2011
VESO hosted its first hiring event in conjunction with the National Veteran Small Business Conference in New Orleans, LA. The event piloted VESO's hiring model to use special hiring authorities and hands-on career readiness services.
VESO opened VA for Vets coaching call centers in Dumfries, VA; Ebensburg, PA; and New Orleans, LA. VA for Vets career coaches assist Servicemembers facing deployment and Veteran job seekers in using the program's tools.
VESO officially launched the VA for Vets program. The cornerstone of the program, the Career Center, features the military skills translator, the most robust tool of its kind, along with self-assessment tools, a federal resume builder and comprehensive federal job search.
2012
VESO hosted its first large scale hiring event, the VA for Vets Career Fair and Expo in Washington, DC. More than 4,100 Veterans attended the event and employers conducted nearly 2,300 interviews on-site. Over 500 tentative job offers were extended to Veteran job seekers.
VA for Vets was recognized as the “Most Innovative Recruitment Program” and for the “Best Implementation of an Enterprise Technology System” at the annual Human Capital Management for Defense Awards.
The Web Marketing Association recognized the VA for Vets video, "A Tradition of Serving Those Who Serve," with awards in three categories, including "Best Employment Online Video," "Best Government Online Video," and "Best Government Online Ad." In addition, the 2012 Telly Awards honored the video with the Bronze Telly for Recruitment.
VESO hosted its largest hiring event, the VA for Vets Veteran Hiring Fair in Detroit, MI. More than 8,000 Veterans and 230 employers attended the event. Over 5,700 interviews were conducted on-site, resulting in more than 1,200 tentative job offers.
The training video "Leading the Way" was named "Best Instructional/Training Program of the Year" by Horizon Interactive Awards. The video also received the interactive Award of Distinication for "Best Film/Video for Employee Communications."