Job Searching Tips For The Veteran With Ptsd Or Tbi
I wont lie to you. Looking for a job in the current economic climate is hard. Finding an employer who understands your military background can be tough. And, thanks to misinformation and misperceptions about mental health concerns, many employers are hesitant, if not scared, to hire veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder or traumatic brain injury . So, if youre a veteran looking for work right now, it may seem like the deck is stacked against you. Here are five suggestions to help you improve your odds and transition into a civilian job.
1. Figure Out What You Are Able To Do
Having PTSD or TBI may prevent you from carrying out certain duties on the job but that doesnt diminish what you are capable of doing. Take inventory of your skills, what you can and can no longer do. But, dont be too quick to limit yourself many accommodations exist that will allow you to perform tasks you might not have thought possible. For ideas and information on accommodations, visit the Job Accommodation Network. Finding out what you can do will help you figure out what you want to do.
2. Sell Yourself
3. Network to Find a Job
4. Find Military Friendly Companies
Some civilian employers dont understand or appreciate the military. Use networking to help you identify companies that will appreciate your background and bypass ones that may not be as interested in hiring former service members.
5. Find Companies OK with Your Injuries
Right To Accommodations At Work
Many veterans prefer to continue working despite the obstacles posed by their disabilities. Whether you are returning to a prior job or seeking a new job, you have the right to receive certain accommodations due to your disabilities to help you perform your job. If you are having trouble working, you can ask your employer for help, and as long as your request is considered reasonable and it will allow you to do your job, you are legally entitled to receive the help as long as it doesn’t create an “undue hardship” for your employer.
Undue hardship means that an accommodation that is too expensive and interferes with or disrupts the workforce. This is not an easy standard for an employer to prove, as cost alone will generally not be considered an undue hardship.
Your request for special accommodations can include extra rest breaks, a quieter area to work in with less distractions or triggers, modified work hours, or special training. Work with your employer to arrange your job so you can better perform it and continue to work. Be creative for example, even taking leave to recover can be considered a reasonable accommodation. You can suggest any reasonable change that will help you do your job.
Acquire New Skills If Needed
Some positions require training or qualifications. You cant just walk into a hospital and pick up a scalpel! If you want to become a nurse, a doctor, a teacher, an architect and so on, you will need to gain prior qualifications.
There are other jobs that you can get into purely by virtue of the skills that you already have. When you are looking at what your next step will be after the military, remember that this bears much significance. If you can get any of your training out of the way before you transition out of the military, you can save time, so do it!
Also Check: Social Security Office Santa Clara
Five Jobs That Can Help Ptsd Sufferers Ease Into Social Situations
Here are five of the best jobs for those living with PTSD who want to make a smooth transition back into social situations.
Counseling teens or victims of abuse can be highly rewarding for PTSD sufferers, who may be extremely sympathetic due to their own experiences. While it requires quite a bit of interaction with others, limiting counseling sessions or clients may help keep things low-key until youre ready to move on to more social situations.
- Walk or Pet Sit Dogs
- Work With Horses
PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, affects thousands of people across America who have suffered from stressful accidents, terrorist activity, or abuse, and it also often affects those who have served in the military. For many, the idea of going back to their former activities or jobs following a traumatic experience is daunting or even impossible due to the stress of anxiety. Social situations often become difficult to endure because people or places can trigger bad memories, leading to isolation and even depression.
Jobs For People With Ptsd
Now that you know more about the jobs and work environments ill-suited for those with PTSD, lets focus now on some that are favorable.
| BROAD JOB TITLE |
|---|
| Parking Lot Attendant, Warehouse Worker, Watchman |
Just looking at the number of checkmarks per occupation/work condition, copyeditors/proofreaders, outdoor jobs, and truck drivers win out.
Im particularly partial to any outdoor job because you get the added benefit of being physically active in natural surroundings.
Still, theres one job I havent listed thats also worth your attention
UPDATE 1: Several PTSD sufferers have disputed some of my recommendations, namely truck driving and librarianship. I encourage you to read the comments below and come to your own conclusions!
UPDATE 2: A few people with PTSD have also mentioned taking surveys online as option. While certainly not a full-time income, it can be worthwhile if youre just looking to make an extra couple hundred dollars per month or so. For more information, read my guide to taking surveys online.
Don’t Miss: Social Security Office Greenwood Ms
Computer Information Systems Manager
What Youll Do: As a Computer Information System Manager, it will be your responsibility to manage all computer-related activities for your organization, including upgrading enterprise-wide software and equipment, presenting and justifying technology to executives, managing IT personnel, and more.
