In an effort to ease the transition from military service to the private sector — and help former servicemembers find jobs that match their skills — the Dept. of Veterans Affairs has launched a new service on its website that it hopes will allow employers to connect directly with veterans looking for work.

The new section of the VA’s eBenefits site was announced today by First Lady Michelle Obama at a veterans jobs summit at Fort Campbell on the border of Kentucky and Tennessee.

The VA’s Employment Center aims to help out the anywhere from 700,000 to 800,000 armed forces veterans who are looking for a job at any given time, by not only allowing them to post their resumes and sort through job listings. It also provides functionalities like a resume-builder and a Military Skills Translator that can show the job-seekers how their particular skill sets can be used in non-military employment.

This was a point the First Lady mentioned in her talk with soldiers at the Fort Campbell job summit — don’t minimize the things you learned while in service to your country.

“If you want a job, you can’t be modest about your qualifications,” she explained. “Anyone out there would be lucky to have you on their team.”

Likewise, employers who use the database to find job candidates have access to a translator that works in the opposite direction, telling them what types of military training would be applicable to their business.

[via Tennessean.com]

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