It’s a new year, and time to take stock of your career goals. Whether you recently transitioned from the military or have been out for several years and feel stagnant, a mentor can help you shape your future plans and explore new career opportunities.
In 2020, a record number of Veterans sought mentorship from American Corporate Partners. In response, ACP continued to add new corporate partners like ADT, Cisco, Nike and UnitedHealth Group to its roster of more than 90 Fortune 500 businesses who are engaged in the effort to mentor Veterans into rewarding civilian careers.
Available mentors right now include the Chief People Officer at Major League Baseball, the COO of the New York Jets, the SVP Military Affairs at USAA, and a VP of Diversity for Bank of America. New mentors sign up every day, so now is a great time to sign up to jump start your civilian career in 2021.
Mentorship doesn’t end with a new job
Stephanie learned about ACP through a June VA Newsletter featuring ACP. She served as an NCO in the U.S. Navy as an Operational Supervisor. With guidance from her ACP mentor, she recently landed a job as a project manager at General Dynamics.
“Josh and I had a great virtual meeting. In our next meeting, we’ll touch base on my LSAT preparation progress and follow up on possible ways I can build relevant experience now,” she said.
But mentorship doesn’t end once a Veteran finds a new job. The conversation continues, ensuring that Veterans always have an advocate for them every step of the way.
U.S. Army veteran Armando obtained his dream job just a few months into his yearlong ACP mentorship with his Nike mentor, Ken.
“When I first applied to ACP, I already held a position at a company and wanted to explore growth opportunities with a corporate mentor. After being paired with Ken, I realized that I wanted to take a risk and bet on myself by taking on a position in a Veteran-owned start up company. However, everyone around me was advising me not to take this risk – they simply could not understand why I wanted to take this chance.”
Thanks to Ken, Armando felt encouraged to take the chance that changed his life. “My ACP Mentor heard me for what I wanted to do, encouraged me to follow my dreams and truly addressed what I was passionate about. Together, we have been working on my goals and done some serious career planning.”
Are you ready to take the next step?
ACP has openings for both Veterans and mentors. Getting started is easy. Visit https://www.acp-usa.org/ and fill out an application, which generally takes about 10 minutes. Answer questions that include background, interests, military experience, and mentoring preferences such as gender or former service preferences.
What to expect after applying?
ACP will reach out within 24 hours and schedule a 15-minute phone call to ask a few more clarifying questions to match the applicant with the right mentor.
Over the past 10 years, more than 18,000 Veterans have completed the mentorship program. For those Veterans who obtained jobs in 2018, 86% of those hired during the program were still with the company in 2019. In 2019, nearly 2,000 Veterans were hired while enrolled in the mentorship program, with an average salary of $80,000.
All post-9/11 Veterans who have served at least 180 days of active duty since 9/11 are eligible.
The sharing of any non-VA information does not constitute an endorsement of products and services on part of the VA.
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This “post 9-11” discrimination is destroying the VA snd creating a huge divide. I retired months before 9/11 but came back as a patriotic civilian snd did more than most of those sucking on this tit. Keep on hating snd you will remain hated
This seems pretty clearly age discrimination for no reason other than wanting to type 9/11.
Hi,
I’m a retired TSGT from the Air Force/ANG. I’m involved in gridlock with USAA’s office out of Colorado. On 9-3-2020, there was a fire in my kitchen which my daughter and I quickly contained and put out. Both the Claims Adjuster and his Manager of USAA has conducted themselves in bad faith. Throughout the process, they have defiantly paraded their attitudes of arrogance and disrespect, as if my being a paying customer was of no consequence. Just yesterday, after nearly 5 months of no direction from USAA, I was told that USAA has denied any expenses for lodging allowance. They indicated that since the mortgage of the building is in my name, they weren’t going to pay me to live in my own home which is not my home. Please note that though the building is on a parcel lot, it’s a side by side attached unit with two distinctly separate addresses. My daughter pays rent for her unit and my wife and I pay the remaining portion for our unit to make the mortgage. All contents have been removed from home by the Fire Remediation Contractors to carry out repairs. There hasn’t been any work going on at my home for 2 months while the Claim Adjuster shows no sense of urgency to get this resolved. The attitude of, I’ll address your claim when I feel like getting around to it screams loud and clear through the inaction of the Adjuster and his Manager. I also got pushback upon requesting the replacement of Adjuster and Manager. I’ve always played by the rules, treated my fellow countrymen/women with respect and dignity only to be treated with such brazen contempt. If this plea can find its’ way to the SVP Military Affairs at USAA (John Bird), I’d very much like to hear from him because I use some help here
hola
I could use some financial assistance with my current
V.A. bill ($1200. +/-)
thanks///nc
Why is this organization allowed to discriminate based on age? (www.acp-usa.org) They do not allow service members discharged before 9/11/2001 entry into the mentoring program? That’s pretty clear age discrimination. The VA should not support any organization that openly discriminates against our Veterans!!
Jeff