Hundreds of veterans attend job fair - NBC12.com - Richmond, VA News

There is a big push to find jobs for veterans out of work.

The "Hiring Our Heroes" job fair came to Richmond on Thursday. It's a nationwide effort to find jobs for half a million vets.

Ten thousand veterans have found work through the "Hiring Our Heroes" program since it started last year. All the people that came out hope they can add to that number.

Roughly 40 companies came looking for a few good men and women to add to its payroll.

Carolyn White served in the Army for nearly a decade as a military police officer.

"I'm looking for a job," White said. "I've been out of work for almost four years, so it's getting a little desperate right now."

She knows first hand how difficult it can be to transition from military to civilian life.

"Oh that's hard," she said. "It's really hard because you don't have some of the support elements that you have in the military, so you're having to put yourself out there a lot harder than you would have to in the military."

That's where events like this come in. Bryan Goettel is with "Hiring Our Heroes". He says veterans are often focused on getting home to their families when they leave the military.

"The job isn't always the first thing in their mind," Goettel said. "Once they realize they do need to find employment, we need to be in as many places as we can."

Some veterans have even been hired on the spot at these job fairs.

"Come ready to interview," he said. "You never know, you could walk out with a job."

But finding a job isn't always that easy.

There are one million unemployed veterans in the US right now. One million more are expected with the end of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For some of these vets, this is a chance to talk to employers without battling a crowd.

"This is promising to me," White said. "I can actually get in without standing in line and maybe I'll be able to talk, quality talk with someone who is actually going to hire me."

If you couldn't make it out Thursday, there will be another one in South Hill on August 23. 

Copyright 2012 WWBT NBC12.  All rights reserved.