Median Salary: $151,154
Job Outlook: 11% growth through 2030
Education/Experience: Masters degree preferred, bachelor degree in computer or information science, related work experience
Dont Overemphasize That You Are A Veteran
Your military experience is going to be in the resume, and it should be. You provided a great service for which many are grateful. However, you do not want to be entirely defined by it or to appear to be using it as a crutch. You dont need to repeatedly highlight it. Talk about you. Your service is not something you should force.
You May Like: Why Is There A 5 Month Waiting Period For Disability
Research Jobs And Employers
You can learn what skills a certain job requires, and you can see how you meet these needs. When it comes to the time to apply and interview, you can accentuate these needs and how you meet them. Additionally, you can narrow down the best jobs and possibly companies that you are looking at to ensure that your mind is set on positions that appeal to you.
Maybe narrowing down your job options doesnt strike you as something that increases your chances of being employed, but it does. If you narrow your options down, you can understand the specific needs of the role and possible employers. If you understand specific needs, you can show how you fit the role or take steps to be a good fit.
Professions With High Risk Of Ptsd & Trauma
Here are some of the professions that have a high risk of PTSD development, and are the leading causes of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
EMS and ambulance workers are routinely exposed to high stress situations that are literally life and death situations. This profession has a high rate of PTSD, as high as 20%. When pre-employment screening and easy access to mental health services are provided the rate goes down significantly.
- First Responders
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is a psychological disorder that often develops after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event. It is a disorder most commonly associated with the military. However, that is not the only occupation that possesses a high risk of PTSD development. Certain workers are at a higher risk for developing PTSD and other related mental health disorders, based on their professions. Traumatic events, such as sexual assault, combat, or accidents are all common causes of PTSD. There are a number of professions that directly experience theses events often, if not daily.
Video advice: The psychology of post-traumatic stress disorder Joelle Rabow Maletis
Don’t Miss: What To Say To Get Disability
Practice Your Interviewing Skills
Practicing interview questions is essential in preparing for a job search. Military veterans may have difficulties translating their experience to interviewees or may have trouble talking about their own accomplishments outside of a team setting. Highlight your military skills and be sure to translate any military jargon during your interviews. Be ready to speak about projects you worked on and how you met goals.
Understand What You Already Have To Offer
Everybody with military experience has developed particular strengths that can often be expanded upon or transferred into new roles. Being able to articulate those abilities is a key to making potential employers understand how you might contribute to their organizations. And having a firm understanding of them yourself can help you determine which skills you might want to add or refine through additional schooling or training.
So think about your time in the service and everything that you accomplished. Talk it over with other people in your life, and enlist their help in figuring out how to translate those experiences into abilities that the average civilian would understand. For example, maybe your military service enabled you to develop some of the following transferable qualities and abilities:
Recommended Reading: What Is The Max Disability Payment
Worst Work Conditions For People With Ptsd
As mentioned, theres a lot of variability concerning PTSD symptoms. That said, the following table lists common work environments least suited to those with PTSD and a few corresponding job examples.
| WORK CONDITION TO AVOID |
|---|
| Office jobs, Restaurant Worker, Retail Worker |
| Unsafe Neighborhood |
I know what youre thinkingUm, doesnt that cover ALL jobs? Again, no two PTSD sufferers are alike and so while one person may resonate with seven of these work conditions, another may only resonate with one. Working to minimize your symptoms would obviously whittle the list down even more, thus expanding your job options.
Translate Your Military Experience
Your time working with Air Liaison Officer Bradley at the AFSC is great, but may be gibberish to a recruiter who hasnt done their homework. Not many hiring managers will know exactly what you are talking about right away.
Remember that you want your military to civilian resume to be clear, simple, and enticing. Dont push recruiters away by using words and terms that they are not familiar with! Instead, keep it easy to digest and attractive. Translate your military titles and terms for the recruiter or hiring manager.
It isnt just your resume that you need to keep understandable. Your networking efforts, interviews, and LinkedIn profile all need to be understood by hiring managers as well.
Also Check: Can You Get Disability For Arthritis
Where To Find Freelance Jobs
Freelance jobs can be found on platforms such as Upwork and Fiverr. By far, the best advice for freelancers is to keep active on social media, especially , and stay connected to your network. Word of mouth is the best way to get referrals for clients.
Freelancing provides opportunities for veterans who come home and find that the traditional labor market might no longer work for them. Stephane Kasriel, Upwork CEO
Considering getting a small business loan and setting up a freelancing career into a business? Start here if you are trying to quickly learn about small business loans for veterans. Find out what kinds there are and how to get them!
Best Jobs For Veterans 2018
Eight of the best civilian jobs for transitioning veterans have been identified by one of the top job search sites, CareerCast. These include registered nurse, financial advisor, info security analyst and operations research assistant, among others.
