadership abilities,” Rivera says. “Its just a matter of motivating that person.”
With a family of six, including a son who’s required a liver transplant, Rivera admits it’s been difficult to be out of work. But the discipline and commitment instilled by the military has served him well, he says. And given the chance, he knows he can shine.
“I know what I’m capable of,” he says.