For U.S. veterans, returning to the workforce isn’t exactly easy. As of October 2011, more than 850,000 veterans were unemployed, and the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans was 12.1 percent — well over the national average. According to whitehouse.gov, more than 1 million service members are projected to leave the military between 2011 and 2016.

CAREERBUILDER, “AMERICA WANTS YOU,” AND FREE JOB EXPOSURE

Despite these challenges, the situation just got brighter: Military veterans looking for work in this economy have a new champion in America Wants You, an effort bringing together the private sector and corporate America to find job opportunities for men and women who have served in the U.S. military. As the initiative’s chairman and CEO John S. Pike (who is a veteran himself), says, “America Wants You and its supporters are calling out to the corner offices to stand up and do their duty. It’s a corporate call to arms. There is no employer too big or too small to aid in this American effort.”

We’ve talked in the past about the multitude of reasons your business should be hiring veterans, and as President Obama said when referring to veterans’ wide range of skills, “This is exactly the kind of leadership and responsibility that every American business should be competing to attract.”

Now, CareerBuilder is powering the job engine for America Wants You, giving employers all over the nation an absolutely free way to expose their jobs to out-of-work military veterans who just may be the perfect fit for that quality and training analyst, RN, or project manager position you need to fill. Want to be one of the leaders in raising employment for veterans? Post your jobs for FREE on AmericaWantsYou in just a few simple steps.

POSTING YOUR JOBS TO AMERICAWANTSYOU.NET IS EASY (AND EVEN BETTER, IT’S FREE!):

To post a job to America Wants You, simply:

1.  Register for an account or sign into your current CareerBuilder account.

2. Send a blank email to jobs@americawantsyou.net from the email address registered to your CareerBuilder account. You will receive an email back confirming your CareerBuilder account has been added to America Wants You’s job search engine.

3. Log into your CareerBuilder account, choose “AmericaWantsYou” as your job type, and start posting! Your jobs will be instantly added to AWY’s database.

4. Done! Your job posting will be active until it’s filled and/or you remove it from your CareerBuilder account. When you receive new applications, CareerBuilder will email them to you.

*Note: If you’re an employer with more than 25 open jobs, contact jobs@americawantsyou.net for help automating your job postings.

A MESSAGE FROM CHRIS O’DONNELL

For those who want to learn more about the America Wants You effort (or who still, like me, sometimes quote “Circle of Friends,”) here is actor Chris O’Donnell discussing the importance of helping veterans in our current job market:

WHY HIRE VETERANS?

With their military background, extensive training, specialized skills and breadth of experience, veterans bring many unique elements to the workforce.  A few that you may not have considered:

1. Trustworthiness: Many military personnel have achieved some level of security clearance, demonstrating that he or she is recognized as a trustworthy person.
2. Background checks: With an honorable discharge, service members are essentially certified drug-free, and they have already had to go through rigorous background checks to be admitted into the military.
3. Dealing with high stress-situations: Veterans know the importance of deadlines, and they’re accustomed to being in high-stress situations and trained to deal appropriately and effectively. Though civilian workplaces offer different types of pressures, there’s likely nothing you can throw at them that’s more high stress than situations they’ve encountered while serving.
4. Tech savvy and international awareness: Veterans, because of the necessity to be aware of global affairs, are often one step ahead of many other workers when it comes to IT knowledge or the latest business trend or international security issue — not to mention IT training and hands-on skills.

CareerBuilder asked employers who have hired U.S. veterans or members of the National Guard to list the top attributes military personnel brought to their organization, and the following assets topped the list:

• Disciplined approach to work – 66 percent
• Ability to work as a team – 65 percent
• Respect and integrity – 58 percen
•  Leadership skills – 56 percent
• Problem-solving skills – 54 percent
• Ability to perform under pressure – 53 percent
• Communication skills – 45 percent

For more information about the America Wants You initiative, please visit AmericaWantsYou.net.

Are you planning on hiring veterans this year–or have you already? Let us know in the comments.