There are many benefits to hiring veterans, says Kyle Kensing, online content editor, CareerCast. The discipline, teamwork and leadership qualities emphasized in the military directly translate to the civilian workforce. Skills gained during military service are in high demand.
Public and private sector efforts to recruit and employ veterans have paid major dividends in lowering the unemployment rate for veterans. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2016 that of the approximately 21.2 million men and women with military experience, an unemployment rate that hovered near 10 percent just seven years ago has been cut almost in half.
The Veterans Opportunity to Work Act was designed for the Department of Labor to match veterans with career paths based on their responsibilities while in service. Private-sector companies are also launching their own hiring initiatives to match veteran job seekers with open positions.
Another area of emphasis in military service is healthcare. Nursing positions are also in demand for enlisted personnel, and many states allow veterans with experience as nurses in the military to apply that experience to civilian certification.
| Profession |
Don’t Miss: Phone Number Social Security Administration
Active Duty And Veterans Help Resources
- The WWP Resource Center can assist you with information regarding WWP programs and services to meet your specific needs. Email the WWP Resource Center at or call 888.WWP.ALUM .
- Call the VA Health Benefits Service Center toll free at or explore My HealtheVet, which provides veterans help with VA health care information, services, and locations.
- Call the Vet Center’s national number at or visit online for more information or to find the location nearest you.
- Locate non-veteran-specific mental health services online through the Mental Health Services Locator hosted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration .
- Take a look at Sidran. They offer a referral list of therapists, as well as a fact sheet on how to choose a therapist for PTSD.
- Veteran Crisis Line: If you are in crisis, please call 911, go to your nearest emergency room, or call . Veterans in need of help: Press “1” after you call, or go to Veterans Crisis Line to chat live with a crisis counselor at any time.
The Best Nonmilitary Jobs For Veterans
The Indeed Editorial Team comprises a diverse and talented team of writers, researchers and subject matter experts equipped with Indeed’s data and insights to deliver useful tips to help guide your career journey.
Video: Job Cast: Job Search for Military Service Members and Spouses
This video will introduce you to job searching on Indeed as a military service member or spouse.
If youre a veteran looking to transition to civilian life, whether youre on active duty in the military or returning from a deployment, it can be helpful to start thinking about what your career path might be outside of the armed forces. In this article, we highlight jobs that are well-suited for veterans.
Don’t Miss: Does Disability Income Count For Medicaid
Minimize Symptoms And Increase Your Odds Of Finding A Job
At this point, youve got a couple of possibilities. You can try your luck at finding a job which meets ALL your requirements or you can work to minimize your trigger-induced symptoms and widen your job possibilities.
While working with a psychiatrist and/or psychologist can help address your symptoms, there are also many effective coping strategies you can do on your own to get started like deep breathing, petting a cat or dog, taking a walk, meditating, and talking to a supportive person.
How To Work When You Have Ptsd
However, there may be resources available in your area to help you find a suitable job. For example, you can get in touch with your mental health case worker to inquire about finding a job that wont aggravate your condition. Such professionals are aware of your unique needs and can guide your job search. It may also help to ask your doctor or therapist for recommendations.
Post-traumatic stress disorder often results from experiencing a traumatic event. The condition develops when you continue to relive the feelings that came with the event, long after it is over. When you do, you may experience fear, anxiety, and panic attacks. Finding and maintaining a job is often difficult for people with PTSD as certain triggers can bring on overwhelming feelings. Making a living for yourself with PTSD is possible, however, when you learn how to function with the condition, take care of yourself, and get the support you need.
Recommended Reading: How Much Does A Person Get On Disability
Don’t Miss: How To Check The Status Of Disability
Finding A New Job Or Starting A Business
There is help available for veterans who can’t return to their old job because of a medical condition or because they were in the service too long.
While USERRA is most well known for protecting a veteran’s right to return to a job after service, USERRA also provides resources to help returning veterans with training and job placement. These services are coordinated by the U.S. Department of Labor through career centers throughout the country. Use the Job Center Locator to find a OneStop Career Center near you, or call 877-US-2JOBS or 877-872-5627.
The Career OneStop Veterans Reemployment website provides information about training, unemployment benefits for returning service members, and other resources. Your military training and work experience can qualify you for a civilian job. Use the Military to Civilian Occupation Translator to find out which civilian jobs your military experience qualifies you for.
Some employers give preference to veterans when hiring for new jobs. Use the Veterans Job Bank database to locate available jobs with these employers in your location. In addition, most veterans are given preference for federal jobs, which can really help you get a job in a tough job market. You can also receive educational benefits to go back to school and get help starting a business.