Meet Ronald, from Hull. He’s a people person, who likes using his hands, but doesn’t seem to like talking about himself. Nikea is a charming woman from Dorchester who is looking for a match that will appreciate her focused and organized qualities. James from Norfolk enjoys riding his motorcycle, and believes people who are perpetually late are rude.
Finding a job can be as frustrating as finding true love, and definitely not as fun. Comcast Corp. is trying to remedy that and has launched a “Hire A Veteran On Demand’’ program which hopes to link returning soldiers like Ronald, Nikea, and James to jobs in the civilian sector. The program is a series of video profiles of unemployed veterans talking about what they did while serving, what skills they acquired, and why that makes them good employees. The 26 veterans were picked by the Department of Veterans’ Services from the over 37,000 veterans that have returned to Massachusetts since 9/11.
It’s an interesting twist for a company that has had its fair share of contentious publicity regarding services and fees. Instead of solely focusing on hiring the veterans themselves, Comcast focused on - in military speak - its core competencies. It donated its video technology, news host, television studio, and even makeup artists to allow veterans to simply chat about themselves and what they actually did in the military.
There is something both charming and uncomfortable about the videos, and that may be a clue for some of the challenges facing veterans. The veterans seem so nervous, often being fed leading questions (“tell me what you like to do when not in Iraq?’’) to get themselves to open up. They are clearly not used to talking about themselves.
