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Jobs Fair For Veterans Held At Intrepid Museum

NEW YORK (WCBS 880) - A special event was held Monday for those who put their lives on the line for our country and are now returning to civilian life.

WCBS 880's Alex Silverman On The Story

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"Upon my return from Iraq I got the 'Thank you for serving. You don't have a job,'" said Raphael.

A year of that has drained the veteran's confidence.

"I've been told anything from. 'We'll call you' to 'You're going to have to pay for work,'" he added.

Jeff Clair runs the organization Be a Hero, Hire a Hero, which held a job fair for veterans Monday morning at the Intrepid museum on Manhattan's West Side.

"The people in corporate America don't always have the ability to look at a resume and see that a battalion leader, what skills do they bring to the table," Jeff told WCBS 880 reporter Alex Silverman.

"Leadership is what this is all about," said Jeff. "So, whether you're a private or whether you're a colonel, you provide leadership in a place of employment when you transition from military to civilian life."

Verizon recruiter Nicholas Orlasion gets it. He's a veteran himself.

"HR, accounting, finance, and everything that's in the military - we have that on the corporate level in Verizon as well," he said.

But even the vets who got there bright and early say it's tough to stay hopeful.

"We don't get the things we deserve. It's the way life is," Raphael said.

Do you know of any job resources for veterans? Share them in the comments section below.

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